The  Clandestine  Visit 

Photogravure  —  From  Drawing  bv  J.  Allen  St.  John 


Illustrated  Sterling  edition 


The  Physiology  of  Marriage 

Petty  Troubles  of  Married  Life 


Repertory  of 
The  Comedie  Humaine 

By 
ANATOLE   CERFBERR  AND  JULES   CHRISTOPHE 


Translated  by  J.   WALKER   McSPADDEN 
With  an  Introduction  by  PAUL  BOURGET 


With  Introductions  by 

GEORGE  SAINTSBURY 


BOSTON 
DANA  ESTES  &  COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 


COPYRIGHTED    1901 
BY 

JOHN  D.   AVI  L 


A II  Rights  Reserved 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE; 

OR, 

THE  MUSINGS  OF  AN  ECLECTIC  PHILOSOPHER  ON  THE 
HAPPINESS  AND  UNHAPPINESS  OF  MARRIED  LIFE. 


DEDICATION. 

Notice  the  words  (page  38) :     The  man  of  distinction  to  whom  thit 
book  is  dedicated.     Need  I  say  :  "  You  are  that  man." — THE  AUTHOR. 


THE  woman  who  may  be  induced  by  the  title  of  this  book  to  open 
it,  can  save  herself  the  trouble;  she  has  already  read  the  work  without 
knowing  it.  A  man,  however  malicious  he  may  possibly  be,  can  never 
say  about  women  as  much  good  or  as  much  evil  as  they  themselves 
think.  If,  in  spite  of  this  notice,  a  woman  will  persist  in  reading 
the  volume,  she  ought  to  be  prevented  by  delicacy  from  despising 
the  author,  from  the  very  moment  that  he,  forfeiting  the  praise 
which  most  artists  welcome,  has  in  a  certain  way  engraved  on  the 
title  page  of  his  book  the  prudent  inscription  written  on  the  portal 
of  certain  establishments  :  Ladies  must  not  enter. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

INTRODUCTION  v 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE       - 

PETTY      TROUBLES     OF     MARRIED 
LIFE 


vol.  xxxm. 


INTRODUCTION. 

"MARRIAGE  is  not  an  institution  of  nature.  The  family  in 
the  east  is  entirely  different  from  the  family  in  the  west. 
Man  is  the  servant  of  nature,  and  the  institutions  of  society 
are  grafts,  not  spontaneous  growths  of  nature.  Laws  are 
made  to  suit  manners,  and  manners  vary. 

"Marriage  must  therefore  undergo  the  gradual  develop- 
ment towards  perfection  to  which  all  human  affairs  submit." 

These  words,  pronounced  in  the  presence  of  the  Conseil 
d'fitat  by  Napoleon  during  the  discussion  of  the  civil  code, 
produced  a  profound  impression  upon  the  author  of  this  book; 
and  perhaps  unconsciously  he  received  the  suggestion  of  this 
work,  which  he  now  presents  to  the  public.  And  indeed  at 
the  period  during  which,  while  still  in  his  youth,  he  studied 
French  law,  the  word  ADULTERY  made  a  singular  impression 
upon  him.  Taking,  as  it  did,  a  prominent  place  in  the 
code,  this  word  never  occurred  to  his  mind  without  conjuring 
up  its  mournful  train  of  consequences.  Tears,  shame,  hatred, 
terror,  secret  crime,  bloody  wars,  families  without  a  head, 
and  social  misery  rose  like  a  sudden  line  of  phantoms  before 
him  when  he  read  the  solemn  word  ADULTERY  !  Later  on, 
when  he  became  acquainted  with  the  most  cultivated  circles 
of  society,  the  author  perceived  that  the  rigor  of  marriage 
laws  was  very  generally  modified  by  adultery.  He  found  that 
the  number  of  unhappy  homes  was  larger  than  that  of  happy 
marriages.  In  fact,  he  was  the  first  to  notice  that  of  all 
human  sciences  that  which  relates  to  marriage  was  the  least 
progressive.  But  this  was  the  observation  of  a  young  man; 
and  with  him,  as  with  so  many  others,  this  thought,  like  a 
pebble  flung  into  the  bosom  of  a  lake,  was  lost  in  the  abyss 
of  his  tumultuous  thoughts.  Nevertheless,  in  spite  of  himself 
the  author  was  compelled  to  investigate,  and  eventually  there 

(1) 


2  INTRODUCTION 

was  gathered  within  his  mind,  little  by  little,  a  swarm  of  con- 
clusions, more  or  less  just,  on  the  subject  of  married  life. 
Works  like  the  present  one  are  formed  in  the  mind  of  the 
author  .with  as  much  mystery  as  that  with  which  truffles  grow 
on  the  scented  plains  of  Perigord.  Out  of  the  primitive  and 
holy  horror  which  adultery  caused  him  and  the  investigation 
which  he  had  thoughtlessly  made,  there  was  born  one  morn- 
ing a  trifling  thought  in  which  his  ideas  were  formulated.  This 
thought  was  really  a  satire  upon  marriage.  It  was  as  follows : 
A  husband  and  wife  found  themselves  in  love  with  each  other 
for  the  first  time  after  twenty-seven  years  of  marriage. 

He  amused  himself  with  this  little  axiom  and  passed  a 
whole  week  in  delight,  grouping  around  this  harmless  epigram 
the  crowd  of  ideas  which  came  to  him  unconsciously  and 
which  he  was  astonished  to  find  that  he  possessed.  His  humor- 
ous mood  yielded  at  last  to  the  claims  of  serious  investigation. 
Willing  as  he  was  to  take  a  hint  the  author  returned  to  his 
habitual  idleness.  Nevertheless,  this  slight  germ  of  science 
and  of  joke  grew  to  perfection,  unfostered,  in  the  fields  of 
thought.  Each  phase  of  the  work  which  had  been  condemned 
by  others  took  root  and  gathered  strength,  surviving  like  the 
slight  branch  of  a  tree  which,  flung  upon  the  sand  by  a  winter's 
storm,  finds  itself  covered  at  morning  with  white  and  fantastic 
icicles,  produced  by  the  caprices  of  nightly  frosts.  So  the 
sketch  lived  on  and  became  the  starting  point  of  myriad 
branching  moralizations.  It  was  like  a  polypus  which  multi- 
plies itself  by  generation.  The  feelings  of  youth,  the  observa- 
tions which  a  favorable  opportunity  led  him  to  make,  were 
verified  in  the  most  trifling  events  of  his  after  life.  Soon  this 
mass  of  ideas  became  harmonized,  took  life,  seemed,  as  it  were, 
to  become  a  living  individual  and  moved  in  the  midst  of  those 
domains  of  fancy,  where  the  soul  loves  to  give  full  rein  to  its 
wild  creations.  Amid  all  the  distractions  of  the  world  and 
of  life,  the  author  always  heard  a  voice  ringing  in  his  ears 
and  mockingly  revealing  the  secrets  of  things  at  the  very 
moment  he  was  watching  a  woman  as  she  danced,  smiled  or 
talked.  Just  as  Mephistopheles  pointed  out  to  Faust  in  that 


INTRODUCTION  3 

terrific  assemblage  at  the  Brocken,  faces  full  of  frightful 
augury,  so  the  author  was  conscious  in  the  midst  of  the  ball 
of  a  demon  who  would  strike  him  on  the  shoulder  with  a 
familiar  air  and  say  to  him :  "Do  you  notice  that  enchanting 
smile  ?  It  is  a  grin  of  hatred."  And  then  the  demon  would 
strut  about  like  one  of  the  captains  in  the  old  comedies  of 
Hard}r.  He  would  twitch  the  folds  of  a  lace  mantle  and 
endeavor  to  make  new  the  fretted  tinsel  and  spangles  of  its 
former  glory.  And  then  like  Eabelais  he  would  burst  into 
loud  and  unrestrainable  laughter,  and  would  trace  on  the 
street-wall  a  word  which  might  serve  as  a  pendant  to  the 
"Drink  !"  which  was  the  only  oracle  obtainable  from  the  heav- 
enly bottle.  This  literary  Trilby  would  often  appear  seated 
on  piles  of  books,  and  with  hooked  fingers  would  point  out 
with  a  grin  of  malice  two  yellow  volumes  whose  title  dazzled 
the  eyes.  Then  when  he  saw  he  had  attracted  the  author's 
attention  he  spelt  out,  in  a  voice  alluring  as  the  tones 
of  an  harmonica,  Physiology  of  Marriage!  But,  almost 
always  he  appeared  at  night  during  my  dreams,  gentle  as  some 
fairy  guardian;  he  tried  by  words  of  sweetness  to  subdue  the 
soul  which  he  would  appropriate  to  himself.  While  he 
attracted,  he  also  scoffed  at  me;  supple  as  a  woman's  mind, 
cruel  as  a  tiger,  his  friendliness  was  more  formidable  than  his 
hatred,  for  he  never  yielded  a  caress  without  also  inflicting  a 
wound.  One  night  in  particular  he  exhausted  the  resources 
of  his  sorceries,  and  crowned  all  by  a  last  effort.  He  came, 
he  sat  on  the  edge  of  the  bed  like  a  young  maiden  full  of  love, 
who  at  first  keeps  silence  but  whose  eyes  sparkle,  until  at  last 
her  secret  escapes  her. 

"This,"  said  he,  "is  a  prospectus  of  a  new  life-buoy,  by 
means  of  which  one  can  pass  over  the  Seine  dry-footed.  This 
other  pamphlet  is  the  report  of  the  Institute  on  a  garment 
by  wearing  which  we  can  pass  through  flames  without  being 
burnt.  Have  you  no  scheme  which  can  preserve  marriage 
from  the  miseries  of  excessive  cold  and  excessive  heat  ?  Listen 
to  me !  Here  we  have  a  book  on  the  Art  of  preserving  foods ; 
on  the  Art  of  curing  smoky  chimneys ;  on  the  Art  of  making 


4  INTRODUCTION 

good  mortar;  on  the  Art  of  tying  a  cravat;  on  the  Art  of 
carving  meat." 

In  a  moment  he  had  named  such  a  prodigious  number  of 
books  that  the  author  felt  his  head  go  round. 

"These  myriads  of  books/'  says  he,  "have  been  devoured  by 
readers ;  and  while  everybody  does  not  build  a  house,  and  some 
grow  hungry,  and  others  have  no  cravat,  or  no  fire  to  warm 
themselves  at,  yet  everybody  to  some  degree  is  married.  But 
come  look  yonder." 

He  waved  his  hand,  and  appeared  to  bring  before  me  a  dis- 
tant ocean  where  all  the  books  of  the  world  were  tossing  up 
and  down  like  agitated  waves.  The  octodecimos  bounded  over 
the  surface  of  the  water.  The  octavos  as  they  were  flung  on 
their  way  uttered  a  solemn  sound,  sank  to  the  bottom,  and 
only  rose  up  again  with  great  difficulty,  hindered  as  they 
were  by  duodecimos  and  works  of  smaller  bulk  which  floated 
on  the  top  and  melted  into  light  foam.  The  furious  billows 
were  crowded  with  journalists,  proof-readers,  paper-makers, 
apprentices,  printers'  agents,  whose  hands  alone  were  seen 
mingled  in  confusion  among  the  books.  Millions  of  voices 
rang  in  the  air,  like  those  of  schoolboys  bathing.  Certain  men 
were  seen  moving  hither  and  thither  in  canoes,  engaged  in 
fishing  out  the  books,  and  landing  them  on  the  shore  in 
presence  of  a  tall  man,  of  a  disdainful  air,  dressed  in  black, 
and  of  a  cold,  unsympathetic  expression.  The  whole  scene 
represented  the  libraries  and  the  public.  The  demon  pointed 
out  with  his  finger  a  skiff  freshly  decked  out  with  all  sails  set 
and  instead  of  a  flag  bearing  a  placard.  Then  with  a  peal  of 
sardonic  laughter,  he  read  with  a  thundering  voice:  Physi- 
ology of  Marriage. 

The  author  fell  in  love,  the  devil  left  him  in  peace,  for  he 
would  have  undertaken  more  than  he  could  handle  if  he  had 
entered  an  apartment  occupied  by  a  woman.  Several  years 
passed  without  bringing  other  torments  than  those  of  love, 
and  the  author  was  inclined  to  believe  that  he  had  been  healed 
of  one  infirmity  by  means  of  another  which  took  its  place. 
But  one  evening  he  found  himself  in  a  Parisian  drawing-room 


INTRODUCTION  5 

where  one  of  the  men  among  the  circle  who  stood  round  the 
fireplace  began  the  conversation  by  relating  in  a  sepulchral 
voice  the  following  anecdote : 

A  peculiar  thing  took  place  at  Ghent  while  I  was  staying 
there.  A  lady  ten  years  a  widow  lay  on  her  bed  attacked  by 
mortal  sickness.  The  three  heirs  of  collateral  lineage  were 
waiting  for  her  last  sigh.  They  did  not  leave  her  side  for  fear 
that  she  would  make  a  will  in  favor  of  the  convent  of  Beguins 
belonging  to  the  town.  The  sick  woman  kept  silent,  she 
seemed  dozing  and  death  appeared  to  overspread  very  gradu- 
ally her  mute  and  livid  face.  Can't  you  imagine  those  three 
relations  seated  in  silence  through  that  winter  midnight  beside 
her  bed  ?  An  old  nurse  is  with  them  and  she  shakes  her  head, 
and  the  doctor  sees  with  anxiety  that  the  sickness  has  reached 
its  last  stage,  and  holds  his  hat  in  one  hand  and  with  the  other 
makes  a  sign  to  the  relations,  as  if  to  say  to  them :  "I  have 
no  more  visits  to  make  here."  Amid  the  solemn  silence  of 
the  room  is  heard  the  dull  rustling  of  a  snow-storm  which 
beats  upon  the  shutters.  For  fear  that  the  eyes  of  the  dying 
woman  might  be  dazzled  by  the  light,  the  youngest  of  the  heirs 
had  fitted  a  shade  to  the  candle  which  stood  near  the  bed  so 
that  the  circle  of  light  scarcely  reached  the  pillow  of  the  Death- 
bed, from  which  the  sallow  countenance  of  the  sick  woman 
stood  out  like  the  figure  of  Christ  imperfectly  gilded  and  fixed 
upon  a  cross  of  tarnished  silver.  The  flickering  rays  shed 
by  the  blue  flames  of  a  crackling  fire  were  therefore  the 
sole  light  of  this  sombre  chamber,  where  the  denouement 
of  a  drama  was  just  ending.  A  log  suddenly  rolled  from  the 
fire  onto  the  floor,  as  if  presaging  some  catastrophe.  At  the 
sound  of  it  the  sick  woman  quickly  rose  to  a  sitting  posture. 
She  opened  two  eyes,  clear  as  those  of  a  cat,  and  all  present 
eyed  her  in  astonishment.  She  saw  the  log  advance,  and 
before  any  one  could  check  an  unexpected  movement  which 
seemed  prompted  by  a  kind  of  delirium,  she  bounded  from 
her  bed,  seized  the  tongs  and  threw  the  coal  back  into  the 
fireplace.  The  nurse,  the  doctor,  the  relations  rushed  to  her 


6  INTRODUCTION 

assistance;  they  took  the  dying  woman  in  their  arms.  They 
put  her  back  in  bed;  she  laid  her  head  upon  her  pillow  and 
after  a  few  minutes  died,  keeping  her  eye  fixed  even  after 
her  death  upon  that  plank  in  the  floor  which  the  burning 
brand  had  touched.  Scarcely  had  the  Countess  Van  Ostroem 
expired  when  the  three  co-heirs  exchanged  looks  of  suspicion, 
and  thinking  no  more  about  their  aunt,  began  to  examine 
the  mysterious  floor.  As  they  were  Belgians  their  calcula- 
tions were  as  rapid  as  their  glances.  An  agreement  was  made 
by  three  words  uttered  in  a  low  voice  that  none  of  them 
should  leave  the  chamber.  A  servant  was  sent  to  fetch  a 
carpenter.  Their  collateral  hearts  beat  excitedly  as  they 
gathered  round  the  treasured  flooring,  and  watched  their 
young  apprentice  giving  the  first  blow  with  his  chisel.  The 
plank  was  cut  through. 

"My  aunt  made  a  sign,"  said  the  youngest  of  the  heirs. 

"No ;  it  was  merely  the  quivering  light  that  made  it  appear 
so,"  replied  the  eldest,  who  kept  one  eye  on  the  treasure  and 
the  other  on  the  corpse. 

The  afflicted  relations  discovered  exactly  on  the  spot  where 
the  brand  had  fallen  a  certain  object  artistically  enveloped  in 
a  mass  of  plaster. 

"Proceed,"  said  the  eldest  of  the  heirs. 

The  chisel  of  the  apprentice  then  brought  to  light  a  human 
head  and  some  odds  and  ends  of  clothing,  from  which  they 
recognized  the  count  whom  all  the  town  believed  to  have  died 
at  Java,  and  whose  loss  had  been  bitterly  deplored  by  his 
wife. 

The  narrator  of  this  old  story  was  a  tall  spare  man,  with 
light  eyes  and  brown  hair,  and  the  author  thought  he  saw 
in  him  a  vague  resemblance  to  the  demon  who  had  before  this 
tormented  him ;  but  the  stranger  did  not  show  the  cloven  foot. 
Suddenly  the  word  ADULTERY  sounded  in  the  ears  of  the 
author ;  and  this  word  like  a  bell  woke  up  in  his  imagination 
the  most  mournful  countenances  of  that  procession  which 
before  this  had  streamed  by  on  the  utterance  of  the  magic 


INTRODUCTION  7 

syllables.  From  that  evening  he  was  haunted  and  persecuted 
by  dreams  of  a  work  which  did  not  yet  exist ;  and  at  no  period 
of  his  life  was  the  author  assailed  with  such  delusive  notions 
about  the  fatal  subject  of  this  book.  But  he  bravely  resisted 
the  fiend,  although  the  latter  referred  the  most  unimportant 
incidents  of  life  to  this  unknown  work,  and  like  a  custom- 
house officer  set  his  stamp  of  mockery  upon  every  occurrence. 

Some  days  afterwards  the  author  found  himself  in  the  com- 
pany of  two  ladies.  The  first  of  them  had  been  one  of  the 
most  refined  and  the  most  intellectual  women  of  Napoleon's 
court.  In  his  day  she  occupied  a  lofty  social  position,  but 
the  sudden  appearance  of  the  Eestoration  caused  her  down- 
fall; she  became  a  recluse.  The  second,  who  was  young  and 
beautiful,  was  at  that  time  living  at  Paris  the  life  of  a  fash- 
ionable woman.  They  were  friends,  because,  the  one  being 
forty  and  the  other  twenty-two  years  old,  they  were  seldom 
rivals  on  the  same  field.  The  author  was  considered  quite 
insignificant  by  the  first  of  the  two  ladies,  and  since  the  other 
soon  discovered  this,  they  carried  on  in  his  presence  the  con- 
versation which  they  had  begun  in  a  frank  discussion  of  a 
woman's  lot. 

"Have  you  noticed,  dear,  that  women  in  general  bestow  their 
love  only  upon  a  fool  ?" 

"What  do  you  mean  by  that,  duchess?  And  how  can  you 
make  your  remark  fit  in  with  the  fact  that  they  have  an  aver- 
sion for  their  husbands  ?" 

"These  women  are  absolute  tyrants !"  said  the  author  to 
himself.  "Has  the  devil  again  turned  up  in  a  mob  cap?" 

"No,  dear,  I  am  not  joking,"  replied  the  duchess,  "and  I 
shudder  with  fear  for  myself  when  I  coolly  consider  people 
whom  I  have  known  in  other  times.  Wit  always  has  a  sparkle 
which  wounds  us,  and  the  man  who  has  much  of  it  makes  us 
fear  him  perhaps,  and  if  he  is  a  proud  man  he  will  be  capable 
of  jealousy,  and  is  not  therefore  to  our  taste.  In  fact,  we 
prefer  to  raise  a  man  to  our  own  height  rather  than  to  have 
to  climb  up  to  his.  Talent  has  great  successes  for  us  to  share 
in,  but  the  fool  affords  enjoyment  to  us ;  and  we  would  sooner 


8  INTRODUCTION 

hear  say  'that  is  a  very  handsome  man'  than  to  see  our  lover 
elected  to  the  Institute." 

"That's  enough,  duchess!  You  have  absolutely  startled 
me." 

And  the  young  coquette  began  to  describe  the  lovers  about 
whom  all  the  women  of  her  acquaintance  raved;  there  was 
not  a  single  man  of  intellect  among  them. 

"But  I  swear  by  my  virtue/'  she  said,  "their  husbands  are 
worth  more." 

"But  these  are  the  sort  of  people  they  choose  for  husbands," 
the  duchess  answered  gravely. 

"Tell  me,"  asked  the  author,  "is  the  disaster  which  threatens 
the  husband  in  France  quite  inevitable?" 

"It  is,"  replied  the  duchess,  with  a  smile;  "and  the  rage 
which  certain  women  breathe  out  against  those  of  their  sex, 
whose  unfortunate  happiness  it  is  to  entertain  a  passion, 
proves  what  a  burden  to  them  is  their  chastity.  If  it  were  not 
for  fear  of  the  devil,  one  would  be  Lais;  another  owes  her 
virtue  to  the  dryness  of  her  selfish  heart ;  a  third  to  the  silly 
behavior  of  her  first  lover ;  another  still — 

The  author  checked  this  outpour  of  revelation  by  confiding 
to  the  two  ladies  his  design  for  the  work  with  which  he  had 
been  haunted;  they  smiled  and  promised  him  their  assist- 
ance. The  youngest,  with  an  air  of  gaiety,  suggested  one  of 
the  first  chapters  of  the  undertaking,  by  saying  that  she  would 
take  upon  herself  to  prove  mathematically  that  women  who 
are  entirely  virtuous  were  creatures  of  reason. 

When  the  author  got  home  he  said  at  once  to  his  demon : 

"Come !    I  am  ready ;  let  us  sign  the  compact." 

But  the  demon  never  returned. 

If  the  author  has  written  here  the  biography  of  his  book 
he  has  not  acted  on  the  prompting  of  fatuity.  He  relates 
facts  which  may  furnish  material  for  the  history  of  human 
thought,  and  will  without  doubt  explain  the  work  itself.  It 
may  perhaps  be  important  to  certain  anatomists  of  thought 
to  be  told  that  the  soul  is  feminine.  Thus  although  the  author 
made  a  resolution  not  to  think  about  the  book  which  he  was 


INTRODUCTION  9 

forced  to  write,  the  book,  nevertheless,  was  completed.  One 
page  of  it  was  found  on  the  bed  of  a  sick  man,  another  on  the 
sofa  of  a  boudoir.  The  glances  of  women  when  they  turned 
in  the  mazes  of  a  waltz  flung  to  him  some  thoughts  >  a  gesture 
or  a  word  filled  his  disdainful  brain  with  others.  On  the  day 
when  he  said  to  himself,  "This  work,  which  haunts  me,  shall 
be  achieved,"  everything  vanished;  and  like  the  three  Bel- 
gians, he  drew  forth  a  skeleton  from  the  place  over  which  he 
had  bent  to  seize  a  treasure. 

A  mild,  pale  countenance  took  the  place  of  the  demon  who 
had  tempted  me;  it  wore  an  engaging  expression  of  kindli- 
ness; there  were  no  sharp  pointed  arrows  of  criticism  in  its 
lineaments.  It  seemed  to  deal  more  with  words  than  with 
ideas,  and  shrank  from  noise  and  clamor.  It  was  perhaps  the 
household  genius  of  the  honorable  deputies  who  sit  in  the 
centre  of  the  Chamber. 

''Wouldn't  it  be  better,"  it  said,  "to  let  things  be  as  they 
are?  Are  things  so  bad?  We  ought  to  believe  in  marriage 
as  we  believe  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul ;  and  you  are  cer- 
tainly not  making  a  book  to  advertise  the  happiness  of  mar- 
riage. You  will  surely  conclude  that  among  a  million  of 
Parisian  homes  happiness  is  the  exception.  You  will  find 
perhaps  that  there  are  many  husbands  disposed  to  abandon 
their  wives  to  you;  but  there  is  not  a  single  son  who  will 
abandon  his  mother.  Certain  people  who  are  hit  by  the 
views  which  you  put  forth  will  suspect  your  morals  and  will 
misrepresent  your  intentions.  In  a  word,  in  order  to  handle 
social  sores,  one  ought  to  be  a  king,  or  a  first  consul  at  least." 

Reason,  although  it  appeared  under  a  form  most  pleas- 
ing to  the  author,  was  not  listened  to ;  for  in  the  distance  Folly 
tossed  the  coxcomb  of  Panurge,  and  the  author  wished  to 
seize  it;  but,  when  he  tried  to  catch  it,  he  found  that  it  was 
as  heavy  as  the  club  of  Hercules.  Moreover,  the  cure  of 
Meudon  adorned  it  in  such  fashion  that  a  young  man  who 
was  less  pleased  with  producing  a  good  work  than  with  wear- 
ing fine  gloves  could  not  even  touch  it. 


10  INTRODUCTION 

"Is  our  work  completed?",  asked  the  younger  of  the  two 
feminine  assistants  of  the  author. 

"Alas !  madame,"  I  said,  "will  you  ever  requite  me  for  all 
the  hatreds  which  that  work  will  array  against  me?" 

She  waved  her  hand,  and  then  the  author  replied  to  her 
doubt  by  a  look  of  indifference. 

"What  do  you  mean  ?  Would  you  hesitate  ?  You  must  pub- 
lish it  without  fear.  In  the  present  day  we  accept  a  book 
more  because  it  is  in  fashion  than  because  it  has  anything 
in  it." 

Although  the  author  does  not  here  represent  himself  as 
anything  more  than  the  secretary  of  two  ladies,  he  has  in  com- 
piling their  observations  accomplished  a  double  task.  With 
regard  to  marriage  he  has  here  arranged  matters  which  repre- 
sent what  everybody  thinks  but  no  one  dares  to  say;  but  has 
he  not  also  exposed  himself  to  public  displeasure  by  express- 
ing the  mind  of  the  public?  Perhaps,  however,  the  eclecti- 
cism of  the  present  essay  will  save  it  from  condemnation.  All 
the  while  that  he  indulges  in  banter  the  author  has  attempted 
to  popularize  certain  ideas  which  are  particularly  consoling. 
He  has  almost  always  endeavored  to  lay  bare  the  hidden 
springs  which  move  the  human  soul.  While  undertaking  to 
defend  the  most  material  interests  of  man,  judging  them 
or  condemning  them,  he  will  perhaps  bring  to  light  many 
sources  of  intellectual  delight.  But  the  author  does  not  fool- 
ishly claim  always  to  put  forth  his  pleasantries  in  the  best 
of  taste;  he  has  merely  counted  upon  the  diversity  of  intel- 
lectual pursuits  in  expectation  of  receiving  as  much  blame  as 
approbation.  The  subject  of  his  work  was  so  serious  that  he 
is  constantly  launched  into  anecdote;  because  at  the  present 
day  anecdotes  are  the  vehicle  of  all  moral  teaching,  and  the 
anti-narcotic  of  every  work  of  literature.  In  literature,  analy- 
sis and  investigation  prevail,  and  the  wearying  of  the  reader 
increases  in  proportion  with  the  egotism  of  the  writer.  This 
is  one  of  the  greatest  misfortunes  that  can  befall  a  book,  and 
the  present  author  has  been  quite  aware  of  it.  He  has  there- 
fore so  arranged  the  topics  of  this  long  essay  as  to  afford  rest- 


INTRODUCTION  11 

ing  places  for  the  reader.  This  method  has  heen  successfully 
adopted  by  a  writer,  who  produced  on  the  subject  of  Taste 
a  work  somewhat  parallel  to  that  which  is  here  put  forth  on 
the  subject  of  Marriage.  From  the  former  the  present  writer 
may  be  permitted  to  borrow  a  few  words  in  order  to  express 
a  thought  which  he  shares  with  the  author  of  them.  This 
quotation  will  serve  as  an  expression  of  homage  to  his  pre- 
decessor, whose  success  has  been  so  swiftly  followed  by  his 
death : 

"When  I  write  and  speak  of  myself  in  the  singular,  this 
implies  a  confidential  talk  with  the  reader;  he  can  examine 
the  statement,  discuss  it,  doubt  and  even  ridicule  it ;  but  when 
I  arm  myself  with  the  formidable  WE,  I  become  a  professor 
and  demand  submission." — Brillat-Savarin,  Preface  to  the 
Physiology  of  Taste. 

DECEMBER  5,  1829. 


FIRST  PART. 
A  GENERAL  CONSIDERATION. 

We  will  declaim  against  stupid  laws  until  they  are  changed, 
and  in  the  meantime  blindly  submit  to  them. — Diderot,  Sup- 
plement  to  the  Voyage  of  Bougainville. 

MEDITATION  I. 

THE  SUBJECT. 

Physiology,  what  must  I  consider  your  meaning? 

Is  not  your  object  to  prove  that  marriage  unites  for  life 
two  beings  who  do  not  know  each  other  ? 

That  life  consists  in  passion,  and  that  no  passion  survives 
marriage  ? 

That  marriage  is  an  institution  necessary  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  society,  but  that  it  is  contrary  to  the  laws  of  nature? 

That  divorce,  this  admirable  release  from  the  misfortunes 
of  marriage,  should  with  one  voice  be  reinstated  ? 

That,  in  spite  of  all  its  inconveniences,  marriage  is  the 
foundation  on  which  property  is  based  ? 

That  it  furnishes  invaluable  pledges  for  the  security  of 
government  ? 

That  there  is  something  touching  in  the  association  of  two 
human  beings  for  the  purpose  of  supporting  the  pains  of  life  ? 

That  there  is  something  ridiculous  in  the  wish  that  one  and 
the  same  thoughts  should  control  two  wills  ? 

That  the  wife  is  treated  as  a  slave  ? 

That  there  has  never  been  a  marriage  entirely  happy? 

That  marriage  is  filled  with  crimes  and  that  the  known 
murders  are  not  the  worst  ? 

That  fidelity  is  impossible,  at  least  to  the  man? 

(13) 


14  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

That  an  investigation  if  it  could  be  undertaken  would  prove 
that  in  the  transmission  of  patrimonial  property  there  was 
more  risk  than  security  ? 

That  adultery  does  more  harm  than  marriage  does  good  ? 

That  infidelity  in  a  woman  may  be  traced  back  to  the  ear- 
liest ages  of  society,  and  that  marriage  still  survives  this  per- 
petuation of  treachery  ? 

That  the  laws  of  love  so  strongly  link  together  two  human 
beings  that  no  human  law  can  put  them  asunder  ? 

That  while  there  are  marriages  recorded  on  the  public 
registers,  there  are  others  over  which  nature  herself  has  pre- 
sided, and  they  have  been  dictated  either  by  the  mutual  mem- 
ory of  thought,  or  by  an  utter  difference  of  mental  disposition, 
or  by  corporeal  affinity  in  the  parties  named;  that  it  is  thus 
that  heaven  and  earth  are  constantly  at  variance? 

That  there  are  many  husbands  fine  in  figure  and  of  superior 
intellect  whose  wives  have  lovers  exceedingly  ugly,  insignifi- 
cant in  appearance  or  stupid  in  mind  ? 

All  these  questions  furnish  material  for  books;  but  the 
books  have  been  written  and  the  questions  are  constantly 
reappearing. 

Physiology,  what  must  I  take  you  to  mean  ? 

Do  you  reveal  new  principles?  Would  you  pretend  that  it 
is  the  right  thing  that  woman  should  be  made  common? 
Lycurgus  and  certain  Greek  peoples  as  well  as  Tartars  and 
savages  have  tried  this. 

Can  it  possibly  be  right  to  confine  women  ?  The  Ottomans 
once  did  so,  and  nowadays  they  give  them  their  liberty. 

Would  it  be  right  to  marry  young  women  without  provid- 
ing a  dowry  and  yet  exclude  them  from  the  right  of  suc- 
ceeding to  property?  Some  English  authors  and  some  moral- 
ists have  proved  that  this  with  the  admission  of  divorce  is  the 
surest  method  of  rendering  marriage  happy. 

Should  there  be  a  little  Hagar  in  each  marriage  establish- 
ment? There  is  no  need  to  pass  a  law  for  that.  The  pro- 
vision of  the  code  which  makes  an  unfaithful  wife  liable  to  a 
penalty  in  whatever  place  the  crime  be  committed,  and  that 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  15 

other  article  which  does  not  punish  the  erring  husband  unless 
his  concubine  dwells  beneath  the  conjugal  roof,  implicitly 
admits  the  existence  of  mistresses  in  the  city. 

Sanchez  has  written  a  dissertation  on  the  penal  cases  inci- 
dent to  marriage ;  he  has  even  argued  on  the  illegitimacy  and 
the  opportuneness  of  each  form  of  indulgence;  he  has  out- 
lined all  the  duties,  moral,  religious  and  corporeal,  of  the  mar- 
ried couple;  in  short  his  work  would  form  twelve  volumes  in 
octavo  if  the  huge  folio  entitled  De  Matrimonio  were  thus 
represented. 

Clouds  of  lawyers  have  flung  clouds  of  treatises  over  the 
legal  difficulties  which  are  born  of  marriage.  There  exist 
several  works  on  the  judicial  investigation  of  impotency. 

Legions  of  doctors  have  marshaled  their  legions  of  books  on 
the  subject  of  marriage  in  its  relation  to  medicine  and  sur- 
gery. 

In  the  nineteenth  century  the  Physiology  of  Marriage  is 
either  an  insignificant  compilation  or  the  work  of  a  fool  writ- 
ten for  other  fools;  old  priests  have  taken  their  balances  of 
gold  and  have  weighed  the  most  trifling  scruples  of  the  mar- 
riage consciences;  old  lawyers  have  put  on  their  spectacles 
and  have  distinguished  between  every  kind  of  married  trans- 
gression ;  old  doctors  have  seized  the  scalpel  and  drawn  it  over 
all  the  wounds  of  the  subject;  old  judges  have  mounted  to  the 
bench  and  have  decided  all  the  cases  of  marriage  dissolution ; 
whole  generations  have  passed  unuttered  cries  of  joy  or  of 
grief  on  the  subject,  each  age  has  cast  its  vote  into  the  urn; 
the  Holy  Spirit,  poets  and  writers  have  recounted  everything 
from  the  days  of  Eve  to  the  Trojan  war,  from  Helen  to 

(Madame  de  Maintenon,  from  the  mistress  of  Louis  XIV.  to 
the  woman  of  their  own  day. 
Physiology,  what  must  I  consider  your  meaning? 
Shall  I  say  that  you  intend  to  publish  pictures  more  or  less 
skillfully  drawn,  for  the  purpose  of  convincing  us  that  a  man 
marries : 

From  ambition — that  is  well  known; 
From  kindness,  in  order  to  deliver  a  girl  from  the  tyranny 
of  her  mother ; 


16  THE  PHYSIOLOGY-  OF  MARRIAGE 

From  rage,  in  order  to  disinherit  his  relations; 

From  scorn  of  a  faithless  mistress ; 

From  weariness  of  a  pleasant  bachelor  life ; 

From  folly,  for  each  man  always  commits  one; 

In  consequence  of  a  wager,  which  was  the  case  with  Lord 
Byron ; 

From  interest,  which  is  almost  always  the  case; 

From  youthf illness  on  leaving  college,  like  a  blockhead; 

From  ugliness, — fear  of  some  day  failing  to  secure  a  wife ; 

Through  Machiavelism,  in  order  to  be  the  heir  of  some  old 
woman  at  an  early  date; 

From  necessity,  in  order  to  secure  the  standing  to  our  son; 

From  obligation,  the  damsel  having  shown  herself  weak; 

From  passion,  in  order  to  become  more  surely  cured  of  it; 

On  account  of  a  quarrel,  in  order  to  put  an  end  to  a  lawsuit ; 

From  gratitude,  by  which  he  gives  more  than  he  has 
received ; 

From  goodness,  which  is  the  fate  of  doctrinaires ; 

From  the  condition  of  a  will  when  a  dead  uncle  attaches  his 
legacy  to  some  girl,  marriage  with  whom  is  the  condition  of 
succession ; 

From  custom,  in  imitation  of  his  ancestors ; 

From  old  age,  in  order  to  make  an  end  of  life ; 

From  yaiidi,  that  is  the  hour  of  going  to  bed  and  signifies 
amongst  the  Turks  all  bodily  needs ; 

From  religious  zeal,  like  the  Duke  of  Saint- Aignan,  who 
did  not  wish  to  commit  sin  ?* 

But  these  incidents  of  marriage  have  furnished  matter  for 
thirty  thousand  comedies  and  a  hundred  thousand  romances. 

Physiology,  for  the  third  and  last  time  I  ask  you — What 
is  your  meaning  ? 

So  far  everything  is  commonplace  as  the  pavement  of  the 
street,  familiar  as  a  crossway.  Marriage  is  better  known  than 
the  Barabbas  of  the  Passion.  All  the  ancient  ideas  which  it 
calls  to  light  permeate  literature  since  the  world  is  the  world, 
and  there  is  not  a  single  opinion  which  might  serve  to  the 

The  foregoing  queries  came  in  (untranslatable)  alphabet  otter  In  the 
nal.-J.  W.  M. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  17 

advantage  of  the  world,  nor  a  ridiculous  project  which  could 
not  find  an  author  to  write  it  up,  a  printer  to  print  it,  a  book- 
seller to  sell  it  and  a  reader  to  read  it. 

Allow  me  to  say  to  you  like  Rabelais,  who  is  in  every  sense 
our  master : 

"Gentlemen,  God  save  and  guard  you !  Where  are  you  ? 
I  cannot  see  you;  wait  until  I  put  on  my  spectacles.  Ah!  I 
see  you  now ;  you,  your  wives,  your  children.  Are  you  in  good 
health  ?  I  am  glad  to  hear  it." 

But  it  is  not  for  you  that  I  am  writing.  Since  you  have 
grown-up  children  that  ends  the  matter. 

Ah !  it  is  you,  illustrious  tipplers,  pampered  and  gouty, 
and  you,  tireless  pie-cutters,  favorites  who  come  dear;  day- 
long pantagruellists  who  keep  your  private  birds,  gay  and 
gallant,  and  who  go  to  tierce,  to  sexts,  to  nones,  and  also  to 
vespers  and  compline  and  never  tire  of  going. 

It  is  not  for  you  that  the  Physiology  of  Marriage  is  ad- 
dressed, for  you  are  not  married  and  may  you  never  be  married. 
You  herd  of  bigots,  snails,  hypocrites,  dotards,  lechers,  booted 
for  pilgrimage  to  Rome,  disguised  and  marked,  as  it  were,  to 
deceive  the  world.  Go  back,  you  scoundrels,  out  of  my  sight ! 
Gallows  birds  are  ye  all — now  in  the  devil's  name  will  you  not 
begone  ?  There  are  none  left  now  but  the  good  souls  who  love 
to  laugh;  not  the  snivelers  who  burst  into  tears  in  proee  or 
verse,  whatever  their  subject  be,  who  make  people  sick  with 
their  odes,  their  sonnets,  their  meditations;  none  of  these 
dreamers,  but  certain  old-fashioned  pantagruellists  who  don't 
think  twice  about  it  when  they  are  invited  to  join  a  banquet 
or  provoked  to  make  a  repartee,  who  can  take  pleasure  in  a 
book  like  Pease  and  Lard  with  commentary  of  Rabelais,  or  in 
the  one  entitled  The  Dignity  of  Breeches,  and  who  esteem 
highly  the  fair  books  of  high  degree,  a  quarry  hard  to  run 
down  and  redoubtable  to  wrestle  with. 

It  no  longer  does  to  laugh  at  a  government,  my  friend,  since 
it  has  invented  means  to  raise  fifteen  hundred  millions  by 
taxation.  High  ecclesiastics,  monks  and  nuns  are  no  longer 
so  rich  that  we  can  drink  with  them ;  but  let  St.  Michael  come, 


18  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

he  who  chased  the  devil  from  heaven,  and  we  shall  perhaps 
see  the  good  time  come  back  again !  There  is  only  one  thing 
in  France  at  the  present  moment  which  remains  a  laughing 
matter,  and  that  is  marriage.  Disciples  of  Panurge,  ye  are  the 
only  readers  I  desire.  You  know  how  seasonably  to  take  up 
and  lay  down  a  book,  how  to  get  the  most  pleasure  out  of  it, 
to  understand  the  hint  in  a  half  word — how  to  suck  nourish- 
ment from  a  marrow-bone. 

The  men  of  the  microscope  who  see  nothing  but  a  speck, 
the  census-mongers — have  they  reviewed  the  whole  matter? 
Have  they  pronounced  without  appeal  that  it  is  as  impossible 
to  write  a  book  on  marriage  as  to  make  new  again  a  broken 
pot? 

Yes,  master  fool.  If  you  begin  to  squeeze  the  marriage 
question  you  squirt  out  nothing  but  fun  for  the  bachelors  and 
weariness  for  the  married  men.  It  is  everlasting  morality. 
A  million  printed  pages  would  have  no  other  matter  in  them. 

In  spite  of  this,  here  is  my  first  proposition:  marriage  is  a 
fight  to  the  death,  before  which  the  wedded  couple  ask  a  bless- 
ing from  heaven,  because  it  is  the  rashest  of  all  undertakings 
to  swear  eternal  love;  the  fight  at  once  commences  and  vic- 
tory, that  is  to  say  liberty,  remains  in  the  hands  of  the  cleverer 
of  the  two. 

Undoubtedly.    But  do  you  see  in  this  a  fresh  idea? 

Well,  I  address  myself  to  the  married  men  of  yesterday  and 
of  to-day;  to  those  who  on  leaving  the  Church  or  the  regis- 
tration office  indulge  the  hope  of  keeping  their  wives  for  them- 
selves alone;  to  those  whom  some  form  or  other  of  egotism 
or  some  indefinable  sentiment  induces  to  say  when  they  see 
the  marital  troubles  of  another,  "This  will  never  happen  to 
me." 

I  address  myself  to  those  sailors  who  after  witnessing  the 
foundering  of  other  ships  still  put  to  sea;  to  those  bachelors 
who  after  witnessing  the  shipwreck  of  virtue  in  a  marriage 
of  another  venture  upon  wedlock.  And  this  is  my  subject, 
eternally  new,  yet  eternally  old ! 

A  young  man,  or  it  may  be  an  old  one,  in  love  or  not  in 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  19 

love,  has  obtained  possession  by  a  contract  duly  recorded  at  the 
registration  office  in  heaven  and  on  the  rolls  of  the  nation, 
of  a  young  girl  with  long  hair,  with  black  liquid  eyes,  with 
small  feet,  with  dainty  tapering  fingers,  with  red  lips,  with 
teeth  of  ivory,  finely  formed,  trembling  with  life,  tempting 
and  plump,  white  as  a  lily,  loaded  with  the  most  charming 
wealth  of  beauty.  Her  drooping  eyelashes  seem  like  the  points 
of  the  iron  crown ;  her  skin,  which  is  as  fresh  as  the  calyx  of 
a  white  camelia,  is  streaked  with  the  purple  of  the  red 
camelia;  over  her  virginal  complexion  one  seems  to  see  the 
bloom  of  young  fruit  and  the  delicate  down  of  a  young  peach ; 
the  azure  veins  spread  a  kindling  warmth  over  this  trans- 
parent surface;  she  asks  for  life  and  she  gives  it;  she  is  all 
joy  and  love,  all  tenderness  and  candor;  she  loves  her  husband, 
or  at  least  believes  she  loves  him. 

The  husband  who  is  in  love  says  in  the  bottom  of  his  heart : 
"Those  eyes  will  see  no  one  but  me,  that  mouth  will  tremble 
with  love  for  me  alone,  that  gentle  hand  will  lavish  the  caress- 
ing treasures  of  delight  on  me  alone,  that  bosom  will  heave 
at  no  voice  but  mine,  that  slumbering  soul  will  awake  at  my 
will  alone;  I  only  will  entangle  my  fingers  in  those  shining 
tresses ;  I  alone  will  indulge  myself  in  dreamily  caressing  that 
sensitive  head.  I  will  make  death  the  guardian  of  my  pillow 
if  only  I  may  ward  off  from  the  nuptial  couch  the  stranger 
who  would  violate  it;  that  throne  of  love  shall  swim  in  the 
blood  of  the  'rash  or  of  my  own.  Tranquillity,  honor,  happi- 
ness, the  ties  of  home,  the  fortune  of  my  children,  all  are  at 
stake  there ;  I  would  defend  them  as  a  lioness  defends  her  cubs. 
Woe  unto  him  who  shall  set  foot  in  my  lair !" 

Well  now,  courageous  athlete,  we  applaud  your  intention. 
Up  to  the  present  moment  no  geographer  has  ventured  to  trace 
the  lines  of  longitude  and  latitude  in  the  ocean  of  marriage. 
Old  husbands  have  been  ashamed  to  point  out  the  sand  banks, 
the  reefs,  the  shallows,  the  breakers,  the  monsoons,  the  coasts 
and  currents  which  have  wrecked  their  ships,  for  their  ship- 
wrecks brought  them  shame.  There  was  no  pilot,  no  compass 
for  those  pilgrims  of  marriage.  This  work  is  intended  to 
supply  the  desideratum. 


20  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

Without  mentioning  grocers 'and  drapers,  there  are  so  many 
people  occupied  in  discovering  the  secret  motives  of  women, 
that  it  is  really  a  work  of  charity  to  classify  for  them,  by 
chapter  and  verse,  all  the  secret  situations  of  marriage;  a 
good  table  of  contents  will  enable  them  to  put  their  finger  on 
each  movement  of  their  wives'  heart,  as  a  table  of  logarithms 
tells  them  the  product  of  a  given  multiplication. 

And  now  what  do  you  think  about  it  ?  Is  not  this  a  novel 
undertaking,  and  one  which  no  philosopher  has  as  yet 
approached,  I  mean  this  attempt  to  show  how  a  woman  may 
be  prevented  from  deceiving  her  husband?  Is  not  this  the 
comedy  of  comedies?  Is  it  not  a  second  speculum  vitae 
humanae?  We  are  not  now  dealing  with  the  abstract  ques- 
tions which  we  have  done  justice  to  already  in  this  Meditation. 
At  the  present  day  in  ethics  as  in  exact  science,  the  world 
asks  for  facts  for  the  results  of  observation.  These  we  shall 
furnish. 

Let  us  begin  then  by  examining  the  true  condition  of  things, 
by  analyzing  the  forces  which  exist  on  either  side.  Before 
arming  our  imaginary  champion  let  us  reckon  up  the  number 
of  his  enemies.  Let  us  count  the  Cossacks  who  intend  to 
invade  his  little  domain. 

All  who  wish  may  embark  with  us  on  this  voyage,  all  who 
can  may  laugh.  Weigh  anchor ;  hoist  sail !  You  know  exactly 
the  point  from  which  you  start.  You  have  this  advantage 
over  a  great  many  books  that  are  written. 

As  for  our  fancy  of  laughing  while  we  weep,  and  of  weep- 
ing while  we  laugh,  as  the  divine  Eabelais  drank  while  he  ate 
and  ate  while  he  drank ;  as  for  our  humor,  to  put  Heraclitus 
and  Democritus  on  the  same  page  and  to  discard  style  or  pre- 
meditated phrase — if  any  of  the  crew  mutiny,  overboard  with 
the  doting  cranks,  the  infamous  classicists,  the  dead  and 
buried  romanticists,  and  steer  for  the  blue  water ! 

Everybody  perhaps  will  jeeringly  remark  that  we  are  like 
those  who  say  with  smiling  faces,  "I  am  going  to  tell  you 
a  story  that  will  make  you  laugh  !"  But  it  is  the  proper  thing 
to  joke  when  speaking  of  marriage !  In  short,  can  you  not 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  21 

understand  that  we  consider  marriage  as  a  trifling  ailment  to 
which  all  of  us  are  subject  and  upon  which  this  volume  is  a 
monograph  ? 

"But  you,  your  bark  or  your  work  starts  off  like  those  pos- 
tilions who  crack  their  whips  because  their  passengers  are 
English.  You  will  not  have  galloped  at  full  speed  for  half 
a  league  before  you  dismount  to  mend  a  trace  or  to  breathe 
your  horses.  What  is  the  good  of  blowing  the  trumpet  before 
victory  ?" 

Ah !  my  dear  pantagruellists,  nowadays  to  claim  success 
is  to  obtain  it,  and  since,  after  all,  great  works  are  only  due 
to  the  expansion  of  little  ideas,  I  do  not  see  why  I  should  not 
pluck  the  laurels,  if  only  for  the  purpose  of  crowning  those 
dirty  bacon  faces  who  join  us  in  swallowing  a  dram.  One 
moment,  pilot,  let  us  not  start  without  making  one  little 
definition. 

Reader,  if  from  time  to  time  you  meet  in  this  work  the 
terms  virtue  or  virtuous,  let  us  understand  that  virtue  means 
a  certain  labored  facility  by  which  a  wife  keeps  her  heart 
for  her  husband;  at  any  rate,  that  the  word  is  not  used  in 
a  general  sense,  and  I  leave  this  distinction  to  the  natural 
sagacity  of  all. 


MEDITATION  II. 

MARRIAGE  STATISTICS. 

The  administration  has  been  occupied  for  nearly  twenty 
years  in  reckoning  how  many  acres  of  woodland,  meadow,  vine- 
yard and  fallow  are  comprised  in  the  area  of  France.  It  has 
not  stopped  there,  but  has  also  tried  to  learn  the  number  and 
species  of  the  animals  to  be  found  there.  Scientific  men  have 
gone  still  further;  they  have  reckoned  up  the  cords  of  wood, 
the  pounds  of  beef,  the  apples  and  eggs  consumed  in  Paris. 
But  no  one  has  yet  undertaken  either  in  the  name  of  marital 


22  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

honor  or  in  the  interest  of  marriageable  people,  or  for  the 
advantage  of  morality  and  the  progress  of  human  institu- 
tions, to  investigate  the  number  of  honest  wives.  What !  the 
French  government,  if  inquiry  is  made  of  it,  is  able  to  say 
how  many  men  it  has  under  arms,  how  many  spies,  how  many 
employes,  how  many  scholars ;  but,  when  it  is  asked  how  many 
virtuous  women,  it  can  answer  nothing !  If  the  King  of 
France  took  into  his  head  to  choose  his  august  partner  from 
among  his  subjects,  the  administration  could  not  even  tell  him 
the  number  of  white  lambs  from  whom  he  could  make  his 
choice.  It  would  be  obliged  to  resort  to  some  competition 
which  awards  the  rose  of  good  conduct,  and  that  would  be  a 
laughable  event. 

Were  the  ancients  then  our  masters  in  political  institu- 
tions as  in  morality?  History  teaches  us  that  Ahasuerus, 
when  he  wished  to  take  a  wife  from  among  the  damsels  of 
Persia,  chose  Esther,  the  most  virtuous  and  the  most  beautiful. 
His  ministers  therefore  must  necessarily  have  discovered  some 
method  of  obtaining  the  cream  of  the  population.  Unfortu- 
nately the  Bible,  which  is  so  clear  on  all  matrimonial  ques- 
tions, has  omitted  to  give  us  the  rule  for  matrimonial  choice. 

Let  us  try  to  supply  this  gap  in  the  work  of  the  administra- 
tion by  calculating  the  sum  of  the  female  sex  in  France. 
Here  we  call  the  attention  of  all  friends  to  public  morality, 
and  we  appoint  them  judges  of  our  method  of  procedure. 
We  shall  attempt  to  be  particularly  liberal  in  our  estimations, 
particularly  exact  in  our  reasoning,  in  order  that  every  one 
may  accept  the  result  of  this  analysis. 

The.  inhabitants  of  France  are  generally  reckoned  at  thirty 
millions. 

Certain  naturalists  think  that  the  number  of  women  exceeds 
that  of  men ;  but  as  many  statisticians  are  of  the  opposite 
opinion,  we  will  make  the  most  probable  calculation  by  allow- 
ing fifteen  millions  for  the  women. 

We  will  begin  by  cutting  down  this  sum  by  nine  millions, 
which  stands  for  those  who  seem  to  have  some  resemblance  to 
women,  but  whom  we  are  compelled  to  reject  upon  serious 
considerations. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  23 

Let  us  explain : 

Naturalists  consider  man  to  be  no  more  than  a  unique 
species  of  the  order  bimana,  established  by  Dumeril  in  his 
Analytic  Zoology,  page  16;  and  Bory  de  Saint  Vincent  thinks 
that  the  ourang-outang  ought  to  be  included  in  the  same  order 
if  we  would  make  the  species  complete. 

If  these  zoologists  see  in  us  nothing  more  than  a  mammal 
with  thirty-two  vertebra?  possessing  the  hyoid  bone  and  more 
folds  in  the  hemispheres  of  the  brain  than  any  other  animal ; 
if  in  their  opinion  no  other  differences  exist  in  this  order  than 
those  produced  by  the  influence  of  climate,  on  which  are 
founded  the  nomenclature  of  fifteen  species  whose  scientific 
names  it  is  needless  to  cite,  the  physiologists  ought  also  to 
have  the  right  of  making  species  and  sub-species  in  accord- 
ance with  definite  degrees  of  intelligence  and  definite  condi- 
tions of  existence,  moral  and  pecuniary. 

Now  the  nine  millions  of  human  creatures  which  we  here 
refer  to  present  at  first  sight  all  the  attributes  of  the  human 
race;  they  have  the  hyoid  bone,  the  coracoid  process,  the 
acromion,  the  zygomatic  arch.  It  is  therefore  permitted  for 
the  gentlemen  of  the  Jardin  des  Plantes  to  classify  them  with 
the  bimana ;  but  our  Physiology  will  never  admit  that  women 
are  to  be  found  among  them.  In  our  view,  and  in  the  view 
of  those  for  whom  this  book  is  intended,  a  woman  is  a  rare 
variety  of  the  human  race,  and  her  principal  characteristics 
are  due  to  the  special  care  men  have  bestowed  upon  its  cul- 
tivation,— thanks  to  the  power  of  money  and  the  moral  fervor 
of  civilization !  She  is  generally  recognized  by  the  whiteness, 
the  fineness  and  softness  of  her  skin.  Her  taste  inclines 
to  the  most  spotless  cleanliness.  Her  fingers  shrink  from 
encountering  anything  but  objects  which  are  soft,  yielding 
and  scented.  Like  the  ermine  she  sometimes  dies  for  grief 
on  seeing  her  white  tunic  soiled.  She  loves  to  twine  her 
tresses  and  to  make  them  exhale  the  most  attractive  scents; 
to  brush  her  rosy  nails,  to  trim  them  to  an  almond  shape,  and 
frequently  to  bathe  her  delicate  limbs.  She  is  not  satisfied  to 
spend  the  night  excepting  on  the  softest  down,  and  excepting 


24  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

on  hair-cushioned  lounges ;  she  loves  best  to  take  a  horizontal 
position.  Her  voice  is  of  penetrating  sweetness;  her  move- 
ments are  full  of  grace.  She  speaks  with  marvelous  fluency. 
She  does  not  apply  herself  to  any  hard  work;  and,  never- 
theless, in  spite  of  her  apparent  weakness,  there  are  burdens 
which  she  can  bear  and  move  with  miraculous  ease.  She 
avoids  the  open  sunlight  and  wards  it  off  by  ingenious  appli- 
ances. For  her  to  walk  is  exhausting.  Does  she  eat?  This 
is  a  mystery.  Has  she  the  needs  of  other  species?  It  is  a 
problem.  Although  she  is  curious  to  excess  she  allows  herself 
easily  to  be  caught  by  any  one  who  can  conceal  from  her  the 
slightest  thing,  and  her  intellect  leads  her  to  seek  incessantly 
after  the  unknown.  Love  is  her  religion;  she  thinks  how  to 
please  the  one  she  loves.  To  be  beloved  is  the  end  of  all  her 
actions;  to  excite  desire  is  the  motive  of  every  gesture.  She 
dreams  of  nothing  excepting  how  she  may  shine,  and  moves 
only  in  a  circle  filled  with  grace  and  elegance.  It  is  for  her 
the  Indian  girl  has  spun  the  soft  fleece  of  Thibet  goats,  Tarare 
weaves  its  airy  veils,  Brussels  sets  in  motion  those  shuttles 
which  speed  the  flaxen  thread  that  is  purest  and  most  fine, 
Bidjapour  wrenches  from  the  bowels  of  the  earth  its  sparkling 
pebbles,  and  the  Sevres  gilds  its  snow-white  clay.  Night  and 
day  she  reflects  upon  new  costumes  and  spends  her  life  in 
considering  dress  and  in  plaiting  her  apparel.  She  moves 
about  exhibiting  her  brightness  and  freshness  to  people  she 
does  not  know,  but  whose  homage  flatters  her,  while  the  desire 
she  excites  charms  her,  though  she  is  indifferent  to  those  who 
feel  it.  During  the  hours  which  she  spends  in  private,  in 
pleasure,  and  in  the  care  of  her  person,  she  amuses  herself 
by  caroling  the  sweetest  strains.  For  her  France  and  Italy 
ordain  delightful  concerts  and  Naples  imparts  to  the  strings 
of  the  violin  an  harmonious  soul.  This  species  is  in  fine  at 
once  the  queen  of  the  world  and  the  slave  of  passion.  She 
dreads  marriage  because  it  ends  by  spoiling  her  figure,  but 
she  surrenders  herself  to  it  because  it  promises  happiness.  If 
she  bears  children  it  is  by  pure  chance,  and  when  they  are 
grown  up  she  tries  to  conceal  them. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  25 

These  characteristics  taken  at  random  from  among  a  thou- 
eand  others  are  not  found  amongst  those  beings  whose  hands 
are  as  black  as  those  of  apes  and  their  skin  tanned  like  the 
ancient  parchments  of  an  olim;  whose  complexion  is  burnt 
brown  by  the  sun  and  whose  neck  is  wrinkled  like  that  of  a 
turkey;  who  are  covered  with  rags;  whose  voice  is  hoarse; 
whose  intelligence  is  nil;  who  think  of  nothing  but  the  bread 
box,  and  who  are  incessantly  bowed  in  toil  towards  the  ground ; 
who  dig;  who  harrow;  who  make  hay,  glean,  gather  in  the 
harvest,  knead  the  bread  and  strip  hemp;  who,  huddled 
among  domestic  beasts,  infants  and  men,  dwell  in  holes  and 
dens  scarcely  covered  with  thatch;  to  whom  it  is  of  little 
importance  from  what  source  children  rain  down  into  their 
homes.  Their  work  it  is  to  produce  many  and  to  deliver  them 
to  misery  and  toil,  and  if  their  love  is  not  like  their  labor  in 
the  fields  it  is  at  least  as  much  a  work  of  chance. 

Alas !  if  there  are  throughout  the  world  multitudes  of 
trades-women  who  sit  all  day  long  between  the  cradle  and  the 
sugar-cask,  farmers7  wives  and  daughters  who  milk  the  cows, 
unfortunate  women  who  are  employed  like  beasts  of  burden  in 
the  manufactories,  who  all  day  long  carry  the  loaded  basket, 
the  hoe  and  the  fish-crate,  if  unfortunately  there  exist  these 
common  human  beings  to  whom  the  life  of  the  soul,  the  bene- 
fits of  education,  the  delicious  tempests  of  the  heart  are  an 
unattainable  heaven;  and  if  Nature  has  decreed  that  they 
should  have  coracoid  processes  and  hyoid  bones  and  thirty-two 
vertebrae,  let  them  remain  for  the  physiologist  classed  with  the 
ourang-outang.  And  here  we  make  no  stipulations  for  the 
leisure  class;  for  those  who  have  the  time  and  the  sense  to 
fall  in  love;  for  the  rich  who  have  purchased  the  right  of 
indulging  their  passions;  for  the  intellectual  who  have  con- 
quered a  monopoly  of  fads.  Anathema  on  all  those  who  do 
not  live  by  thought.  We  say  Eaca  and  fool  to  all  those  who 
are  not  ardent,  young,  beautiful  and  passionate.  This  is  the 
public  expression  of  that  secret  sentiment  entertained  by 
philanthropists  who  have  learned  to  read  and  can  keep  their 
own  carriage.  Among  the  nine  millions  of  the  proscribed, 


26  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

the  tax-gatherer,  the  magistrate,  the  law-maker  and  the  priest 
doubtless  see  living  souls  who  are  to  be  ruled  and  made  sub- 
ject to  the  administration  of  justice.  But  the  man  of  senti- 
ment, the  philosopher  of  the  boudoir,  while  he  eats  his  fine 
bread,  made  of  corn,  sown  and  harvested  by  these  creatures, 
will  reject  them  and  relegate  them,  as  we  do,  to  a  place  outside 
the  genus  Woman.  For  them,  there  are  no  women  excepting 
those  who  can  inspire  love;  and  there  is  no  living  being  but 
the  creature  invested  with  the  priesthood  of  thought,  by  means 
of  a  privileged  education,  and  with  whom  leisure  has  devel- 
oped the  power  of  imagination ;  in  other  words  that  only  is  a 
human  being  whose  soul  dreams,  in  love,  either  of  intellectual 
enjoyments  or  of  physical  delights. 

We  would,  however,  make  the  remark  that  these  nine  mil- 
lion female  pariahs  produce  here  and  there  a  thousand  peasant 
girls  who  from  peculiar  circumstances  are  as  fair  as  Cupids; 
they  come  to  Paris  or  to  the  great  cities  and  end  by  attaining 
the  rank  of  femmes  comme  il  faut;  but  to  set  off  against  these 
two  or  three  thousand  favored  creatures,  there  are  one  hundred 
thousand  others  who  remain  servants  or  abandon  themselves 
to  frightful  irregularities.  Nevertheless,  we  are  obliged  to 
count  these  Pompadours  of  the  village  among  the  feminine 
population. 

Our  first  calculation  is  based  upon  the  statistical  discovery 
that  in  France  there  are  eighteen  millions  of  the  poor,  ten 
millions  of  people  in  easy  circumstances  and  two  millions  of 
the  rich. 

There  exist,  therefore,  in  France  only  six  millions  of  women 
in  whom  men  of  sentiment  are  now  interested,  have  been 
interested,  or  will  be  interested. 

Let  us  subject  this  social  elite  to  a  philosophic  examination. 

We  think,  without  fear  of  being  deceived,  that  married 
people  who  have  lived  twenty  years  together  may  sleep  in 
peace  without  fear  of  having  their  love  trespassed  upon  or  of 
incurring  the  scandal  of  a  lawsuit  for  criminal  conversation. 

From  these  six  millions  of  individuals  we  must  subtract 
about  two  millions  of  women  who  are  extremely  attractive, 


27 

because  for  the  last  forty  years  they  have  seen  the  world ;  but 
since  they  have  not  the  power  to  make  any  one  fall  in  love  with 
them,  they  are  on  the  outside  of  the  discussion  now  before  us. 
If  they  are  unhappy  enough  to  receive  no  attention  for  the 
sake  of  their  amiability,  they  are  soon  seized  with  ennui ;  they 
fall  back  upon  religion,  upon  the  cultivation  of  pets,  cats, 
lap-dogs,  and  other  fancies  which  are  no  more  offensive  than 
their  devoutness. 

The  calculations  made  at  the  Bureau  of  Longitudes  concern- 
ing population  authorize  us  again  to  subtract  from  the  total 
mentioned  two  millions  of  young  girls,  pretty  enough  to  kill ; 
they  are  at  present  in  the  A  B  C  of  life  and  innocently  play 
with  other  children,  without  dreading  that  these  little  hobble- 
dehoys, who  now  make  them  laugh,  will  one  day  make  them 
weep. 

Again,  of  the  two  millions  of  the  remaining  women,  what 
reasonable  man  would  not  throw  out  a  hundred  thousand  poor 
girls,  humpbacked,  plain,  cross-grained,  rickety,  sickly,  blind, 
crippled  in  some  way,  well  educated  but  penniless,  all  bound 
to  be  spinsters,  and  by  no  means  tempted  to  violate  the  sacred 
laws  of  marriage  ? 

Nor  must  we  retain  the  one  hundred  thousand  other  girls 
who  become  sisters  of  St.  Camille,  Sisters  of  Charity,  monas- 
tics, teachers,  ladies'  companions,  etc.  And  we  must  put  into 
this  blessed  company  a  number  of  young  people  difficult  to 
estimate,  who  are  too  grown  up  to  play  with  little  boys  and 
yet  too  young  to  sport  their  wreath  of  orange  blossoms. 

Finally,  of  the  fifteen  million  subjects  which  remain  at  the 
bottom  of  our  crucible  we  must  eliminate  five  hundred  thou- 
sand other  individuals,  to  be  reckoned  as  daughters  of  Baal, 
who  subserve  the  appetites  of  the  base.  We  must  even  com- 
prise among  these,  without  fear  that  they  will  be  corrupted 
by  their  company,  the  kept  women,  the  milliners,  the  shop 
girls,  saleswomen,  actresses,  singers,  the  girls  of  the  opera 
the  ballet-dancers,  upper  servants,  chambermaids,  etc.  Most 
of  these  creatures  excite  the  passions  of  many  people,  but  they 
would  consider  it  immodest  to  inform  a  lawyer,  a  mayor,  an 


28  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

ecclesiastic  or  a  laughing  world  of  the  day  and  hour  when  they 
surrendered  to  a  lover.  Their  system,  justly  blamed  by  an 
inquisitive  world,  has  the  advantage  of  laying  upon  them  no 
obligations  towards  men  in  general,  towards  the  mayor  or  the 
magistracy.  As  these  women  do  not  violate  any  oath  made 
in  public,  they  have  no  connection  whatever  with  a  work 
which  treats  exclusively  of  lawful  marriage. 

Some  one  will  say  that  the  claims  made  by  this  essay  are 
very  slight,  but  its  limitations  make  just  compensation  for 
those  which  amateurs  consider  excessively  padded.  If  any 
one,  through  love  for  a  wealthy  dowager,  wishes  to  obtain 
admittance  for  her  into  the  remaining  million,  he  must  clas- 
sify her  under  the  head  of  Sisters  of  Charity,  ballet-dancers, 
or  hunchbacks ;  in  fact  we  have  not  taken  more  than  five  hun- 
dred thousand  individuals  in  forming  this  last  class,  because 
it  often  happens,  as  we  have  seen  above,  that  the  nine  millions 
of  peasant  girls  make  a  large  accession  to  it.  We  have  for 
the  same  reason  omitted  the  working-girl  class  and  the  huck- 
sters; the  women  of  these  two  sections  are  the  product  of 
efforts  made  by  nine  millions  of  female  bimana  to  rise  to  the 
higher  civilization.  But  for  its  scrupulous  exactitude  many 
persons  might  regard  this  statistical  meditation  as  a  mere 
joke. 

We  have  felt  very  much  inclined  to  form  a  small  class  of 
a  hundred  thousand  individuals  as  a  crowning  cabinet  of  the 
species,  to.  serve  as  a  place  of  shelter  for  women  who  have 
fallen  into  a  middle  estate,  like  widows,  for  instance;  but  we 
have  preferred  to  estimate  in  round  figures. 

It  would  be  easy  to  prove  the  fairness  of  our  analysis :  let 
one  reflection  be  sufficient. 

The  life  of  a  woman  is  divided  into  three  periods,  very  dis- 
tinct from  each  other:  the  first  begins  in  the  cradle  and  ends 
on  the  attainment  of  a  marriageable  age ;  the  second  embraces 
the  time  during  which  a  woman  belongs  to  marriage ;  the  third 
opens  with  the  critical  period,  the  ending  with  which  nature 
closes  the  passions  of  life.  These  three  spheres  of  existence, 
being  almost  equal  in  duration,  might  be  employed  for  the 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  29 

classification  into  equal  groups  of  a  given  number  of  women. 
Thus  in  a  mass  of  six  millions,  omitting  fractions,  there  are 
about  two  million  girls  between  one  and  eighteen,  two  million 
women  between  eighteen  and  forty  and  two  millions  of  old 
women.  The  caprices  of  society  have  divided  the  two  millions 
of  marriageable  women  into  three  main  classes,  namely :  those 
who  remain  spinsters  for  reasons  which  we  have  defined ;  those 
whose  virtue  does  not  reckon  in  the  obtaining  of  husbands, 
and  the  million  of  women  lawfully  married,  with  whom  we 
have  to  deal. 

You  see  then,  by  this  exact  sifting  out  of  the  feminine 
population,  that  there  exists  in  France  a  little  flock  of  barely 
a  million  white  lambs,  a  privileged  fold  into  which  every  wolf 
is  anxious  to  enter. 

Let  us  put  this  million  of  women,  already  winnowed  by  our 
fan,  through  another  examination. 

To  arrive  at  the  true  idea  of  the  degree  of  confidence  which 
a  man  ought  to  have  in  his  wife,  let  us  suppose  for  a  moment 
that  all  wive's  will  deceive  their  husbands. 

On  this  hypothesis,  it  will  be  proper  to  cut  out  about  one- 
twentieth,  viz.,  young  people  who  are  newly  married  and  who 
will  be  faithful  to  their  vows  for  a  certain  time. 

Another  twentieth  will  be  in  ill-health.  This  will  be  to 
make  a  very  modest  allowance  for  human  infirmities. 

Certain  passions,  which  we  are  told  destroy  the  dominion  of 
the  man  over  the  heart  of  his  wife,  namely,  aversion,  grief, 
the  bearing  of  children,  will  account  for  another  twentieth. 

Adultery  does  not  establish  itself  in  the  heart  of  a  married 
woman  with  the  promptness  of  a  pistol-shot.  Even  when  sym- 
pathy with  another  rouses  feelings  on  first  sight,  a  struggle 
always  takes  place,  whose  duration  discounts  the  total  sum  of 
conjugal  infidelities.  It  would  be  an  insult  to  French  mod- 
esty not  to  admit  the  duration  of  this  struggle  in  a  country 
so  naturally  combative,  without  referring  to  at  least  a  twen- 
tieth in  the  total  of  married  women;  but  then  we  will  sup- 
pose that  there  are  certain  sickly  women  who  preserve  their 
lovers  while  they  are  using  soothing  draughts,  and  that  there 


30  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

are  certain  wives  whose  confinement  makes  sarcastic  celibates 
smile.  In  this  way  we  shall  vindicate  the  modesty  of  those 
who  enter  upon  the  struggle  from  motives  of  virtue.  For  the 
same  reason  we  should  not  venture  to  believe  that  a  woman 
forsaken  by  her  lover  will  find  a  new  one  on  the  spot;  but 
this  discount  being  much  more  uncertain  than  the  preceding 
one,  we  will  estimate  it  at  one-fortieth. 

These  several  rebates  will  reduce  our  sum  total  to  eight  hun- 
dred thousand  women,  when  we  come  to  calculate  the  number 
of  those  who  are  likely  to  violate  married  faith.  Who  would 
not  at  the  present  moment  wish  to  retain  the  persuasion  that 
wives  are  virtuous  ?  Are  they  not  the  supreme  flower  of  the 
country  ?  Are  they  not  all  blooming  creatures,  fascinating  the 
world  by  their  beauty,  their  youth,  their  life  and  their  love? 
To  believe  in  their  virtue  is  a  sort  of  social  religion,  for  they 
are  the  ornament  of  the  world,  and  form  the  chief  glory  of 
France. 

It  is  in  the  midst  of  this  million  we  are  bound  to  inves- 
tigate: 

The  number  of  honest  women ; 

The  number  of  virtuous  women. 

The  work  of  investigating  this  and  of  arranging  the  results 
under  two  categories  requires  whole  meditations,  which  may 
serve  as  an  appendix  to  the  present  one. 


MEDITATION  III. 
OF  THE  HONEST  WOMAN. 

The  preceding  meditation  has  proved  that  we  possess  in 
France  a  floating  population  of  one  million  women  reveling  in 
the  privilege  of  inspiring  those  passions  which  a  gallant  man 
avows  without  shame,  or  dissembles  with  delight.  It  is  then 
among  this  million  of  women  that  we  must  carry  our  lantern 
of  Diogenes  in  order  to  discover  the  honest  women  of  the 
land. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  31 

This  inquiry  suggests  certain  digressions. 

Two  young  people,  well  dressed,  whose  slender  figures  and 
rounded  arms  suggest  a  paver's  tool,  and  whose  boots  are 
elegantly  made,  meet  one  morning  on  the  boulevard,  at  the 
end  of  the  Passage  des  Panoramas. 

"What,  is  this  you  ?" 

"Yes,  dear  boy ;  it  looks  like  me,  doesn't  it  ?" 

Then  they  laugh,  with  more  or  less  intelligence,  according 
to  the  nature  of  the  joke  which  opens  the  conversation. 

When  they  have  examined  each  other  with  the  sly  curiosity 
of  a  police  officer  on  the  lookout  for  a  clew,  when  they  are  quite 
convinced  of  the  newness  of  each  other's  gloves,  of  each  other's 
waistcoat  and  of  the  taste  with  which  their  cravats  are  tied; 
when  they  are  pretty  certain  that  neither  of  them  is  down  in 
the  world,  they  link  arms  and  if  they  start  from  the  Theatre 
des  Varietes,  they  have  not  reached  Frascati's  before  they  have 
asked  each  other  a  roundabout  question  whose  free  transla- 
tion may  be  this: 

"Whom  are  you  living  with  now?" 

As  a  general  rule  she  is  a  charming  woman. 

Who  is  the  infantryman  of  Paris  into  whose  ear  there  have 
not  dropped,  like  bullets  in  the  day  of  battle,  thousands  of 
words  uttered  by  the  passer-by,  and  who  has  not  caught  one  of 
those  numberless  sayings  which,  according  to  Rabelais,  hang 
frozen  in  the  air?  But  the  majority  of  men  take  their  way 
through  Paris  in  the  same  manner  as  they  live  and  eat,  that 
is,  without  thinking  about  it.  There  are  very  few  skillful 
musicians,  very  few  practiced  physiognomists  who  can  recog- 
nize the  key  in  which  these  vagrant  notes  are  set,  the  passion 
that  prompts  these  floating  words.  Ah  !  to  wander  over  Paris ! 
What  an  adorable  and  delightful  existence  is  that!  To 
saunter  is  a  science;  it  is  the  gastronomy  of  the  eye.  To  take 
a  walk  is  to  vegetate;  to  saunter  is  to  live.  The  young  and 
pretty  women,  long  contemplated  with  ardent  eyes,  would  be 
much  more  admissible  in  claiming  a  salary  than  the  cook  who 
asks  for  twenty  sous  from  the  Limousin  whose  nose  with 
inflated  nostrils  took  in  the  perfumes  of  beauty.  To  saunter 


32  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

is  to  enjoy  life;  it  is  to  indulge  the  flight  of  fancy;  it 
is  to  enjoy  the  sublime  pictures  of  misery,  of  love,  of  joy, 
of  gracious  or  grotesque  physiognomies;  it  is  to  pierce  with 
a  glance  the  abysses  of  a  thousand  existences;  for  the  young 
it  is  to  desire  all,  and  to  possess  all;  for  the  old  it  is  to  live 
the  life  of  the  youthful,  and  to  share  their  passions.  Now 
how  many  answers  have  not  the  sauntering  artists  heard  to  the 
categorical  question  which  is  always  with  us  ? 

"She  is  thirty-five  years  old,  but  you  would  not  think  she 
was  more  than  twenty  !"  said  an  enthusiastic  youth  with  spark- 
ling eyes,  who,  freshly  liberated  from  college,  would,  like 
Cherubin,  embrace  all. 

"Zounds !  mine  has  dressing-gowns  of  batiste  and  diamond 
rings  for  the  evening !"  said  a  lawyer's  clerk. 

"But  she  has  a  box  at  the  Frangais!"  said  an  army  officer. 

"At  any  rate,"  cried  another  one,  an  elderly  man  who  spoke 
as  if  he  were  standing  on  the  defence,  "she  does  not  cost  me 
a  sou!  In  our  case — wouldn't  you  like  to  have  the  same 
chance,  my  respected  friend?" 

And  he  patted  his  companion  lightly  on  the  shoulder. 

"Oh !  she  loves  me !"  said  another.  "It  seems  too  good  to  be 
true;  but  she  has  the  most  stupid  of  husbands !  Ah  ! — Buff  on 
has  admirably  described  the  animals,  but  the  biped  called  hus- 
band—" 

What  a  pleasant  thing  for  a  married  man  to  hear ! 

"Oh !  what  an  angel  you  are,  my  dear !"  is  the  answer  to  a 
request  discreetly  whispered  into  the  ear. 

"Can  you  tell  me  her  name  or  point  her  out  to  me  ?" 

"Oh !  no ;  she  is  an  honest  woman." 

When  a  student  is  loved  by  a  waitress,  he  mentions  her  name 
with  pride  and  takes  his  friends  to  lunch  at  her  house.  If  a 
young  man  loves  a  woman  whose  husband  is  engaged  in  some 
trade  dealing  with  articles  of  necessity,  he  will  answer,  blush- 
ingly,  "She  is  the  wife  of  a  haberdasher,  of  a  stationer,  of  a 
hatter,  of  a  linen-draper,  of  a  clerk,  etc." 

But  this  confession  of  love  for  an  inferior  which  buds  and 
blows  in  the  midst  of  packages,  loaves  of  sugar,  or  flannel 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  33 

waistcoats  is  always  accompanied  with  an  exaggerated  praise 
of  the  lady's  fortune.  The  husband  alone  is  engaged  in  the 
business;  he  is  rich;  he  has  fine  furniture.  The  loved  one 
comes  to  her  lover's  house;  she  wears  a  cashmere  shawl;  she 
owns  a  country  house,  etc. 

In  short,  a  young  man  is  never  wanting  in  excellent  argu- 
ments to  prove  that  his  mistress  is  very  nearly,  if  not  quite,  an 
^honest  woman.  This  distinction  originates  in  the  refinement 
of  our  manners  and  has  become  as  indefinite  as  the  line  which 
separates  bon  ton  from  vulgarity.  What  then  is  meant  by 
an  honest  woman? 

On  this  point  the  vanity  of  women,  of  their  lovers,  and  even 
that  of  their  husbands,  is  so  sensitive  that  we  had  better  here 
settle  upon  some  general  rules,  which  are  the  result  of  long 
observation. 

Our  one  million  of  privileged  women  represent  a  multitude 
who  are  eligible  for  the  glorious  title  of  honest  women,  but  by 
no  means  all  are  elected  to  it.  The  principles  on  which  these 
elections  are  based  may  be  found  in  the  following  axioms : 


APHOEISMS. 

I. 

An  honest  woman  is  necessarily  a  married  woman. 

II. 

An  honest  woman  is  under  forty  years  old. 

III. 

A  married  woman  whose  favors  are  to  be  paid  for  is  not  an 
honest  woman. 

IV. 

A  married  woman  who  keeps  a  private  carriage  is  an  honest 
woman. 


34  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

V. 

A  woman  who  does  her  own  cooking  is  not  an  honest  woman. 

VI. 

When  a  man  has  made  enough  to  yield  an  income  of  twenty 
thousand  francs,  his  wife  is  an  honest  woman,  whatever  the 
business  in  which  his  fortune  was  made. 

VII. 

A  woman  who  says  "letter  of  change"  for  letter  of  exchange, 
who  says  of  a  man,  "He  is  an  elegant  gentleman,"  can  never 
be  an  honest  woman,  whatever  fortune  she  possesses. 

VIII. 

An  honest  woman  ought  to  be  in  a  financial  condition  such 
as  forbids  her  lover  to  think  she  will  ever  cost  him  anything. 

IX. 

A  woman  who  lives  on  the  third  story  of  any  street  except- 
ing Rue  de  Rivoli  and  Rue  de  Castiglione  is  not  an  honest 
woman. 

X. 

The  wife  of  a  banker  is  always  an  honest  woman,  but  the 
woman  who  sits  at  the  cashier's  desk  cannot  be  one,  unless  her 
husband  has  a  very  large  business  and  she  does  not  live  over 
his  shop. 

XI. 

The  unmarried  niece  of  a  bishop  when  she  lives  with  him 
can  pass  for  an  honest  woman,  because  if  she  has  an  intrigue 
she  has  to  deceive  her  uncle. 

XII. 

An  honest  woman  is  one  whom  her  lover  fears  to  compro- 
mise. 

XIII. 
The  wife  of  an  artist  is  always  an  honest  woman. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  35 

By  the  application  of  these  principles  even  a  man  from 
Ardeche  can  resolve  all  the  difficulties  which  our  subject  pre- 
sents. 

In  order  that  a  woman  may  be  able  to  keep  a  cook,  may  be 
finely  educated,  may  possess  the  sentiment  of  coquetry,  may 
have  the  right  to  pass  whole  hours  in  her  boudoir  lying  on  a 
sofa,  and  may  live  a  life  of  soul,  she  must  have  at  least  six 
thousand  francs  a  year  if  she  lives  in  the  country,  and  twenty 
thousand  if  she  lives  at  Paris.  These  two  financial  limits 
will  suggest  to  you  how  many  honest  women  are  to  be  reckoned 
on  in  the  million,  for  they  are  really  the  mere  product  of 
our  statistical  calculations. 

Now  three  hundred  thousand  independent  people,  with  an 
income  of  fifteen  thousand  francs,  represent  the  sum  total  of 
those  who  live  on  pensions,  on  annuities  and  the  interest  of 
treasury  bonds  and  mortgages. 

Three  hundred  thousand  landed  proprietors  enjoy  an  income 
of  three  thousand  five  hundred  francs  and  represent  all  terri- 
torial wealth. 

Two  hundred  thousand  payees,  at  the  rate  of  fifteen  hun- 
dred francs  each,  represent  the  distribution  of  public  funds 
by  the  state  budget,  by  the  budgets  of  the  cities  and  depart- 
ments, less  the  national  debt,  church  funds  and  soldier's  pay, 
(i.  e.,  five  sous  a  day  with  allowances  for  washing,  weapons, 
victuals,  clothes,  etc.). 

Two  hundred  thousand  fortunes  amassed  in  commerce,  reck- 
oning the  capital  at  twenty  thousand  francs  in  each  case,  rep- 
resent all  the  commercial  establishments  possible  in  France. 

Here  we  have  a  million  husbands  represented. 

But  at  what  figure  shall  we  count  those  who  have  an  income 
of  fifty,  of  a  hundred,  of  two,  three,  four,  five,  and  six  hun- 
dred francs  only,  from  consols  or  some  other  investment  ? 

How  many  landed  proprietors  are  there  who  pay  taxes 
amounting  to  no  more  than  a  hundred  sous,  twenty  francs,  one 
hundred  francs,  two  hundred,  or  two  hundred  and  eighty? 

At  what  number  shall  we  reckon  those  of  the  governmental 
leeches,  who  are  merely  quill-drivers  with  a  salary  of  six  hun- 
dred francs  a  year  ? 


36  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

How  many  merchants  who  have  nothing  but  a  fictitious 
capital  shall  we  admit?  These  men  are  rich  in  credit  and 
have  not  a  single  actual  sou,  and  resemble  the  sieves  through 
which  Pactolus  flows.  And  how  many  brokers  whose  real 
capital  does  not  amount  to  more  than  a  thousand,  two  thou- 
sand, four  thousand,  five  thousand  francs  ?  Business  ! — my 
respects  to  you ! 

Let  us  suppose  more  people  to  be  fortunate  than  actually 
are  so.  Let  us  divide  this  million  into  parts;  five  hun- 
dred thousand  domestic  establishments  will  have  an  income 
ranging  from  a  hundred  to  three  thousand  francs,  and  five 
hundred  thousand  women  will  fulfill  the  conditions  which 
entitle  them  to  be  called  honest  women. 

After  these  observations,  which  close  our  meditation  on  sta- 
tistics, we  are  entitled  to  cut  out  of  this  number  one  hundred 
thousand  individuals;  consequently  we  can  consider  it  to  be 
proven  mathematically  that  there  exist  in  France  no  more 
than  four  hundred  thousand  women  who  can  furnish  to  men 
of  refinement  the  exquisite  and  exalted  enjoyments  which  they 
look  for  in  love. 

And  here  it  is  fitting  to  make  a  remark  to  the  adepts  for 
whom  we  write,  that  love  does  not  consist  in  a  series  of  eager 
conversations,  of  nights  of  pleasure,  of  an  occasional  caress 
more  or  less  well-timed  and  a  spark  of  amour-propre  baptized 
by  the  name  of  jealousy.  Our  four  hundred  thousand  women 
are  not  of  those  concerning  whom  it  may  be  said,  "The  most 
beautiful  girl  in  the  world  can  give  only  what  she  has."  No, 
they  are  richly  endowed  with  treasures  which  appeal  to  our 
ardent  imaginations,  they  know  how  to  sell  dear  that  which 
they  do  not  possess,  in  order  to  compensate  for  the  vulgarity 
of  that  which  they  give. 

Do  we  feel  more  pleasure  in  kissing  the  glove  of  a  grisette 
than  in  draining  the  five  minutes  of  pleasure  which  all  women 
offer  to  us  ? 

Is  it  the  conversation  of  a  shop-girl  which  makes  you  expect 
boundless  delights? 

In  your  intercourse  with  a  woman  who  is  beneath  you,  the 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  37 

delight  of  flattered  amour-propre  is  on  her  side.  You  r,re  not 
in  the  secret  of  the  happiness  which  you  give. 

In  a  case  of  a  woman  above  you,  either  in  fortune  or  social 
position,  the  ticklings  of  vanity  are  not  only  intense,  but  are 
equally  shared.  A  man  can  never  raise  his  mistress  to  his 
own  level;  but  a  woman  always  puts  her  lover  in  the  position 
that  she  herself  occupies.  "I  can  make  princes  and  you  can 
make  nothing  but  bastards/'  is  an  answer  sparkling  with  truth. 

If  love  is  the  first  of  passions,  it  is  because  it  flatters  all  the 
rest  of  them  at  the  same  time.  We  love  with  more  or  less 
intensity  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  chords  which  are 
touched  by  the  fingers  of  a  beautiful  mistress. 

Biren,  the  jeweler's  son,  climbing  into  the  bed  of  the 
Duchesse  de  Courlande  and  helping  her  to  sign  an  agreement 
that  he  should  be  proclaimed  sovereign  of  the  country,  as  he 
was  already  of  the  young  and  beautiful  queen,  is  an  example 
of  the  happiness  which  ought  to  be  given  to  their  lovers  by 
our  four  hundred  thousand  women. 

If  a  man  would  have  the  right  to  make  stepping-stones  of  all 
the  heads  which  crowd  a  drawing-room,  he  must  be  the  lover 
of  some  artistic  woman  of  fashion.  Now  we  all  love  more  or 
less  to  be  at  the  top. 

It  is  on  this  brilliant  section  of  the  nation  that  the  attack 
is  made  by  men  whose  education,  talent  or  wit  gives  them  the 
right  to  be  considered  persons  of  importance  with  regard  to 
that  success  of  which  people  of  every  country  are  so  proud ;  and 
only  among  this  class  of  women  is  the  wife  to  be  found  whose 
heart  has  to  be  defended  at  all  hazard  by  our  husband. 

What  does  it  matter  whether  the  considerations  which  arise 
from  the  existence  of  a  feminine  aristocracy  are  or  are  not 
equally  applicable  to  other  social  classes  ?  That  which  is  true 
of  all  women  exquisite  in  manners,  language  and  thought,  in 
whom  exceptional  educational  facilities  have  developed  a  taste 
for  art  and  a  capacity  for  feeling,  comparing  and  thinking, 
who  have  a  high  sense  of  propriety  and  politeness  and  who 
actually  set  the  fashion  in  French  manners,  ought  to  be  true 
also  in  the  case  of  women  whatever  their  nation  and  what- 


38  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

ever  their  condition.  The  man  of  distinction  to  whom  this 
book  is  dedicated  must  of  necessity  possess  a  certain  mental 
vision,  which  makes  him  perceive  the  various  degrees  of  light 
that  fill  each  class  and  comprehend  the  exact  point  in  the 
scale  of  civilization  to  which  each  of  our  remarks  is  severally 
applicable. 

Would  it  not  be  then  in  the  highest  interests  of  morality, 
that  we  should  in  the  meanwhile  try  to  find  out  the  number  of 
virtuous  women  who  are  to  be  found  among  these  adorable 
creatures?  Is  not  this  a  question  of  marito-national  impor- 
tance ? 


MEDITATION  IV. 
OF  THE  VIRTUOUS  WOMAN. 

The  question,  perhaps,  is  not  so  much  how  many  virtuous 
women  there  are,  as  what  possibility  there  is  of  an  honest 
woman  remaining  virtuous. 

In  order  to  throw  light  upon  a  point  so  important,  let  us 
cast  a  rapid  glance  over  the  male  population. 

From  among  our  fifteen  millions  of  men  we  must  cut  off, 
in  the  first  place,  the  nine  millions  of  bimana  of  thirty-two 
vertebrae  and  exclude  from  our  physiological  analysis  all  but 
six  millions  of  people.  The  Marceaus,  the  Massenas,  the  Rous- 
seaus,  the  Diderots  and  the  Rollins  often  sprout  forth  suddenly 
from  the  social  swamp,  when  it  is  in  a  condition  of  fermenta- 
tion ;  but,  here  we  plead  guilty  of  deliberate  inaccuracy.  These 
errors  in  calculation  are  likely,  however,  to  give  all  their 
weight  to  our  conclusion  and  to  corroborate  what  we  are  forced 
to  deduce  in  unveiling  the  mechanism  of  passion. 

From  the  six  millions  of  privileged  men,  we  must  exclude 
three  millions  of  old  men  and  children. 

It  will  be  affirmed  by  some  one  that  this  subtraction  leaves 
a  remainder  of  four  millions  in  the  case  of  women. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  39 

This  difference  at  first  sight  seems  singular,  but  is  easily 
accounted  for. 

The  average  age  at  which  women  are  married  is  twenty 
years  and  at  forty  they  cease  to  belong  to  the  world  of  love. 

Now  a  young  bachelor  of  seventeen  is  apt  to  make  deep  cuts 
with  his  penknife  in  the  parchment  of  contracts,  as  the  chroni- 
cles of  scandal  will  tell  you. 

On  the  other  hand,  a  man  at  fifty-two  is  more  formidable 
than  at  any  other  age.  It  is  at  this  fair  epoch  of  life  that  he 
enjoys  an  experience  dearly  bought,  and  probably  all  the  for- 
tune that  he  will  ever  require.  The  passions  by  which  his 
course  is  directed  being  the  last  under  whose  scourge  he  will 
move,  he  is  unpitying  and  determined,  like  the  man  carried 
away  by  a  current  who  snatches  at  a  green  and  pliant  branch 
of  willow,  the  young  nursling  of  the  year. 

XIV. 

Physically  a  man  is  a  man  much  longer  than  a  woman  is  a 
woman. 

With  regard  to  marriage,  the  difference  in  duration  of  the 
life  of  love  with  a  man  and  with  a  woman  is  fifteen  years. 
This  period  is  equal  to  three-fourths  of  the  time  during  which 
the  infidelities  of  the  woman  can  bring  unhappiness  to  her 
husband.  Nevertheless,  the  remainder  in  our  subtraction  from 
the  sum  of  men  only  differs  by  a  sixth  or  so  from  that  which 
results  in  our  subtraction  from  the  sum  of  women. 

Great  is  the  modest  caution  of  our  estimates.  As  to  our 
arguments,  they  are  founded  on  evidence  so  widely  known,  that 
we  have  only  expounded  them  for  the  sake  of  being  exact  and 
in  order  to  anticipate  all  criticism. 

It  has,  therefore,  been  proved  to  the  mind  of  every  phi- 
losopher, however  little  disposed  he  may  be  to  forming  numer- 
ical estimates,  that  there  exists  in  France  a  floating  mass  of 
three  million  men  between  seventeen  and  fifty-two,  all  per- 
fectly alive,  well  provided  with  teeth,  quite  resolved  on  biting, 


40  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

in  fact,  biting  and  asking  nothing  better  than  the  opportunity 
of  walking  strong  and  upright  along  the  way  to  Paradise. 

The  above  observations  entitle  us  to  separate  from  this  mass 
of  men  a  million  husbands.  Suppose  for  an  instant  that  these, 
being  satisfied  and  always  happy,  like  our  model  husband, 
confine  themselves  to  conjugal  love. 

Our  remainder  of  two  millions  do  not  require  five  sous  to 
make  love. 

It  is  quite  sufficient  for  a  man  to  have  a  fine  foot  and  a  clear 
eye  in  order  to  dismantle  the  portrait  of  a  husband ; 

It  is  not  necessary  that  he  should  have  a  handsome  face 
nor  even  a  good  figure; 

Provided  that  a  man  appears  to  be  intellectual  and  has 
a  distinguished  expression  of  face,  women  never  look  where 
he  comes  from,  but  where  he  is  going  to ; 

The  charms  of  youth  are  the  unique  equipage  of  love; 

A  coat  made  by  Brisson,  a  pair  of  gloves  bought  from 
Boivin,  elegant  shoes,  for  whose  payment  the  dealer  trem- 
bles, a  well-tied  cravat  are  sufficient  to  make  a  man  king  of 
the  drawing-room; 

And  soldiers — although  the  passion  for  gold  lace  and 
aiguillettes  has  died  away — do  not  soldiers  form  of  themselves 
a  redoubtable  legion  of  celibates?  Not  to  mention  Eginhard 
— for  he  was  a  private  secretary — has  not  a  newspaper  recently 
recorded  how  a  German  princess  bequeathed  her  fortune  to 
a  simple  lieutenant  of  cuirassiers  in  the  imperial  guard  ? 

But  the  notary  of  the  village,  who  in  the  wilds  of  Gascony 
does  not  draw  more  than  thirty-six  deeds  a  year,  sends  his  son 
to  study  law  at  Paris ;  the  hatter  wishes  his  son  to  be  a  notary, 
the  lawyer  destines  his  to  be  a  judge,  the  judge  wishes  to 
become  a  minister  in  order  that  his  sons  may  be  peers.  At  no 
epoch  in  the  world's  history  has  there  been  so  eager  a  thirst 
for  education.  To-day  it  is  not  intellect  but  cleverness  that 
promenades  the  streets.  From  every  crevice  in  the  rocky  sur- 
face of  society  brilliant  flowers  burst  forth  as  the  spring  brings 
them  on  the  walls  of  a  ruin;  even  in  the  caverns  there  droop 
from  the  vaulted  roof  faintly  colored  tufts  of  green  vegetation. 
The  sun  of  education  permeates  all.  Since  this  vast  develop- 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  41 

ment  of  thought,  this  even  and  fruitful  diffusion  of  light,  we 
have  scarcely  any  men  of  superiority,  because  every  single  man 
represents  the  whole  education  of  his  age.  We  are  surrounded 
by  living  encyclopedias  who  walk  about,  think,  act  and  wish 
to  be  immortalized.  Hence  the  frightful  catastrophes  of  climb- 
ing ambitions  and  insensate  passions.  We  feel  the  want  of 
other  worlds;  there  are  more  hives  needed  to  receive  the 
swarms,  and  especially  are  we  in  need  of  more  pretty  women. 

But  the  maladies  by  which  a  man  is  afflicted  do  not  nullify 
the  sum  total  of  human  passion.  To  our  shame  be  it  spoken, 
a  woman  is  never  so  much  attached  to  us  as  when  we  are  sick. 

With  this  thought,  all  the  epigrams  written  against  the  little 
sex — for  it  is  antiquated  nowadays  to  say  the  fair  sex — ought 
to  be  disarmed  of  their  point  and  changed  into  madrigals  of 
eulogy !  All  men  ought  to  consider  that  the  sole  virtue  of  a 
woman  is  to  love  and  that  all  women  are  prodigiously  virtuous, 
and  at  that  point  to  close  the  book  and  end  their  meditation. 

Ah !  do  you  not  remember  that  black  and  gloomy  hour  when 
lonely  and  suffering,  making  accusations  against  men  and 
especially  against  your  friends,  weak,  discouraged,  and  filled 
with  thoughts  of  death,  your  head  supported  by  a  fevered  pil- 
low and  stretched  upon  a  sheet  whose  white  trellis-work  of 
linen  was  stamped  upon  your  skin,  you  traced  with  your  eyes 
the  green  paper  which  covered  the  walls  of  your  silent  cham- 
ber ?  Do  you  recollect,  I  say,  seeing  some  cuie  noiselessly  open 
your  door,  exhibiting  her  fair  young  face,  framed  with  rolls 
of  gold,  and  a  bonnet  which  you  had  never  seen  before  ?  She 
seemed  like  a  star  in  a  stormy  night,  smiling  and  stealing 
towards  you  with  an  expression  in  which  distress  and  hap- 
piness were  blended,  and  flinging  herself  into  your  arms! 

"How  did  you  manage  it?  What  did  you  tell  your  hus- 
band ?"  you  ask. 

"Your  husband !" — Ah !  this  brings  us  back  again  into  the 
depths  of  our  subject. 

XV. 

Morally  the  man  is  more  often  and  longer  a  man  than  the 
woman  is  a  woman. 


42  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

On  the  other  hand  we  ought  to  consider  that  among  these 
two  millions  of  celibates  there  are  many  unhappy  men,  in 
whom  a  profound  sense  of  their  misery  and  persistent  toil  have 
quenched  the  instinct  of  love; 

That  they  have  not  all  passed  through  college,  that  there 
are  many  artisans  among  them,  many  footmen — the  Duke  of 
Gevres,  an  extremely  plain  and  short  man,  as  he  walked 
through  the  park  of  Versailles  saw  several  lackeys  of  fine 
appearance  and  said  to  his  friends,  "Look  how  these  fellows 
are  made  by  us,  and  how  they  imitate  us" — that  there  are  many 
contractors,  many  tradespeople  who  think  of  nothing  but 
money ;  many  drudges  of  the  shop ; 

That  there  are  men  more  stupid  and  actually  more  ugly  than 
God  would  have  made  them ; 

That  there  are  those  whose  character  is  like  a  chestnut  with- 
out a  kernel ; 

That  the  clergy  are  generally  chaste ; 

That  there  are  men  so  situated  in  life  that  they  can  never 
enter  the  brilliant  sphere  in  which  honest  women  move, 
whether  for  want  of  a  coat,  or  from  their  bashfulness,  or  from 
the  failure  of  a  mahout  to  introduce  them. 

But  let  us  leave  to  each  one  the- task  of  adding  to  the  number 
of  these  exceptions  in  accordance  with  his  personal  experi- 
ence— for  the  object  of  a  book  is  above  all  things  to  make  peo- 
ple think — and  let  us  instantly  suppress  one-half  of  the  sum 
total  and  admit  only  that  there  are  one  million  of  hearts 
worthy  of  paying  homage  to  honest  women.  This  number 
approximately  includes  those  who  are  superior  in  all  depart- 
ments. Women  love  only  the  intellectual,  but  justice  must  be 
done  to  virtue. 

As  for  these  amiable  celibates,  each  of  them  relates  a 
string  of  adventures,  all  of  which  seriously  compromise  hon- 
est women.  It  would  be  a  very  moderate  and  reserved  compu- 
tation to  attribute  no  more  than  three  adventures  to  each 
celibate;  but  if  some  of  them  count  their  adventures  by  the 
dozen,  there  are  many  more  who  confine  themselves  to  two  or 
three  incidents  of  passion  and  some  to  a  single  one  in  their 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  43 

whole  life,  so  that  we  have  in  accordance  with  the  statistical 
method  taken  the  average.  Now  if  the  number  of  celibates  be 
multiplied  by  the  number  of  their  excesses  in  love  the  result 
will  be  three  millions  of  adventures;  to  set  against  this  we  have 
only  four  hundred  thousand  honest  women ! 

If  the  God  of  goodness  and  indulgence  who  hovers  over  the 
worlds  does  not  make  a  second  washing  of  the  human  race,  it 
is  doubtless  because  so  little  success  attended  the  first. 

Here  then  we  have  a  people,  a  society  which  has  been  sifted, 
and  you  see  the  result ! 

XVI. 

Manners  are  the  hypocrisy  of  nations,  and  hypocrisy  is  more 
or  less  perfect. 

XVII. 

Virtue,  perhaps,  is  nothing  more  than  politeness  of  soul. 

Physical  love  is  a  craving  like  hunger,  excepting  that  man 
eats  all  the  time,  and  in  love  his  appetite  is  neither  so  per- 
sistent nor  so  regular  as  at  the  table. 

A  piece  of  bread  and  a  carafe  of  water  will  satisfy  the 
hunger  of  any  man ;  but  our  civilization  has  brought  to  light 
the  science  of  gastronomy. 

Love  has  its  piece  of  bread,  but  it  has  also  its  science  of 
loving,  that  science  which  we  call  coquetry,  a  delightful  word 
which  the  French  alone  possess,  for  that  science  originated  in 
this  country. 

Well,  after  all,  isn't  it  enough  to  enrage  all  husbands  when 
they  think  that  man  is  so  endowed  with  an  innate  desire  to 
change  from  one  food  to  another,  that  in  some  savage  coun- 
tries, where  travelers  have  landed,  they  have  found  alcoholic 
drinks  and  ragouts? 

Hunger  is  not  so  violent  as  love;  but  the  caprices  of  the 
soul  are  more  numerous,  more  bewitching,  more  exquisite  in 
their  intensity  than  the  caprices  of  gastronomy;  but  all 
that  the  poets  and  the  experiences  of  our  own  life  have  revealed 
to  us  on  the  subject  of  love,  arms  us  celibates  with  A  terrible 


44  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

power:  we  are  the  lion  of  the  Gospel  seeking  whom  we  may 
devour. 

Then,  let  every  one  question  his  conscience  on  this  point, 
and  search  his  memory  if  he  has  ever  met  a  man  who  confined 
himself  to  the  love  of  one  woman  only ! 

How,  alas !  are  we  to  explain,  while  respecting  the  honor  of 
all  the  peoples,  the  problem  which  results  from  the  fact  that 
three  millions  of  burning  hearts  can  find  no  more  than  four 
hundred  thousand  women  on  which  they  can  feed?  Should 
we  apportion  four  celibates  for  each  woman  and  remember  that 
the  honest  women  would  have  already  established,  instinctively 
and  unconsciously,  a  sort  of  understanding  between  them- 
selves and  the  celibates,  like  that  which  the  presidents  of  royal 
courts  have  initiated,  in  order  to  make  their  partisans  in  each 
chamber  enter  successively  after  a  certain  number  of  years? 

That  would  be  a  mournful  way  of  solving  the  difficulty ! 

Should  we  make  the  conjecture  that  certain  honest  women 
act  in  dividing  up  the  celibates,  as  the  lion  in  the  fable  did  ? 
What !  Surely,  in  that  case,  half  at  least  of  our  altars  would 
become  whited  sepulchres ! 

Ought  one  to  suggest  for  the  honor  of  French  ladies  that 
in  the  time  of  peace  all  other  countries  should  import  into 
France  a  certain  number  of  their  honest  women,  and  that 
these  countries  should  mainly  consist  of  England,  Germany 
and  Eussia?  But  the  European  nations  would  in  that  case 
attempt  to  balance  matters  by  demanding  that  France  should 
export  a  certain  number  of  her  pretty  women. 

Morality  and  religion  suffer  so  much  from  such  calcula- 
tions as  this,  that  an  honest  man,  in  an  attempt  to  prove  the 
innocence  of  married  women,  finds  some  reason  to  believe  that 
dowagers  and  young  people  are  half  of  them  involved  in  this 
general  corruption,  and  are  liars  even  more  truly  than  are  the 
celibates. 

But  to  what  conclusion  does  our  calculation  lead  us  ?  Think 
of  our  husbands,  who  to  the  disgrace  of  morals  behave  almost 
all  of  them  like  celibates  and  glory  in  petto  over  their  secret 
adventures. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  45 

Why,  then  we  believe  that  every  married  man,  who  is  at  all 
attached  to  his  wife  from  honorable  motives,  can,  in  the  words 
of  the  elder  Corneille,  seek  a  rope  and  a  nail;  foenum  habet 
in  cornu. 

It  is,  however,  in  the  bosom  of  these  four  hundred  thousand 
honest  women  that  we  must,  lantern  in  hand,  seek  for  the 
number  of  the  virtuous  women  in  France !  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  we  have  by  our  statistics  of  marriage  so  far  only  set  down 
the  number  of  those  creatures  with  which  society  has  really 
nothing  to  do.  Is  it  not  true  that  in  France  the  honest  people, 
the  people  comme  il  faut,  from  a  total  of  scarcely  three  million 
individuals,  namely,  our  one  million  of  celibates,  five  hundred 
thousand  honest  women,  five  hundred  thousand  husbands,  and 
a  million  of  dowagers,  of  infants  and  of  young  girls  ? 

Are  you  then  astonished  at  the  famous  verse  of  Boileau? 
This  verse  proves  that  the  poet  had  cleverly  fathomed  the  dis- 
covery mathematically  propounded  to  you  in  these  tiresome 
meditations  and  that  his  language  is  by  no  means  hyper- 
bolical. 

Nevertheless,  virtuous  women  there  certainly  are : 

Yes,  those  who  have  never  been  tempted  and  those  who  die 
at  their  first  child-birth,  assuming  that  their  husbands  had 
married  them  virgins;  , 

Yes,  those  who  are  ugly  as  the  Kaifakatadary  of  the  Arabian 
Nights ; 

Yes,  those  whom  Mirabeau  calls  "fairy  cucumbers"  and 
who  are  composed  of  atoms  exactly  like  those  of  strawberry 
and  water-lily  roots.  Nevertheless,  we  need  not  believe  that ! 

Further,  we  acknowledge  that,  to  the  credit  of  our  age,  we 
meet,  ever  since  the  revival  of  morality  and  religion  and  dur- 
ing our  own  times,  some  women,  here  and  there,  so  moral, 
so  religious,  so  devoted  to  their  duties,  so  upright,  so  precise, 
so  stiff,  so  virtuous,  so — that  the  devil  himself  dare  not  even 
look  at  them ;  they  are  guarded  on  all  sides  by  rosaries,  hours 
of  prayer  and  directors.  Pshaw ! 

We  will  not  attempt  to  enumerate  the  women  who  are  vir- 
tuous from  stupidity,  for  it  is  acknowledged  that  in  love  all 
women  have  intellect. 


46  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

In  conclusion,  we  may  remark  that  it  is  not  impossible  that 
there  exist  in  some  corner  of  the  earth  women,  young,  ^  pretty 
and  virtuous,  whom  the  world  does  not  suspect. 

But  you  must  not  give  the  name  of  virtuous  woman  to  her 
who,  in  her  struggle  against  an  involuntary  passion,  has 
yielded  nothing  to  her  lover  whom  she  idolizes.  She  does 
injury  in  the  most  cruel  way  in  which  it  can  possibly  be  done 
to  a  loving  husband.  For  what  remains  to  him  of  his  wife? 
A  thing  without  name,  a  living  corpse.  In  the  very  midst  of 
delight  his  wife  remains  like  the  guest  who  had  been  warned 
by  Borgia  that  certain  meats  were  poisoned ;  he  felt  no  hunger, 
he  ate  sparingly  or  pretended  to  eat.  He  longed  for  the  meat 
which  he  had  abandoned  for  that  provided  by  the  terrible  car- 
dinal, and  sighed  for  the  moment  when  the  feast  was  over  and 
he  could  leave  the  table. 

What  is  the  result  which  these  reflections  on  the  feminine 
virtue  lead  to  ?  Here  they  are ;  but  the  last  two  maxims  have 
been  given  us  by  an  eclectic  philosopher  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury. 

XVIII. 

A  virtuous  woman  has  in  her  heart  one  fibre  less  or  one 
"fibre  more  than  other  women;  she  is  either  stupid  or  sublime. 

XIX. 

The  virtue  of  women  is  perhaps  a  question  of  temperament. 

XX. 

The  most  virtuous  women  have  in  them  something  which  is 
never  chaste. 

XXI. 

"That  a  man  of  intellect  has  doubts  about  his  mistress  is 
conceivable,  but  about  his  wife ! — that  would  be  too  stupid." 

XXII. 

"Men  would  be  insufferably  unhappy  if  in  the  presence  of 
women  they  thought  the  least  bit  in  the  world  of  that  which 
they  know  by  heart/' 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  47 

The  number  of  those  rare  women  who,  like  the  Virgins  of 
the  Parable,  have  kept  their  lamps  lighted,  will  always  appear 
very  small  in  the  eyes  of  the  defenders  of  virtue  and  fine  feel- 
ing ;  but  we  must  needs  exclude  it  from  the  total  sum  of  honest 
women,  and  this  subtraction,  consoling  as  it  is,  will  increase 
the  danger  which  threatens  husbands,  will  intensify  the 
scandal  of  their  married  life,  and  involve,  more  or  less,  the 
reputation  of  all  other  lawful  spouses. 

What  husband  will  be  able  to  sleep  peacefully  beside  his 
young  and  beautiful  wife  while  he  knows  that  three  celibates, 
at  least,  are  on  the  watch;  that  if  they  have  not  already 
encroached  upon  his  little  property,  they  regard  the  bride  as 
their  destined  prey,  for  sooner  or  later  she  will  fall  into  their 
hands,  either  by  strategem,  compulsive  conquest  or  free  choice  ? 
And  it  is  impossible  that  they  should  fail  some  day  or  other  to 
obtain  victory ! 

What  a  startling  conclusion ! 

On  this  point  the  purist  in  morality,  the  collets  monies  will 
accuse  us  perhaps  of  presenting  here  conclusions  which  are 
excessively  despairing;  they  will  be  desirous  of  putting  up  a 
defence,  either  for  the  virtuous  women  or  the  celibates ;  but  we 
have  in  reserve  for  them  a  final  remark. 

Increase  the  number  of  honest  women  and  diminish  the 
number  of  celibates,  as  much  as  you  choose,  you  will  always 
find  that  the  result  will  be  a  larger  number  of  gallant  adven- 
tures than  of  honest  women ;  you  will  always  find  a  vast  mul- 
titude driven  through  social  custom  to  commit  three  sorts  of 
crime. 

If  they  remain  chaste,  their  health  is  injured,  while  they  are 
the  slaves  of  the  most  painful  torture;  they  disappoint  the 
sublime  ends  of  nature,  and  finally  die  of  consumption,  drink- 
ing milk  on  the  mountains  of  Switzerland ! 

If  they  yield  to  legitimate  temptations,  they  either  com- 
promise the  honest  women,  and  on  this  point  we  re-enter  on 
the  subject  of  this  book,  or  else  they  debase  themselves  by  a 
horrible  intercourse  with  the  five  hundred  thousand  women 
of  whom  we  spoke  in  the  third  category  of  the  first  Meditation, 


48  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

and  in  this  case,  have  still  considerable  chance  of  visiting 
Switzerland  drinking  milk  and  dying  there  I 

Have  you  never  been  struck,  as  we  have  been,  by  a  certain 
error  of  organization  in  our  social  order,  the  evidence  of  which 
gives  a  moral  certainty  to  our  last  calculations  ? 

The  average  age  at  which  a  man  marries  is  thirty  years ;  the 
average  age  at  which  his  passions,  his  most  violent  desires  for 
genesial  delight  are  developed,  is  twenty  years.  Now  during 
the  ten  fairest  years  of  his  life,  during  the  green  season  in 
which  his  beauty,  his  youth  and  his  wit  make  him  more  dan- 
gerous to  husbands  than  at  any  other  epoch  of  his  life,  he 
finds  himself  without  any  means  of  satisfying  legitimately  that 
irresistible  craving  for  love  which  burns  in  his  whole  nature. 
During  this  time,  representing  the  sixth  part  of  human  life, 
we  are  obliged  to  admit  that  the  sixth  part  or  less  of  our.  total 
male  population  and  the  sixth  part  which  is  the  most  vigorous 
is  placed  in  a  position  which  is  perpetually  exhausting  for 
them,  and  dangerous  for  society. 

"Why  don't  they  get  married?"  cries  a  religious  woman. 

But  what  father  of  good  sense  would  wish  his  son  to  be  mar- 
ried at  twenty  years  of  age  ? 

Is  not  the  danger  of  these  precocious  unions  apparent  to 
all?  It  would  seem  as  if  marriage  was  a  state  very  much  at 
variance  with  natural  habitude,  seeing  that  it  requires  a 
special  ripeness  of  judgment  in  those  who  conform  to  it.  All 
the  world  knows  what  Eousseau  said:  "There  must  always 
be  a  period  of  libertinage  in  life  either  in  one  state  or  another. 
It  is  an  evil  leaven  which  sooner  or  later  ferments." 

Now  what  mother  of  a  family  is  there  who  would  expose  her 
daughter  to  the  risk  of  this  fermentation  when  it  has  not  yet 
taken  place? 

On  the  other  hand,  what  need  is  there  to  justify  a  fact 
under  whose  domination  all  societies  exist  ?  Are  there  not  in 
every  country,  as  we  have  demonstrated,  a  vast  number  of 
men  who  live  as  honestly  as  possible,  without  being  either 
celibates  or  married  men  ? 

Cannot  these  men,  the  religious  woman  will  always  ask, 
abide  in  continence  like  the  priests  ? 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  49 

Certainly,  madame. 

Nevertheless,  we  venture  to  observe  that  the  vow  of  chas- 
tity is  the  most  startling  exception  to  the  natural  condition 
of  man  which  society  makes  necessary;  but  continence  is  the 
great  point  in  the  priest's  profession;  he  must  be  chaste,  as 
the  doctor  must  be  insensible  to  physical  sufferings,  as  the 
notary  and  the  advocate  insensible  to  the  misery  whose  wounds 
are  laid  bare  to  their  eyes,  as  the  soldier  to  the  sight  of  death 
which  he  meets  on  the  field  of  battle.  From  the  fact  that  the 
requirements  of  civilization  ossify  certain  fibres  of  the  heart 
and  render  callous  certain  membranes,  we  must  not  necessarily 
conclude  that  all  men  are  bound  to  undergo  this  partial  and 
exceptional  death  of  the  soul.  This  would  be  to  reduce  the 
human  race  to  a  condition  of  atrocious  moral  suicide. 

But  let  it  be  granted  that,  in  the  atmosphere  of  a  drawing- 
room  the  most  Jansenistic  in  the  world,  appears  a  young  man 
of  twenty-eight  who  has  scrupulously  guarded  his  robe  of  inno- 
cence and  is  as  truly  virginal  as  the  heath-cock  which  gour- 
mands enjoy.  Do  you  not  see  that  the  most  austere  of  virtuous 
women  would  merely  pay  him  a  sarcastic  compliment  on  his 
courage;  the  magistrate,  the  strictest  that  ever  mounted  a 
bench,  would  shake  his  head  and  smile,  and  all  the  ladies  would 
hide  themselves,  so  that  he  might  not  hear  their  laughter? 
When  the  heroic  and  exceptional  young  victim  leaves  the 
drawing-room,  what  a  deluge  of  jokes  bursts  upon  his  innocent 
head !  what  a  shower  of  insults !  What  is  held  to  be  more 
shameful  in  France  than  impotence,  than  coldness,  than  the 
absence  of  all  passion,  than  simplicity  ? 

The  only  king  of  France  who  would  not  have  laughed  was 
perhaps  Louis  XIII. ;  but  as  for  his  roue  of  a  father,  he  would 
perhaps  have  banished  the  young  man,  either  under  the  accu- 
sation that  he  was  no  Frenchman  or  from  a  conviction  that 
he  was  setting  a  dangerous  example. 

Strange  contradiction !  A  young  man  is  equally  blamed  if 
he  passes  life  in  Holy  Land,  to  use  an  expression  of  bachelor 
life.  Could  it  possibly  be  for  the  benefit  of  the  honest  women 
that  the  prefects  of  police,  and  mayors  of  all  time  have 


50  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

ordained  that  the  passions  of  the  public  shall  not  manifest 
themselves  until  nightfall,  and  shall  cease  at  eleven  o'clock  in 
the  evening  ? 

Where  do  you  wish  that  our  mass  of  celibates  should  sow 
their  wild  oats?  And  who  is  deceived  on  this  point?  as 
Figaro  asks.  Is  it  the  governments  or  the  governed?  The 
social  order  is  like  the  small  boys  who  stop  their  ears  at  the 
theatre,  so  as  not  to  hear  the  report  of  the  firearms.  Is  society 
afraid  to  probe  its  wound  or  has  it  recognized  the  fact  that 
evil  is  irremediable  and  things  must  be  allowed  to  run  their 
course  ?  But  there  crops  up  here  a  question  of  legislation,  for 
it  is  impossible  to  escape  the  material  and  social  dilemma  cre- 
ated by  this  balance  of  public  virtue  in  the  matter  of  mar- 
riage. It  is  not  our  business  to  solve  this  difficulty ;  but  sup- 
pose for  a  moment  that  society  in  order  to  save  a  multitude 
of  families,  women  and  honest  girls,  found  itself  compelled  to 
grant  to  certain  licensed  hearts  the  right  of  satisfying  the 
desires  of  the  celibates;  ought  not  our  laws  then  to  raise  up 
a  professional  body  consisting  of  female  Decii  who  devote 
themselves  for  the  republic,  and  make  a  rampart  of  their  bodies 
round  the  honest  families?  The  legislators  have  been  very 
wrong  hitherto  in  disdaining  to  regulate  the  lot  of  courtesans. 

XXIII. 

The  courtesan  is  an  institution  if  she  is  a  necessity. 

This  question  bristles  with  so  many  ifs  and  buts  that  we 
will  bequeath  it  for  solution  to  our  descendants ;  it  is  right  that 
we  shall  leave  them  something  to  do.  Moreover,  its  discussion 
is  not  germane  to  this  work ;  for  in  this,  more  than  in  any  other 
age,  there  is  a  great  outburst  of  sensibility ;  at  no  other  epoch 
have  there  been  so  many  rules  of  conduct,  because  never  before 
has  it  been  so  completely  accepted  that  pleasure  comes  from  the 
heart.  Now,  what  man  of  sentiment  is  there,  what  celibate  is 
there,  who,  in  the  presence  of  four  hundred  thousand  young 
and  pretty  women  arrayed  in  the  splendors  of  fortune  and  the 


51 

graces  of  wit,  rich  in  treasures  of  coquetry,  and  lavish  in  the 
dispensing  of  happiness,  would  wish  to  go — ?  for  shame! 

Let  us  put  forth  for  the  benefit  of  our  future  legislature  in 
clear  and  brief  axioms  the  result  arrived  at  during  the  last 
few  years. 

XXIV. 

In  the  social  order,  inevitable  abuses  are  laws  of  nature,  in 
accordance  with  which  mankind  should  frame  their  civil  and 
political  institutes. 

XXV. 

"Adultery  is  like  a  commercial  failure,  with  this  difference," 
says  Cham  fort,  "that  it  is  the  innocent  party  who  has  been 
ruined  and  who  bears  the  disgrace/' 

In  France  the  laws  that  relate  to  adultery  and  those  that 
relate  to  bankruptcy  require  great  modifications.  Are  they  too 
indulgent?  Do  they  sin  on  the  score  of  bad  principles? 
Caveant  consules! 

Come  now,  courageous  athlete,  who  have  taken  as  your 
task  that  which  is  expressed  in  the  little  apostrophe  which 
our  first  Meditation  addresses  to  people  who  have  the  charge  of 
a  wife,  what  are  you  going  to  say  about  it  ?  We  hope  that  this 
rapid  review  of  the  question  does  not  make  you  tremble,  that 
you  are  not  one  of  those  men  whose  nervous  fluid  congeals  at 
the  sight  of  a  precipice  or  a  boa  constrictor !  Well !  my  friend, 
he  who  owns  soil  has  war  and  toil.  The  men  who  want  your 
gold  are  more  numerous  than  those  who  want  your  wife. 

After  all,  husbands  are  free  to  take  these  trifles  for  arith- 
metical estimates,  or  arithmetical  estimates  for  trifles.  The 
illusions  of  life  are  the  best  things  in  life ;  that  which  is  most 
respectable  in  life  is  our  futile  credulity.  Do  there  not  exist 
many  people  whose  principles  are  merely  prejudices,  and  who 
not  having  enough  force  of  character  to  form  their  own  ideas 
of  happiness  and  virtue  accept  what  is  ready  made  for  them 
by  the  hand  of  legislators  ?  Nor  do  we  address  those  Manfreds 
who  having  taken  off  too  many  garments  wish  to  raise  all  the 
curtains,  that  is,  in  moments  when  they  are  tortured  by  a  sort 


52  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

of  moral  spleen.     By  them,  however,  the  question  is  boldly 
stated  and  we  know  the  extent  of  the  evil. 

It  remains  that  we  should  examine  the  chances  and  changes 
which  each  man  is  likely  to  meet  in  marriage,  and  which  may 
weaken  him  in  that  struggle  from  which  our  champion  should 
issue  victorious. 


1  MEDITATION  V. 

OF  THE  PREDESTINED. 

Predestined  means  destined  in  advance  for  happiness  or 
unhappiness.  Theology  has  seized  upon  this  word  and 
employs  it  in  relation  to  the  happy;  we  give  to  the  term  a 
meaning  which  is  unfortunate  to  our  elect  of  which  one  can 
say  in  opposition  to  the  Gospel,  "Many  are  called,  many  are 
chosen." 

Experience  has  demonstrated  that  there  are  certain  classes 
of  men  more  subject  than  others  to  certain  infirmities;  thus 
Gascons  are  given  to  exaggeration  and  Parisians  to  vanity. 
As  we  see  that  apoplexy  attacks  people  with  short  necks,  as 
butchers  are  liable  to  carbuncle,  as  gout  attacks  the  rich, 
health  the  poor,  deafness  kings,  paralysis  administrators,  so 
it  has  been  remarked  that  certain  classes  of  husbands  and 
their  wives  are  more  given  to  illegitimate  passions.  Thus  they 
forestall  the  celibates,  they  form  another  sort  of  aristocracy. 
If  any  reader  should  be  enrolled  in  one  of  these  aristocratic 
classes  he  will,  we  hope,  have  sufficient  presence  of  mind,  he 
or  at  least  his  wife,  instantly  to  call  to  mind  the  favorite 
axiom  of  Lhomond's  Latin  Grammar :  "No  rule  without  excep- 
tion." A  friend  of  the  house  may  even  recite  the  verse — 

"Present  company  always  excepted." 

And  then  every  one  will  have  the  right  to  believe,  in  petto, 
that  he  forms  the  exception.  But  our  duty,  the  interest  which 
we  take  in  husbands  and  the  keen  desire  which  we  have  to 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  53 

preserve  young  and  pretty  women  from  the  caprices  and 
catastrophes  which  a  lover  brings  in  his  train,  force  us  to 
give  notice  to  husbands  that  they  ought  to  be  especially  on 
their  guard. 

In  this  recapitulation  first  are  to  be  reckoned  the  husbands 
whom  business,  position  or  public  office  calls  from  their  houses 
and  detains  for  a  definite  time.  It  is  these  who  are  the 
standard-bearers  of  the  brotherhood. 

Among  them,  we  would  reckon  magistrates,  holding  office 
during  pleasure  or  for  life,  and  obliged  to  remain  at  the 
Palace  for  the  greater  portion  of  the  day ;  other  functionaries 
sometimes  find  means  to  leave  their  office  at  business  hours; 
but  a  judge  or  a  public  prosecutor,  seated  on  his  cushion  of 
lilies,  is  bound  even  to  die  during  the  progress  of  the  hearing. 
There  is  his  field  of  battle. 

It  is  the  same  with  the  deputies  and  peers  who  discuss  the 
laws,  of  ministers  who  shar'e  the  toils  of  the  king,  of  secre- 
taries who  work  with  the  ministers,  of  soldiers  on  campaign, 
and  indeed  with  the  corporal  of  the  police  patrol,  as  the  letter 
of  Lafleur,  in  the  Sentimental  Journey.,  plainly  shows. 

Next  to  the  men  who  are  obliged  to  be  absent  from  home 
at  certain  fixed  hours,  come  the  men  whom  vast  and  serious 
undertakings  leave  not  one  minute  for  love-making;  their 
foreheads  are  always  wrinkled  with  anxiety,  their  conversa- 
tion is  generally  void  of  merriment. 

At  the  head  of  these  unfortunates  we  must  place  the 
bankers,  who  toil  in  the  acquisition  of  millions,  whose  heads 
are  so  full  of  calculations  that  the  figures  burst  through  their 
skulls  and  range  themselves  in  columns  of  addition  on  their 
foreheads. 

These  millionaires,  forgetting  most  of  the  time  the  sacred 
laws  of  marriage  and  the  attention  due  to  the  tender  flower 
which  they  have  undertaken  to  cultivate,  never  think  of  water- 
ing it  or  of  defending  it  from  the  heat  and  cold.  They  scarcely 
recognize  the  fact  that  the  happiness  of  their  spouses  is  in 
their  keeping;  if  they  ever  do  remember  this,  it  is  at  table, 
when  they  see  seated  before  them  a  woman  in  rich  array, 


54  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

or  when  the  coquette,  fearing  their  brutal  repulse,  comes, 
gracious  as  Venus,  to  ask  them  for  cash — Oh !  it  is  then, 
that  they  recall,  sometimes  very  vividly,  the  rights  specified 
in  the  two  hundred  and  thirteenth  article  of  the  civil  code, 
and  their  wives  are  grateful  to  them;  but  like  the  heavy 
tariff  which  the  law  lays  upon  foreign  merchandise,  their 
wives  suffer  and  pay  the  tribute,  in  virtue  of  the  axiom 
which  says:  "There  is  no  pleasure  without  pain." 

The  men  of  science  who  spend  whole  months  in  gnawing 
at  the  bone  of  an  antediluvian  monster,  in  calculating  the 
laws  of  nature,  when  there  is  an  opportunity  to  peer  into  her 
secrets,  the  Grecians  and  Latinists  who  dine  on  a  thought 
of  Tacitus,  sup  on  a  phrase  of  Thucydides,  spend  their  life 
in  brushing  the  dust  from  library  shelves,  in  keeping  guard 
over  a  commonplace  book,  or  a  papyrus,  are  all  predestined. 
So  great  is  their  abstraction  or  their  ecstasy,  that  nothing 
that  goes  on  around  them  strikes  their  attention.  Their 
unhappiness  is  consummated;  in  full  light  of  noon  they 
scarcely  even  perceive  it.  0  happy  men!  a  thousand  times 
happy!  Example:  Beauzee,  returning  home  after  session  at 
the  Academy,  surprises  his  wife  with  a  German.  "Did  not  I 
tell  you,  madame,  that  it  was  necessary  that  I  shall  go,"  cried 
the  stranger.  "My  dear  sir/'  interrupted  the  academician, 
"you  ought  to  say,  that  I  should  go !" 

Then  there  come,  lyre  in  hand,  certain  poets  whose  whole 
animal  strength  has  left  the  ground  floor  and  mounted  to 
the  upper  story.  They  know  better  how  to  mount  Pegasus 
than  the  beast  of  old  Peter,  they  rarely  marry,  although  they 
are  accustomed  to  lavish  the  fury  of  their  passions  on  some 
wandering  or  imaginary  Chloris. 

But  the  men  whose  noses  are  stained  with  snuff ; 

But  those  who,  to  their  misfortune,  have  a  perpetual  cold  in 
their  head; 

But  the  sailors  who  smoke  or  chew; 

But  those  men  whose  dry  and  bilious  temperament  makes 
them  always  look  as  if  they  had  eaten  a  sour  apple; 

But  the  men  who  in  private  life  have  certain  cynical  habits, 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  55 

ridiculous  fads,  and  who  always,  in  spite  of  everything,  look 
unwashed; 

But  the  husbands  who  have  obtained  the  degrading  name 
of  "hen-pecked"; 

Finally  the  old  men  who  marry  young  girls, 

All  these  people  are  par  excellence  among  the  predestined. 

There  is  a  final  class  of  the  predestined  whose  ill-fortune 
is  almost  certain,  we  mean  restless  and  irritable  men,  who 
are  inclined  to  meddle  and  tyrannize,  who  have  a  great  idea 
of  domestic  domination,  who  openly  express  their  lev?  ideas  of 
women  and  who  know  no  more  about  life  than  herrings  about 
natural  history.  When  these  men  marry,  their  homes  have 
the  appearance  of  a  wasp  whose  head  a  schoolboy  has  cut  off, 
and  who  dances  here  and  there  on  a  window  pane.  For  this 
sort  of  predestined  the  present  work  is  a  sealed  book.  We  do 
not  write  any  more  for  those  imbeciles,  walking  effigies,  who 
are  like  the  statues  of  a  cathedral,  than  for  those  old  machines 
of  Marly  which  were  too  weak  to  fling  water  over  the  hedges 
of  Versailles  without  being  in  danger  of  sudden  collapse. 

I  rarely  make  my  observations  on  the  conjugal  oddities 
with  which  the  drawing-room  is  usually  full,  without  recall- 
ing vividly  a  sight  which  I  once  enjoyed  in  early  youth : 

In  1819  I  was  living  in  a  thatched  cottage  situated  in  the 
bosom  of  the  delightful  valley  FIsle-Adam.  My  hermitage 
neighbored  on  the  park  of  Cassan,  the  sweetest  of  retreats, 
the  most  fascinating  in  aspect,  the  most  attractive  as  a  place 
to  ramble  in,  the  most  cool  and  refreshing  in  summer,  of  all 
places  created  by  luxury  and  art.  This  verdant  country-seat 
owes  its  origin  to  a  farmer-general  of  the  good  old  times,  a 
certain  Bergeret,  celebrated  for  his  originality;  who  among 
other  fantastic  dandyisms  adopted  the  habit  of  going  to  the 
opera,  with  his  hair  powdered  in  gold;  he  used  to  light  up 
his  park  for  his  own  solitary  delectation  and  on  one  occa- 
sion ordered  a  sumptuous  entertainment  there,  in  which  he 
alone  took  part.  This  rustic  Sardanapalus  returned  from 
Italy  so  passionately  charmed  with  the  scenery  of  that  beau- 
tiful country  that,  by  a  sudden  freak  of  enthusiasm,  he  spent 


56  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

four  or  five  millions  in  order  to  represent  in  his  park  the 
scenes  of  which  he  had  pictures  in  his  portfolio.  The  most 
charming  contrasts  of  foliage,  the  rarest  trees,  long  valleys, 
and  prospects  the  most  picturesque  that  could  be  brought 
from  abroad,  Borromean  islands  floating  on  clear  eddying 
streams  like  so  many  rays,  which  concentrate  their  various 
lustres  on  a  single  point,  on  an  Isola  Bella,  from  which  the 
enchanted  eye  takes  in  each  detail  at  its  leisure,  or  on  an 
island  in  the  bosom  of  which  is  a  little  house  concealed  under 
the  drooping  foliage  of  a  century-old  ash,  an  island  fringed 
with  irises,  rose-bushes,  and  flowers  which  appears  like  an 
emerald  richly  set.  Ah !  one  might  rove  a  thousand  leagues 
for  such  a  place !  The  most  sickly,  the  most  soured,  the  most 
disgusted  of  our  men  of  genius  in  ill  health  would  die  of 
satiety  at  the  end  of  fifteen  days,  overwhelmed  with  the  lus- 
cious sweetness  of  fresh  life  in  such  a  spot. 

The  man  who  was  quite  regardless  of  the  Eden  which  he 
thus  possessed  had  neither  wife  nor  children,  but  was  attached 
to  a  large  ape  which  he  kept.  A  graceful  turret  of  wood,  sup- 
ported by  a  sculptured  column,  served  as  a  dwelling  place  for 
this  vicious  animal,  who  being  kept  chained  and  rarely  petted 
by  his  eccentric  master,  oftener  at  Paris  than  in  his  country 
home,  had  gained  a  very  bad  reputation.  I  recollect  seeing 
him  once  in  the  presence  of  certain  ladies  show  almost  as 
much  insolence  as  if  he  had  been  a  man.  His  master  was 
obliged  to  kill  him,  so  mischievous  did  he  gradually  become. 

One  morning  while  I  was  sitting  under  a  beautiful  tulip  tree 
in  flower,  occupied  in  doing  nothing  but  inhaling  the  lovely 
perfumes  which  the  tall  poplars  kept  confined  within  the  bril- 
liant enclosure,  enjoying  the  silence  of  the  groves,  listening 
to  the  murmuring  waters  and  the  rustling  leaves,  admiring 
the  blue  gaps  outlined  above  my  head  by  clouds  of  pearly 
sheen  and  gold,  wandering  fancy  free  in  dreams  of  my  future, 
I  heard  some  lout  or  other,  who  had  arrived  the  day  before 
from  Paris,  playing  on  a  violin  with  the  violence  of  a  man 
who  has  nothing  else  to  do.  I  would  not  wish  for  my  worst 
enemy  to  hear  anything  so  utterly  in  discord  with  the  sub- 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  57 

lime  harmony  of  nature.  If  the  distant  notes  of  Roland's 
Horn  had  only  filled  the  air  with  life,  perhaps — but  a  noisy 
fiddler  like  this,  who  undertakes  to  bring  to  you  the  expres- 
sion of  human  ideas  and  the  phraseology  of  music !  This 
Amphion,  who  was  walking  up  and  down  the  dining-room, 
finished  by  taking  a  seat  on  the  window-sill,  exactly  in  front 
of  the  monkey.  Perhaps  he  was  looking  for  an  audience. 
Suddenly  I  saw  the  animal  quietly  descend  from  his  little 
dungeon,  stand  upon  his  hind  feet,  bow  his  head  forward 
like  a  swimmer  and  fold  his  arms  over  his  bosom  like  Spar- 
tacus  in  chains,  or  Catiline  listening  to  Cicero.  The  banker, 
summoned  by  a  sweet  voice  whose  silvery  tone  recalled  a 
boudoir  not  unknown  to  me,  laid  his  violin  on  the  window-sill 
and  made  off  like  a  swallow  who  rejoins  his  companion  by  a 
rapid  level  swoop.  The  great  monkey,  whose  chain  was  suffi- 
ciently long,  approached  the  window  and  gravely  took  in  hand 
the  violin.  I  don't  know  whether  you  have  ever  had  as  I 
have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  a  monkey  try  to  learn  music, 
but  at  the  present  moment,  when  I  laugh  much  less  than  I 
did  in  those  careless  days,  I  never  think  of  that  monkey  with- 
out a  smile;  the  semi-man  began  by  grasping  the  instrument 
with  his  fist  and  by  sniffing  at  it  as  if  he  were  tasting  the 
flavor  of  an  apple.  The  snort  from  his  nostrils  probably 
produced  a  dull  harmonious  sound  in  the  sonorous  wood  and 
then  the  orang-outang  shook  his  head,  turned  over  the  violin, 
turned  it  back  again,  raised  it  up  in  the  air,  lowered  it,  held 
it  straight  out,  shook  it,  put  it  to  his  ear,  set  it  down,  and 
picked  it  up  again  with  a  rapidity  of  movement  peculiar  to 
these  agile  creatures.  He  seemed  to  question  the  dumb  wood 
with  faltering  sagacity  and  in  his  gestures  there  was  some- 
thing marvelous  as  well  as  infantile.  At  last  he  undertook 
with  grotesque  gestures  to  place  the  violin  under  his  chin, 
while  in  one  hand  he  held  the  neck;  but  like  a  spoiled  child 
he  soon  wearied  of  a  study  which  required  skill  not  to  be 
obtained  in  a  moment  and  he  twitched  the  strings  without 
being  able  to  draw  forth  anything  but  discordant  sounds.  He 
seemed  annoyed,  laid  the  violin  on  the  window-sill  and  snatch- 


58  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

ing  up  the  bow  he  began  to  push  it  to  and  fro  with  violence, 
like  a  mason  sawing  a  block  of  stone.  This  effort  only  suc- 
ceeded in  wearying  his  fastidious  ears,  and  he  took  the  bow 
with  both  hands  and  snapped  it  in  two  on  the  innocent  instru- 
ment, source  of  harmony  and  delight.  It  seemed  as  if  I  saw 
before  me  a  schoolboy  holding  under  him  a  companion  lying 
face  downwards,  while  he  pommeled  him  with  a  shower  of 
blows  from  his  fist,  as  if  to  punish  him  for  some  delinquency. 
The  violin  being  now  tried  and  condemned,  the  monkey  sat 
down  upon  the  fragments  of  it  and  amused  himself  with 
stupid  joy  in  mixing  up  the  j^ellow  strings  of  the  broken  bow. 

Never  since  that  day  have  I  been  able  to  look  upon  the 
home  of  the  predestined  without  comparing  the  majority  of 
husbands  to  this  orang-outang  trying  to  play  the  violin. 

Love  is  the  most  melodious  of  all  harmonies  and  the  senti- 
ment of  love  is  innate.  Woman  is  a  delightful  instrument 
of  pleasure,  but  it  is  necessary  to  know  its  trembling  strings, 
to  study  the  position  of  them,  the  timid  keyboard,  the  finger- 
ing so  changeful  and  capricious  which  befits  it.  How  many 
monkeys — men,  I  mean — marry  without  knowing  what  a 
woman  is !  How  many  of  the  predestined  proceed  with  their 
wives  as  the  ape  of  Cassan  did  with  his  violin !  They  have 
broken  the  heart  which  they  did  not  understand,  as  they 
might  dim  and  disdain  the  amulet  whose  secret  was  unknown 
to  them.  They  are  children  their  whole  life  through,  who 
leave  life  with  empty  hands  after  having  talked  about  love, 
about  pleasure,  about  licentiousness  and  virtue  as  slaves  talk 
about  liberty.  Almost  all  of  them  married  with  the  most  pro- 
found ignorance  of  women  and  of  love.  They  commenced 
by  breaking  in  the  door  of  a  strange  house  and  expected  to 
be  welcomed  in  this  drawing-room.  But  the  rudest  artist 
knows  that  between  him  and  his  instrument,  of  wood  or  of 
ivory,  there  exists  a  mysterious  sort  of  friendship.  He  knows 
by  experience  that  it  takes  years  to  establish  this  understand- 
ing between  an  inert  matter  and  himself.  He  did  not  discover, 
it  the  first  touch,  the  resources,  the  caprices,  the  deficiencies, 
the  excellencies  of  his  instrument.  It  did  not  become  a  living 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  59 

soul  for  him,  a  source  of  incomparable  melody  until  he  had 
studied  for  a  long  time ;  man  and  instrument  did  not  come  to 
understand  each  other  like  two  f  rlends,  until  both  of  them  had 
been  skillfully  questioned  and  tested  by  frequent  intercourse. 
Can  a  man  ever  learn  woman  and  know  how  to  decipher  this 
wondrous  strain  of  music,  by  remaining  through  life  like  a 
seminarian  in  his  cell?  Is  it  possible  that  a  man  who  makes 
it  his  business  to  think  for  others,  to  judge  others,  to  rule 
others,  to  steal  money  from  others,  to  feed,  to  heal,  to 
wound  others — that,  in  fact,  any  of  our  predestined,  can  spare 
time  to  study  a  woman  ?  They  sell  their  time  for  money,  how 
can  they  give  it  away  for  happiness  ?  Money  is  their  god.  No 
one  can  serve  two  masters  at  the  same  time.  Is  not  the  world, 
moreover,  full  of  young  women  who  drag  along  pale  and 
weak,  sickly  and  suffering?  Some  of  them  are  the  prey  of 
feverish  inflammations  more  or  less  serious,  others  lie  under 
the  cruel  tyranny  of  nervous  attacks  more  or  less  violent.  All 
the  husbands  of  these  women  belong  to  the  class  of  the  igno- 
rant and  the  predestined.  They  have  caused  their  own  mis- 
fortune and  expended  as  much  pains  in  producing  it  as  the 
husband  artist  would  have  bestowed  in  bringing  to  flower  the 
late  and  delightful  blooms  of  pleasure.  The  time  winch  an 
ignorant  man  passes  to  consummate  his  own  ruin  is  precisely 
that  which  a  man  of  knowledge  employs  in  the  education  of 
his  happiness. 

XXVI. 

Do  not  begin  marriage  by  a  violation  of  law. 

In  the  preceding  meditations  we  have  indicated  the  extent 
of  the  evil  with  the  reckless  audacity  of  those  surgeons,  who 
boldly  induce  the  formation  of  false  tissues  under  which  a 
shameful  wound  is  concealed.  Public  virtue,  transferred  to 
the  table  of  our  amphitheatre,  has  lost  even  its  carcass  under 
the  strokes  of  the  scalpel.  Lover  or  husband,  have  you  smiled, 
or  have  you  trembled  at  this  evil?  Well,  it  is  with  malicious 
delight  that  we  lay  this  huge  social  burden  on  the  conscience 


CO  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

of  the  predestined.  Harlequin,  when  he  tried  to  fine?  out 
whether  his  horse  could  be  accustomed  to  go  without  food, 
was  not  more  ridiculous  than  the  men  who  wish  to  find  happi- 
ness in  their  home  and  yet  refuse  to  cultivate  it  with  all  the 
pains  which  it  demands.  The  errors  of  women  are  so  many 
indictments  of  egotism,  neglect  and  worthlessness  in  husbands. 

Yet  it  is  yours,  reader,  it  pertains  to  you,  who  have  often 
condemned  in  another  the  crime  which  you  yourself  commit, 
it  is  yours  to  hold  the  balance.  One  of  the  scales  is  quite 
loaded,  take  care  what  you  are  going  to  put  in  the  other. 
Eeckon  up  the  number  of  predestined  ones  who  may  be  found 
among  the  total  number  of  married  people,  weigh  them,  and 
you  will  then  know  where  the  evil  is  seated. 

Let  us  try  to  penetrate  more  deeply  into  the  causes  of  this 
conjugal  sickliness. 

The  word  love,  when  applied  to  the  reproduction  of  the 
species,  is  the  most  hateful  blasphemy  which  modern  manners 
have  taught  us  to  utter.  Nature,  in  raising  us  above  the 
beasts  by  the  divine  gift  of  thought,  has  rendered  us  very 
sensitive  to  bodily  sensations,  emotional  sentiment,  cravings 
of  appetite  and  passions.  This  double  nature  of  ours  makes 
of  man.  both  an  animal  and  a  lover.  This  distinction  gives 
the  key  to  the  social  problem  which  we  are  considering. 

Marriage  may  be  considered  in  three  ways,  politically,  as 
well  as  from  a  civil  and  moral  point  of  view:  as  a  law,  as  a 
contract  and  as  an  institution.  As  a  law,  its  object  is  a  repro- 
duction of  the  species ;  as  a  contract,  it  relates  to  the  transmis- 
sion of  property ;  as  an  institution,  it  is  a  guarantee  which  all 
men  give  and  by  which  all  are  bound:  they  have  father  and 
mother,  and  they  will  have  children.  Marriage,  therefore, 
ought  to  be  the  object  of  universal  respect.  Society  can  only 
take  into  consideration  those  cardinal  points,  which,  from  a 
social  point  of  view,  dominate  the  conjugal  question. 

Most  men  have  no  other  views  in  marrying,  than  repro- 
duction, property  or  children;  but  neither  reproduction  nor 
property  nor  children  constitutes  happiness.  The  command, 
"Increase  and  multiply,"  does  not  imply  love.  To  ask  of  a 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  61 

young  girl  whom  we  have  seen  fourteen  times  in  fifteen  days, 
to  give  you  love  in  the  name  of  law,  the  king  and  justice,  is  an 
absurdity  worthy  of  the  majority  of  the  predestined. 

Love  is  the  union  between  natural  craving  and  sentiment; 
happiness  in  marriage  results  in  perfect  union  of  soul  between 
a  married  pair.  Hence  it  follows  that  in  order  to  be  happy 
a  man  must  feel  himself  bound  by  certain  rules  of  honor  and 
delicacy.  After  having  enjoyed  the  benefit  of  the  social  law 
which  consecrates  the  natural  craving,  he  must  obey  also  the 
secret  laws  of  nature  by  which  sentiments  unfold  themselves. 
If  he  stakes  his  happiness  on  being  himself  loved,  he  must 
himself  love  sincerely:  nothing  can  resist  a  genuine  passion. 

But  to  feel  this  passion  is  always  to  feel  desire.  Can  a 
man  always  desire  his  wife  ? 

Yes. 

It  is  as  absurd  to  deny  that  it  is  possible  for  a  man  always 
to  love  the  same  woman,  as  it  would  be  to  affirm  that  some 
famous  musician  needed  several  violins  in  order  to  execute  a 
piece  of  music  or  compose  a  charming  melody. 

Love  is  the  poetry  of  the  senses.  It  has  the  destiny  of  all 
that  which  is  great  in  man  and  of  all  that  which  proceeds 
from  his  thought.  Either  it  is  sublime,  or  it  is  not.  When 
once  it  exists,  it  exists  forever  and  goes  on  always  increasing. 
This  is  the  love  which  the  ancients  made  the  child  of  heaven 
and  earth. 

Literature  revolves  round  seven  situations;  music  expresses 
everything  with  seven  notes;  painting  employs  but  seven 
colors;  like  these  three  arts,  love  perhaps  founds  itself  on 
seven  principles,  but  we  leave  this  investigation  for  the  next 
century  to  carry  out. 

If  poetry,  music  and  painting  have  found  infinite  forms  of 
expression,  pleasure  should  be  even  more  diversified.  For 
in  the  three  arts  which  aid  us  in  seeking,  often  with  little 
success,  truth  by  means  of  analogy,  the  man  stands  alone  with 
his  imagination,  while  love  is  the  union  of  two  bodies  and  of 
two  souls.  If  the  three  principal  methods  upon  which  we 
rely  for  the  expression  of  thought  require  preliminary  study 


62  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

in  those  whom  nature  has  made  poets,  musicians  or  painters, 
is  it  not  obvious  that,  in  order  to  be  happy,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  be  initiated  into  the  secrets  of  pleasure?  All  men 
experience  the  craving  for  reproduction,  as  all  feel  hunger 
and  thirst ;  but  all  are  not  called  to  be  lovers  and  gastronomists. 
Our  present  civilization  has  proved  that  taste  is  a  science,  and 
it  is  only  certain  privileged  beings  who  have  learned  how  to 
eat  and  drink.  Pleasure  considered  as  an  art  is  still  waiting 
for  its  physiologists.  As  for  ourselves,  we  are  contented  with 
pointing  out  that  ignorance  of  the  principles  upon  which 
happiness  is  founded,  is  the  sole  cause  of  that  misfortune 
which  is  the  lot  of  all  the  predestined. 

It  is  with  the  greatest  timidity  that  we  venture  upon  the 
publication  of  a  few  aphorisms  which  may  give  birth  to  this 
new  art,  as  casts  have  create  1  the  science  of  geology;  and  we 
offer  them  for  the  meditation  of  philosophers,  of  young  mar- 
rying people  and  of  the  predestined. 

CATECHISM  OF  MARRIAGE. 

XXVII. 

Marriage  is  a  science. 

XXVIII. 

A  man  ought  not  to  marry  without  having  studied  anatomy, 
and  dissected  at  least  one  woman. 

XXIX. 

The  fate  of  the  home  depends  on  the  first  night. 

XXX. 

A  woman  deprived  of  her  free  will  can  never  have  the  credit 
of  making  a  sacrifice. 

XXXI. 

In  love,  putting  aside  all  consideration  of  the  soul,  the 
heart  of  a  woman  is  like  a  lyre  which  does  not  reveal  its  secret, 
excepting  to  him  who  is  a  skillful  player. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  63 

XXXII. 

Independently  of  any  gesture  of  repulsion,  there  exists  in 
the  soul  of  all  women  a  sentiment  which  tends,  sooner  or  later, 
to  proscribe  all  pleasures  devoid  of  passionate  feeling. 

XXXIII. 

The  interest  of  a  husband  as  much  as  his  honor  forbids  him 
to  indulge  a  pleasure  which  he  has  not  had  the  skill  to  make 
his  wife  desire. 

XXXIV. 

Pleasure  being  caused  by  the  union  of  sensation  and  senti- 
ment, we  can  say  without  fear  of  contradiction  that  pleasures 
are  a  sort  of  material  ideas. 

XXXV. 

As  ideas  are  capable  of  infinite  combination,  it  ought  to 
be  the  same  with  pleasures. 

XXXVI. 

In  the  life  of  man  there  are  no  two  moments  of  pleasure 
exactly  alike,  any  more  than  there  are  two  leaves  of  identical 
shape  upon  the  same  tree. 

XXXVII. 

If  there  are  differences  between  one  moment  of  pleasure 
and  another,  a  man  can  always  be  happy  with  the  same 
woman. 

XXXVIII. 

To  seize  adroitly  upon  the  varieties  of  pleasure,  to  develop 
them,  to  impart  to  them  a  new  style,  an  original  expression, 
constitutes  the  genius  of  a  husband. 

XXXIX. 

Between  two  beings  who  do  not  love  each  other  this  genius 
is  licentiousness ;  but  the  caresses  over  which  love  presides  are 
always  pure. 


64  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MAERIAGE 

XL. 

The  married  woman  who  is  the  most  chaste  may  be  also  the 
most  voluptuous. 

XLI. 

The  most  virtuous  woman  can  be  forward  without  know- 
ing it. 

XLIL 

When  two  human  beings  are  united  by  pleasure,  all  social 
conventionalities  are  put  aside.  This  situation  conceals  a 
reef  on  which  many  vessels  are  wrecked.  A  husband  is  lost, 
if  he  once  forgets  there  is  a  modesty  which  is  quite  inde- 
pendent of  coverings.  Conjugal  love  ought  never  either  to 
put  on  or  to  take  away  the  bandage  of  its  eyes,  excepting  at 
the  due  season. 

XLIII. 

Power  does  not  consist  in  striking  with  force  or  with  fre% 
quency,  but  in  striking  true. 

XLIV. 

To  call  a  desire  into  being,  to  nourish  it,  to  develop  it,  to 
bring  it  to  full  growth,  to  excite  it,  to  satisfy  it,  is  a  complete 
poem  of  itself. 

XLV. 

The  progression  of  pleasures  is  from  the  distich  to  the 
quatrain,  from  the  quatrain  to  the  sonnet,  from  the  sonnet  to 
the  ballad,  from  the  ballad  to  the  ode,  from  the  ode  to  the 
cantata,  from  the  cantata  to  the  dithyramb.  The  husband 
who  commences  with  dithyramb  is  a  fool. 

XLVI. 

Each  night  ought  to  have  its  menu. 

XLVII. 

Marriage  must  incessantly  contend  with  a  monster  which 
devours  everything,  that  is,  familiarity. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  86 

XLVIII. 

If  a  man  cannot  distinguish  the  difference  between  the 
pleasures  of  two  consecutive  nights,  he  has  married  too  early. 

XLIX. 

It  is  easier  to  be  a  lover  than  a  husband,  for  the  same  reason 
that  it  is  more  difficult  to  be  witty  every  day,  than  to  say 
bright  things  from  time  to  time. 

L. 

A  husband  ought  never  to  be  the  first  to  go  to  sleep  and  the 
last  to  awaken. 

LI. 

The  man  who  enters  his  wife's  dressing-room  is  either  a 
philosopher  or  an  imbecile. 

LII. 

The  husband  who  leaves  nothing  to  desire  is  a  lost  man. 

LIII. 

The  married  woman  is  a  slave  whom  one  must  know  how  to 
set  upon  a  throne. 

LIY. 

A  man  must  not  natter  himself  that  he  knows  his  wife,  and 
is  making  her  happy  unless  he  sees  her  often  at  his  knees. 

It  is  to  the  whole  ignorant  troop  of  our  predestined,  of.  our 
legions  of  snivelers,  of  smokers,  of  snuff-takers,  of  old  and 
captious  men  that  Sterne  addressed,  in  Tristram  Shandy,  the 
letter  written  by  Walter  Shandy  to  his  brother  Toby,  when 
this  last  proposed  to  marry  the  widow  Wadman. 

These  celebrated  instructions  which  the  most  original  of 
English  writers  has  comprised  in  this  letter,  suffice  with 
some  few  exceptions  to  complete  our  observations  on  the  man- 
ner in  which  husbands  should  behave  to  their  wives;  and  we 


66  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

offer  it  in  its  original  form  to  the  reflections  of  the  pre- 
destined, begging  that  they  will  meditate  upon  it  as  one  of  the 
most  solid  masterpieces  of  human  wit. 

"My  DEAR  BROTHER  TOBY, 

"What  I  am  going  to  say  to  thee  is  upon  the  nature  of 
women,  and  of  love-making  to  them ;  and  perhaps  it  is  as  well 
for  thee — tho'  not  so  well  for  me — that  thou  hast  occasion  for 
a  letter  of  instructions  upon  that  head,  and  that  I  am  able 
to  write  it  to  thee. 

"Had  it  been  the  good  pleasure  of  Him  who  disposes  of  our 
lots,  and  thou  no  sufferer  by  the  knowledge,  I  had  been  well 
content  that  thou  should'st  have  dipped  the  pen  this  moment 
into  the  ink  instead  of  myself;  but  that  not  being  the  case — 
Mrs.  Shandy  being  now  close  beside  me,  preparing  for  bed — I 
have  thrown  together  without  order,  and  just  as  they  have 
come  into  my  mind,  such  hints  and  documents  as  I  deem 
may  be  of  use  to  thee ;  intending,  in  this,  to  give  thee  a  token 
of  my  love;  not  doubting,  my  dear  Toby,  of  the  manner  in 
which  it  will  be  accepted. 

"In  the  first  place,  with  regard  to  all  which  concerns 
religion  in  the  affair — though  I  perceive  from  a  glow  in  my 
cheek,  that  I  blush  as  I  begin  to  speak  to  thee  upon  the  sub- 
ject, as  well  knowing,  notwithstanding  thy  unaffected  secrecy, 
how  few  of  its  offices  thou  neglectest — yet  I  would  remind 
thee  of  one  (during  the  continuance  of  thy  courtship)  in  a 
particular  manner,  which  I  would  not  have  omitted ;  and  that 
is,  never  to  go  forth  upon  the  enterprise,  whether  it  be  in 
the'morning  or  in  the  afternoon,  without  first  recommending 
thyself  to  the  protection  of  Almighty  God,  that  He  may  defend 
thee  from  the  evil  one. 

"Shave  the  whole  top  of  thy  crown  clean  once  at  least  every 
four  or  five  days,  but  oftener  if  convenient;  lest  in  taking 
off  thy  wig  before  her,  thro'  absence  of  mind,  she  should  be 
able  to  discover  how  much  has  been  cut  away  by  Time — how 
much  by  Trim.  • 

"  'Twere  better  to  keep  ideas  of  baldness  out  of  her  fancy. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  67 

K Always  carry  it  in  thy  mind,  and  act  upon  it  as  a  sure 
maxim,  Toby — 

''  'That  women  are  timid:'  And  'tis  well  they  are— else 
there  would  be  no  dealing  with  them. 

"Let  not  thy  breeches  be  too  tight,  or  hang  too  loose  about 
thy  thighs,  like  the  trunk-hose  of  our  ancestors. 

"A  just  medium  prevents  all  conclusions. 

"Whatever  thou  hast  to  say,  be  it  more  or  less,  forget  not 
to  utter  it  in  a  low  soft  tone  of  voice.  Silence,  and  what- 
ever approaches  it,  weaves  dreams  of  midnight  secrecy  into 
the  brain :  For  this  cause,  if  thou  canst  help  it,  never  throw 
down  the  tongs  and  poker. 

"Avoid  all  kinds  of  pleasantry  and  facetiousness  in  thy 
discourse  with  her,  and  ao  whatever  lies  in  thy  power  at  the 
same  time,  to  keep  from  her  all  books  and  writings  which 
tend  there  to :  there  are  some  devotional  tracts,  which  if  thou 
canst  entice  her  to  read  over,  it  will  be  well :  but  suffer  her  not 
to  look  into  Rabelais,  or  Scarron,  or  Don  Quixote. 

"They  are  all  books  which  excite  laughter;  and  thou  know- 
est,  dear  Toby,  that  there  is  no  passion  so  serious  as  lust. 

"Stick  a  pin  in  the  bosom  of  thy  shirt,  before  thou  enterest 
her  parlor. 

"And  if  thou  art  permitted  to  sit  upon  the  same  sofa  With 
her,  and  she  gives  thee  occasion  to  lay  thy  hand  upon  hers — 
beware  of  taking  it — thou  canst  not  lay  thy  hand  upon  hers, 
but  she  will  feel  the  temper  of  thine.  Leave  that  and  as  many 
other  things  as  thou  canst,  quite  undetermined ;  by  so  doing, 
thou  wilt  have  her  curiosity  on  thy  side;  and  if  she  is  not 
conquered  by  that,  and  thy  Asse  continues  still  kicking,  which 
'  there  is  great  reason  to  suppose — thou  must  begin,  with  first 
losing  a  few  ounces  of  blood  below  the  ears,  according  to  the 
practice  of  the  ancient  Scythians,  who  cured  the  most  intem- 
perate fits  of  the  appetite  by  that  means. 

"Avicenna,  after  this,  is  for  having  the  part  anointed  with 
the  syrup  of  hellebore,  using  proper  evacuations  and  purges — 
and  I  believe  rightly.  But  thou  must  eat  little  or  no  goat's 
flesh,  nor  red  deer — nor  even  foal's  flesh  by  any  means;  and 


68  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

carefully  abstain — that  is,  as  much  as  thou  canst, — from  pea- 
cocks, cranes,  coots,  didappers  and  water-hens. 

"As  for  thy  drink — I  need  not  tell  thee,  it  must  be  the 
infusion  of  Vervain  and  the  herb  Hanea,  of  which  ^lian 
relates  such  effects;  but  if  thy  stomach  palls  with  it — dis- 
continue it  from  time  to  time,  taking  cucumbers,  melons, 
purslane,  water-lilies,  woodbine,  and  lettuce,  in  the  stead  of 
them. 

"There  is  nothing  further  for  thee,  which  occurs  to  me 
at  present — 

"Unless  the  breaking  out  of  a  fresh  war. — So  wishing  every- 
thing, dear  Toby,  for  the  best, 

"I  rest  thy  affectionate  brother, 

"WALTER  SHANDY." 

Under  the  present  circumstances  Sterne  himself  would 
doubtless  have  omitted  from  his  letter  the  passage  about  the 
ass ;  and,  far  from  advising  the  predestined  to  be  bled  he  would 
have  changed  the  regimen  of  cucumbers  and  lettuces  for  one 
eminently  substantial.  He  recommended  the  exercise  of 
economy,  in  order  to  attain  to  the  power  of  magic  liberality 
in  the  moment  of  war,  thus  imitating  the  admirable  example 
of  the  English  government,  which  in  time  of  peace  has  two 
hundred  ships  in  commission,  but  whose  shipwrights  can,  in 
time  of  need,  furnish  double  that  quantity  when  it  is  desirable 
to  scour  the  sea  and  carry  off  a  whole  foreign  navy. 

When  a  man  belongs  to  the  small  class  of  those  who  by  a 
liberal  education  have  been  made  masters  of  the  domain  of 
thought,  he  ought  always,  before  marrying,  to  examine  his 
physical  and  moral  resources.  To  contend  advantageously 
with  the  tempest  which  so  many  attractions  tend  to  raise  in 
the  heart  of  his  wife,  a  husband  ought  to  possess,  besides  the 
science  of  pleasure  and  a  fortune  which  saves  him  from  sink- 
ing into  any  class  of  the  predestined,  robust  health,  exquisite 
tact,  considerable  intellect,  too  much  good  sense  to  make  his 
superiority  felt,  excepting  on  fit  occasions,  and  finally  great 
acuteness  of  hearing  and  sight. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  69 

If  he  has  a  handsome. face,  a  good  figure,  a  manly  air,  and 
yet  falls  short  of  all  these  promises,  he  will  sink  into  the 
class  of  the  predestined.  On  the  other  hand,  a  husband  who 
is  plain  in  features  but  has  a  face  full  of  expression,  will  find 
himself,  if  his  wife  once  forgets  his  plainness,  in  a  situation 
most  favorable  for  his  struggle  against  the  genius  of  evil. 

He  will  study  (and  this  is  a  detail  omitted  from  the  letter 
of  Sterne)  to  give  no  occasion  for  his  wife's  disgust.  Also, 
he  will  resort  moderately  to  the  use  of  perfumes,  which,  how- 
ever, always  expose  beauty  to  injurious  suspicions. 

He  ought  as  carefully  to  study  how  to  behave  and  how  to 
pick  out  subjects  of  conversation,  as  if  he  were  courting  the 
most  inconstant  of  women.  It  is  for  him  that  a  philosopher 
has  made  the  following  reflection : 

"More  than  one  woman  has  been  rendered  unhappy  for  the 
rest  of  her  life,  has  been  lost  and  dishonored  by  a  man  whom 
she  has  ceased  to  love,  because  he  took  off  his  coat  awkwardly, 
trimmed  one  of  his  nails  crookedly,  put  on  a  stocking  wrong 
side  out,  and  was  clumsy  with  a  button." 

One  of  the  most  important  of  his  duties  will  be  to  conceal 
from  his  wife  the  real  state  of  his  fortune,  so  that  he  may 
satisfy  her  fancies  and  caprices  as  generous  celibates  are  wont 
to  do. 

Then  the  most  difficult  thing  of  all,  a  thing  to  accomplish 
which  superhuman  courage  is  required,  is  to  exercise  the  most 
complete  control  over  the  ass  of  which  Sterne  speaks.  This 
ass  ought  to  be  as  submissive  as  a  serf  of  the  thirteenth  cen- 
tury was  to  his  lord ;  to  obey  and  be  silent,  advance  and  stop, 
at  the  slightest  word. 

Even  when  equipped  with  these  advantages,  a  husband 
enters  the  lists  with  scarcely  any  hope  of  success.  Like  all 
the  rest,  he  still  runs  the  risk  of  becoming,  for  his  wife,  a  sort 
of  responsible  editor. 

"And  why!"  will  exclaim  certain  good  but  small-minded 
people,  whose  horizon  is  limited  to  the  tip  of  their  nose,  "why 
is  it  necessary  to  take  so  much  pains  in  order  to  love,  and  why 
is  it  necessary  to  go  to  school  beforehand,  in  order  to  be  happy 


70  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

in  your  own  home  ?  Does  the  government  intend  to  institute 
a  professional  chair  of  love,  just  as  it  has  instituted  a  chair 
of  law?" 

This  is  our  answer : 

These  multiplied  rules,  so  difficult  to  deduce,  these  minute 
observations,  these  ideas  which  vary  so  as  to  suit  different 
temperaments,  are  innate,  so  to  speak,  in  the  heart  of  those 
who  are  born  for  love;  just  as  his  feeling  of  taste  and  his 
indescribable  felicity  in  combining  ideas  are  natural  to  the 
soul  of  the  poet,  the  painter  or  the  musician.  The  men  who 
would  experience  any  fatigue  in  putting  into  practice  the 
instructions  given  in  this  Meditation  are  naturally  predes- 
tined, just  as  he  who  cannot  perceive  the  connection  which 
exists  between  two  different  ideas  is  an  imbecile.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  love  has  its  great  men  although  they  be  unrecognized, 
as  war  has  its  Napoleons,  poetry  its  Andre  Cheniers  and  phil- 
osophy its  Descartes. 

This  last  observation  contains  the  germ  of  a  true  answer 
to  the  question  which  men  from  time  immemorial  have  been 
asking :  Why  are  happy  marriages  so  very  rare  ? 

This  phenomenon  of  the  moral  world  is  rarely  met  with  for 
the  reason  that  people  of  genius  are  rarely  met  with.  A 
passion  which  lasts  is  a  sublime  drama  acted  by  two  per- 
formers of  equal  talent,  a  drama  in  which  sentiments  form  the 
catastrophe,  where  desires  are  incidents  and  the  lightest 
thought  brings  a  change  of  scene.  Now  how  is  it  possible,  in 
this  herd  of  bimana  which  we  call  a  nation,  to  meet,  on  any 
but  rare  occasions,  a  man  and  a  woman  who  possess  in  the 
same  degree  the  genius  of  love,  when  men  of  talent  are  so 
thinly  sown  and  so  rare  in  all  other  sciences,  in  the  pursuit  of 
which  the  artist  needs  only  to  understand  himself,  in  order 
to  attain  success  ? 

Up  to  the  present  moment,  we  have  been  contented  with 
making  a  forecast  of  the  difficulties,  to  some  degree  physical, 
which  two  married  people  have  to  overcome,  in  order  to  be 
happy;  but  what  a  task  would  be  ours  if  it  were  necessary  to 
unfold  the  startling  array  of  moral  obligations  which  spring 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OP  MAERIAGE  71 

from  their  differences  in  character?  Let  us  cry  halt!  The 
man  who  is  skillful  enough  to  guide  the  temperament  will 
certainly  show  himself  master  of  the  soul  of  another. 

We  will  suppose  that  our  model  husband  fulfills  the  primary 
conditions  necessary,  in  order  that  he  may  dispute  or  main- 
tain possession  of  his  wife,  in  spite  of  all  assailants.  We  will 
admit  that  he  is  not  to  be  reckoned  in  any  of  the  numerous 
classes  of  the  predestined  which  we  have  passed  in  review. 
Let  us  admit  that  he  has  become  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  all 
our  maxims ;  that  he  has  mastered  the  admirable  science,  some 
of  whose  precepts  we  have  made  known;  that  he  has  married 
wisely,  that  he  knows  his  wife,  that  he  is  loved  by  her;  and 
let  us  continue  the  enumeration  of  all  those  general  causes 
which  might  aggravate  the  critical  situation  which  we  shall 
represent  him  as  occupying  for  the  instruction  of  the  human 
race. 


MEDITATION  VI. 

OF  BOARDING  SCHOOLS. 

If  you  have  married  a  young  lady  whose  education  has  been 
carried  on  at  a  boarding  school,  there  are  thirty  more  obsta- 
cles to  your  happiness,  added  to  all  those  which  we  have 
already  enumerated,  and  you  are  exactly  like  a  man  who 
thrusts  his  hands  into  a  wasp's  nest. 

Immediately,  therefore,  after  the  nuptial  blessing  has  been 
pronounced,  without  allowing  yourself  to  be  imposed  upon  by 
the  innocent  ignorance,  the  frank  graces  and  the  modest 
countenance  of  your  wife,  you  ought  to  ponder  well  and  faith- 
fully follow  out  the  axioms  and  precepts  which  we  shall 
develop  in  the  second  part  of  this  book.  You  should  even  put 
into  practice  the  rigors  prescribed  in  the  third  part,  by  mani- 
festing an  active  surveillance,  a  paternal  solicitude  at  all 
hours,  for  the  very  day  after  your  marriage,  perhaps  on  the 
evening  of  your  wedding  day,  there  is  danger  in  the  house. 


72  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

I  mean  to  say  that  you  should  call  to  mind  the  secret  and 
profound  instruction  which  the  pupils  have  acquired  de  natura 
rerum, — of  the  nature  of  things.  Did  Lapeyrouse,  Cook  or 
Captain  Parry  ever  show  so  much  ardor  in  navigating  the 
ocean  towards  the  Poles  as  the  scholars  of  the  Lyce'e  do  in 
approaching  forbidden  tracts  in  the  ocean  of  pleasure  ?  Since 
girls  are  more  cunning,  cleverer  and  more  curious  than  boys, 
their  secret  meetings  and  their  conversations,  which  all  the 
art  of  their  teachers  cannot  check,  are  necessarily  presided 
over  by  a  genius  a  thousand  times  more  infernal  than  that  of 
college  boys.  What  man  has  ever  heard  the  moral  reflections 
and  the  corrupting  confidences  of  these  young  girls?  They 
alone  know  the  sports  at  which  honor  is  lost  in  advance,  those 
essays  in  pleasure,  those  promptings  in  voluptuousness,  those 
imitations  of  bliss,  which  may  be  compared  to  the  thefts  made 
by  greedy  children  from  a  dessert  which  is  locked  up.  A  girl 
may  come  forth  from  her  boarding  school  a  virgin,  but  never 
chaste.  She  will  have  discussed,  time  and  time  again  at 
secret  meetings,  the  important  question  of  lovers,  and  cor- 
ruption will  necessarily  have  overcome  her  heart  or  her  spirit. 

Nevertheless,  we  will  admit  that  your  wife  has  not  partici- 
pated in  these  virginal  delights,  in  these  premature  deviltries. 
Is  she  any  better  because  she  has  never  had  any  voice  in  the 
secret  councils  of  grown-up  girls  ?  No  I  She  will,  in  any 
case,  have  contracted  a  friendship  with  other  young  ladies, 
and  our  computation  will  be  modest,  if  we  attribute  to  her  no 
more  than  two  or  three  intimate  friends.  Are  you  certain, 
that  after  your  wife  has  left  boarding  school,  her  young 
friends  have  not  there  been  admitted  to  those  confidences,  in 
which  an  attempt  is  made  to  learn  in  advance,  at  least  by 
analogy,  the  pastimes  of  doves?  And  then  her  friends  will 
marry;  you  will  have  four  women  to  watch  instead  of  one, 
four  characters  to  divine,  and  you  will  be  at  the  mercy  of  four 
husbands  and  a  dozen  celibates,  of  whose  life,  principles  and 
habits  you  are  quite  ignorant,  at  a  time  when  our  meditations 
have  revealed  to  you  the  certain  coming  of  a  day  when  you 
will  have  your  hands  full  with  the  people  whom  you  married 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  73 

with  your  wife.  Satan  alone  could  have  thought  of  placing 
a  girl's  boarding  school  in  the  middle  of  a  large  town! 
Madame  Campan  had  at  the  least  the  wisdom  to  set  up  her 
famous  institution  at  £couen.  This  sensible  precaution  proved 
that  she  was  no  ordinary  woman.  There,  her  young  ladies  did 
not  gaze  upon  the  picture  gallery  of  the  streets,  the  huge  and 
grotesque  figures  and  the  obscene  words  drawn  by  some  evil- 
spirited  pencil.  They  had  not  perpetually  before  their  eyes 
the  spectacle  of  human  infirmities  exhibited  at  every  barrier 
in  France,  and  treacherous  book-stalls  did  not  vomit  out  upon 
them  in  secret  the  poison  of  books  which  taught  evil  and  set 
passion  on  fire.  This  wise  school-mistress,  moreover,  could 
only  at  ficouen  preserve  a  young  lady  for  you  spotless  and 
pure,  if,  even  there,  that  were  possible.  Perhaps  you  hope 
to  find  no  difficulty  in  preventing  your  wife  from  seeing  her 
school  friends  ?  What  folly  !  She  will  meet  them  at  the  ball, 
at  the  theatre,  out  walking  and  in  the  world  at  large;  and 
how  many  services  two  friends  can  render  each  other!  But 
we  will  meditate  upon  this  new  subject  of  alarm  in  its  proper 
place  and  order. 

Nor  is  this  all ;  if  your  mother-in-law  sent  her  daughter  to 
a  boarding  school,  do  you  believe  that  this  was  out  of  solicitude 
•for  her  daughter?  A  girl  of  twelve  or  fifteen  is  a  terrible 
Argus;  and  if  your  mother-in-law  did  not  wish  to  have  an 
Argus  in  her  house  I  should  be  inclined  to  suspect  that  your 
dear  mother-in-law  belonged  undoubtedly  to  the  most  shady 
section  of  our  honest  women.  She  will,  therefore,  prove  for 
her  daughter  on  every  occasion  either  a  deadly  example  or  a 
dangerous  adviser. 

Let  us  stop  here! — The  mother-in-law  requires  a  whole 
Meditation  for  herself. 

So  that,  whichever  way  you  turn,  the  bed  of  marriage,  in 
this  connection,  is  equally  full  of  thorns. 

Before  the  Revolution,  several  aristocratic  families  used 
to  send  their  daughters  to  the  convent.  This  example  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  number  of  people  who  imagined  that  in  sending 
their  daughters  to  a  school  where  the  daughters  of  some  great 


74  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

nobleman  were  sent,  they  would  assume  the  tone  and  manners 
of  aristocrats.  This  delusion  of  pride  was,  from  the  first,  fatal 
to  domestic  happiness ;  for  the  convents  had  all  the  disadvan- 
tages of  other  boarding  schools.  The  idleness  that  prevailed 
there  was  more  terrible.  The  cloister  bars  inflame  the  imagi- 
nation. Solitude  is  a  condition  very  favorable  to  the  devil; 
and  one  can  scarcely  imagine  what  ravages  the  most  ordinary 
phenomena  of  life  are  able  to  leave  in  the  soul  of  these  young 
girls,  dreamy,  ignorant  and  unoccupied. 

Some  of  them,  by  reason  of  their  having  indulged  idle 
fancies,  are  led  into  curious  blunders.  Others,  having  indulged 
in  exaggerated  ideas  of  married  life,  say  to  themselves,  as 
soon  as  they  have  taken  a  husband,  "What !  Is  this  all  ?"  In 
every  way,  the  imperfect  instruction,  which  is  given  to  girls 
educated  in  common,  has  in  it  all  the  danger  of  ignorance  and 
all  the  unhappiness  of  science. 

A  young  girl  brought  up  at  home  by  her  mother  or  by  her 
virtuous,  bigoted,  amiable  or  cross-grained  old  aunt ;  a  young 
girl,  whose  steps  have  never  crossed  the  home  threshold  with- 
out being  surrounded  by  chaperons,  whose  laborious  childhood 
has  been  wearied  by  tasks,  albeit  they  were  profitless,  to  whom 
in  short  everything  is  a  mystery,  even  the  Seraphin  puppet 
show,  is  one  of  those  treasures  which  are  met  with,  here  and 
there  in  the  world,  like  woodland  flowers  surrounded  by 
brambles  so  thick  that  mortal  eye  cannot  discern  them.  The 
man  who  owns  a  flower  so  sweet  and  pure  as  this,  and  leaves 
it  to  be  cultivated  by  others,  deserves  his  unhappiness  a  thou- 
sand times  over.  He  is  either  a  monster  or  a  fool. 

It  is  now  time  to  inquire  whether  there  be  any  method  of 
marrying  so  well  as  to  be  able  to  put  off  indefinitely  a  resort 
to  those  precautions,  a  summary  of  which  will  be  presented  in 
the  second  and  third  parts ;  but  have  we  not  sufficiently  proved 
that  it  is  much  easier  to  read  the  ficole  des  Femmes  behind 
closed  doors,  than  to  arrive  at  a  knowledge  of  the  character, 
habits  and  mental  capacity  of  a  marriageable  young  lady  ? 

Do  not  most  men  marry  exactly  as  they  buy  stocks  on  the 
Bourse  ? 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  75 

And  if  in  the  preceding  Meditation  we  have  succeeded  in 
proving  to  you  that  by  far  the  greater  number  of  men  live 
in  the  most  absolute  indifference  to  their  personal  honor,  in 
the  matter  of  marriage,  is  it  reasonable  to  believe  that  any 
considerable  number  of  them  are  sufficiently  rich,  sufficiently 
intellectual,  sufficiently  penetrating  to  waste,  like  Burchell  in 
the  Vicar  of  Wakefield,  one  or  two  years  in  studying  and 
watching  the  girls  whom  they  mean  to  make  their  wives,  when 
they  pay  so  little  attention  to  them  after  conjugal  possession 
during  that  period  of  time  which  the  English  call  the  honey- 
moon, and  whose  influence  we  shall  shortly  discuss? 

Since,  however,  we  have  spent  some  time  in  reflecting  upon 
this  important  matter,  we  would  observe  that  there  are  many 
methods  of  choosing  more  or  less  successfully,  even  though 
the  choice  be  promptly  made. 

It  is,  for  example,  beyond  doubt  that  the  probabilities  will 
be  in  your  favor : 

I.  If  you  have  chosen  a  young  lady  whose  temperament 
resembles  that  of  the  women  of  Louisiana  or  the  Carolinas. 

To  obtain  reliable  information  concerning  the  tempera- 
ment of  a  young  person,  it  is  necessary  to  put  into  vigorous 
operation  the  system  which  Gil  Bias  prescribes,  in  dealing 
with  chambermaids,  a  system  employed  by  statesmen  to  dis- 
cover conspiracies  and  to  learn  how  the  ministers  have  passed 
the  night. 

II.  If  you  choose  a  young  lady  who,  without  being  plain, 
does  not  belong  to  the  class  of  pretty  women. 

We  regard  it  as  an  infallible  principle  that  great  sweetness 
of  disposition  united  in  a  woman  with  plainness  that  is  not 
repulsive,  form  two  indubitable  elements  of  success  in  securing 
the  greatest  possible  happiness  to  the  home. 

But  would  you  learn  the  truth  ?  Open  your  Rousseau ;  for 
there  is  not  a  single  question  of  public  morals  whose  trend  he 
has  not  pointed  out  in  advance.  Read : 

"Among  people  of  fixed  principles  the  girls  are  careless, 
the  women  severe;  the  contrary  is  the  case  among  people  of 
no  principle." 


76  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OP  MARRIAGE 

To  admit  the  truth  enshrined  in  this  profound  and  truthful 
remark  is  to  conclude,  that  there  would  be  fewer  unhappy  mar- 
riages if  men  wedded  their  mistresses.  The  education  of  girls 
requires,  therefore,  important  modifications  in  France.  Up 
to  this  time  French  laws  and  French  manners  instituted  to 
distinguish  between  a  misdemeanor  and  a  crime,  have  encour- 
aged crime.  In  reality  the  fault  committed  by  a  young  girl 
is  scarcely  ever  a  misdemeanor,  if  you  compare  it  with  that 
committed  by  the  married  woman.  Is  there  any  comparison 
between  the  danger  of  giving  liberty  to  girls  and  that  of  allow- 
ing it  to  wives?  The  idea  of  taking  a  young  girl  on  trial 
makes  more  serious  men  think  than  fools  laugh.  The  man- 
ners of  Germany,  of  Switzerland,  of  England  and  of  the 
United  States  give  to  young  ladies  such  rights  as  in  France 
would  be  considered  the  subversion  of  all  morality ;  and  yet  it 
is  certain  that  in  these  countries  there  are  fewer  unhappy 
marriages  than  in  France. 

LV. 

"Before  a  woman  gives  herself  entirely  up  to  her  lover,  she 
ought  to  consider  well  what  his  love  has  to  offer  her.  The 
gift  of  her  esteem  and  confidence  should  necessarily  precede 
that  of  her  heart." 

Sparkling  with  truth  as  they  are,  these  lines  probably  filled 
with  light  the  dungeon,  in  the  depths  of  which  Mirabeau 
wrote  them;  and  the  keen  observation  which  they  bear  wit- 
ness to,  although  prompted  by  the  most  stormy  of  his  pas- 
sions, has  none  the  less  influence  even  now  in  solving  the 
social  problem  on  which  we  are  engaged.  In  fact,  a  mar- 
riage sealed  under  the  auspices  of  the  religious  scrutiny 
which  assumes  the  existence  of  love,  and  subjected  to  the 
atmosphere  of  that  disenchantment  which  follows  on  posses- 
sion, ought  naturally  to  be  the  most  firmly-welded  of  all 
human  unions. 

A  woman  then  ought  never  to  reproach  her  husband  for  the 
legal  right,  in  virtue  of  which  she  belongs  to  him.  She  ought 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  77 

not  to  find  in  this  compulsory  submission  any  excuse  for 
yielding  to  a  lover,  because  some  time  after  her  marriage  she 
has  discovered  in  her  own  heart  a  traitor  whose  sophisms 
seduce  her  by  asking  twenty  times  an  hour,  "Wherefore,  since 
she  has  been  given  against  her  will  to  a  man  whom  she  does 
not  love,  should  she  not  give  herself,  of  her  own  free-will,  to 
a  man  whom  she  does  love."  A  woman  is  not  to  be  tolerated 
in  her  complaints  concerning  faults  inseparable  from  human 
nature.  She  has,  in  advance,  made  trial  of  the  tyranny  which 
they  exercise,  and  taken  sides  with  the  caprices  which  they 
exhibit. 

A  great  many  young  girls  are  likely  to  be  disappointed  in 
their  hopes  of  love ! — But  will  it  not  be  an  immense  advantage 
for  them  to  have  escaped  being  made  the  companions  of  men 
whom  they  would  have  had  the  right  to  despise? 

Certain  alarmists  will  exclaim  that  such  an  alteration  in 
our  manners  would  bring  about  a  public  dissoluteness  which 
would  be  frightful;  that  the  laws,  and  the  customs  which 
prompt  the  laws,  could  not  after  all  authorize  scandal  and 
immorality;  and  if  certain  unavoidable  abuses  do  exist,  at 
least  society  ought  not  to  sanction  them. 

It  is  easy  to  say,  in  reply,  first  of  all,  that  the  proposed  sys- 
tem tends  to  prevent  those  abuses  which  have  been  hitherto 
regarded  as  incapable  of  prevention;  but,  the  calculations  of 
our  statistics,  inexact  as  they  are,  have  invariably  pointed  out 
a  widely  prevailing  social  sore,  and  our  moralists  may,  there- 
fore, be  accused  of  preferring  the  greater  to  the  lesser  evil,  the 
violation  of  the  principle  on  which  society  is  constituted,  to 
the  granting  of  a  certain  liberty  to  girls ;  and  dissoluteness  in 
mothers  of  families,  such  as  poisons  the  springs  of  public 
education  and  brings  unhappiness  upon  at  least  four  persons, 
to  dissoluteness  in  a  young  girl,  which  only  affects  herself  or 
at  the  most  a  child  besides.  Let  the  virtue  of  ten  virgins  be 
lost  rather  than  forfeit  this  sanctity  of  morals,  that  crown  of 
honor  with  which  the  mother  of  a  family  should  be  invested ! 
In  the  picture  presented  by  a  young  girl  abandoned  by  her 
betrayer,  there  is  something  imposing,  something  indescrib- 


78  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

ably  sacred;  here  we  see  oaths  violated,  holy  confidences 
betrayed,  and  on  the  ruins  of  a  too  facile  virtue  innocence  sits 
in  tears,  doubting  everything,  because  compelled  to  doubt  the 
love  of  a  father  for  his  child.  The  unfortunate  girl  is  still 
innocent;  she  may  yet  become  a  faithful  wife,  a  tender 
mother,  and,  if  the  past  is  mantled  in  clouds,  the  future  is  blue 
as  the  clear  sky.  Shall  we  not  find  these  tender  tints  in  the 
gloomy  pictures  of  loves  which  violate  the  marriage  law?  In 
the  one,  the  woman  is  the  victim,  in  the  other,  she  is  a  crimi- 
nal. What  hope  is  there  for  the  unfaithful  wife?  If  God 
pardons  the  fault,  the  most  exemplary  life  cannot  efface,  here 
below,  its  living  consequences.  If  James  I.  was  the  son  of 
Kizzio,  the  crime  of  Mary  lasted  as  long  as  did  her  mournful 
though  royal  house,  and  the  fall  of  the  Stuarts  was  the  justice 
of  God. 

But  in  good  faith,  would  the  emancipation  of  girls  set  free 
such  a  host  of  dangers  ? 

It  is  very  easy  to  accuse  a  young  person  for  suffering  her- 
self to  be  deceived,  in  the  desire  to  escape,  at  any  price,  from 
the  condition  of  girlhood ;  but  such  an  accusation  is  only  just 
in  the  present  condition  of  our  manners.  At  the  present  day, 
a  young  person  knows  nothing  about  seduction  and  its  snares, 
she  relies  altogether  upon  her  weakness,  and  mingling  with 
this  reliance  the  convenient  maxims  of  the  fashionable  world, 
she  takes  as  her  guide  while  under  the  control  of  those  desires 
which  everything  conspires  to  excite,  her  own  deluding  fancies, 
which  prove  a  guide  all  the  more  treacherous,  because  a  young 
girl  rarely  ever  confides  to  another  the  secret  thoughts  of  her 
first  love. 

If  she  were  free,  an  education  free  from  prejudices  would 
arm  her  against  the  love  of  the  first  comer.  She  would,  like 
any  one  else,  be  very  much  better  able  to  meet  dangers  of 
which  she  knew,  than  perils  whose  extent  had  been  concealed 
from  her.  And,  moreover,  is  it  necessary  for  a  girl  to  be  any 
the  less  under  the  watchful  eye  of  her  mother,  because  she  is 
mistress  of  her  own  actions  ?  Are  we  to  count  as  nothing  the 
modesty  and  the  fears  which  nature  has  made  so  powerful  in 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  79 

the  soul  of  a  young  girl,  for  the  very  purpose  of  preserving 
her  from  the  misfortune  of  submitting  to  a  man  who  does  not 
love  her?  Again,  what  girl  is  there  so  thoughtless  as  not  to 
discern,  that  the  most  immoral  man  wishes  his  wife  to  be  a 
woman  of  principle,  as  masters  desire  their  servants  to  be  per- 
fect; and  that,  therefore,  her  virtue  is  the  richest  and  most 
advantageous  of  all  possessions? 

After  all,  what  is  the  question  before  us  ?  For  what  do  you 
think  we  are  stipulating?  We  are  making  a  claim  for  five 
or  six  hundred  thousand  maidens,  protected  by  their  instinc- 
tive timidity,  and  by  the  high  price  at  which  they  rate  them- 
selves; they  understand  how  to  defend  themselves,  just  as 
well  as  they  know  how  to  sell  themselves.  The  eighteen 
millions  of  human  beings,  whom  we  have  excepted  from  this 
consideration,  almost  invariably  contract  marriages  in  accord- 
ance with  the  system  which  we  are  trying  to  make  paramount 
in  our  system  of  manners;  and  as  to  the  intermediary  classes 
by  which  we  poor  bimana  are  separated  from  the  men  of  privi- 
lege who  march  at  the  head  of  a  nation,  the  number  of  casta- 
way children  which  these  classes,  although  in  tolerably  easy 
circumstances,  consign  to  misery,  goes  on  increasing  since  the 
peace,  if  we  may  believe  M.  Benoiston  de  Chateauneuf,  one  of 
the  most  courageous  of  those  savants  who  have  devoted  them- 
selves to  the  arid  yet  useful  study  of  statistics.  We  may  guess 
how  deep-seated  is  the  social  hurt,  for  which  we  propound  a 
remedy,  if  we  reckon  the  number  of  natural  children  which 
statistics  reveal,  and  the  number  of  illicit  adventures  whose 
existence  in  high  society  we  are  forced  to  suspect.  But  it  is 
difficult  here  to  make  quite  plain  all  the  advantages  which 
would  result  from  the  emancipation  of  young  girls.  When 
we  come  to  observe  the  circumstances  which  attend  a  mar- 
riage, such  as  our  present  manners  approve  of,  judicious  min9s 
must  appreciate  the  value  of  that  system  of  education  and 
liberty,  which  we  demand  for  young  girls,  in  the  name  of 
reason  and  nature.  The  prejudice  which  we  in  France  enter- 
tain in  favor  of  the  virginity  of  brides  is  the  most  silly  of  all 
those  which  still  survive  among  us.  The  Orientals  take  their 


80  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

brides  without  distressing  themselves  about  the  past  and  lock 
them  up  in  order  to  be  more  certain  about  the  future;  the 
French  put  their  daughters  into  a  sort  of  seraglio  defended  by 
their  mothers,  by  prejudice,  and  by  religious  ideas,  and  give 
the  most  complete  liberty  to  their  wives,  thus  showing  them- 
selves much  more  solicitous  about  a  woman's  past  than  about 
her  future.  The  point  we  are  aiming  at  is  to  bring  about  a 
reversal  in  our  system  of  manners.  If  we  did  so  we  should 
end,  perhaps,  by  giving  to  faithful  married  life  all  the  flavor 
and  the  piquancy  which  women  of  to-day  find  in  acts  of  infi- 
delity. 

But  this  discussion  would  take  us  far  from  our  subject,  if  it 
led  us  to  examine,  in  all  its  details,  the  vast  improvement  in 
morals  which  doubtless  will  distinguish  twentieth  century 
France ;  for  morals  are  reformed  only  very  gradually !  Is  it 
not  necessary,  in  order  to  produce  the  slightest  change,  that 
the  most  daring  dreams  of  the  past  century  become  the  most 
trite  ideas  of  the  present  one?  We  have  touched  upon  this 
question  merely  in  a  trifling  mood,  for  the  purpose  of  show- 
ing that  we  are  not  blind  to  its  importance,  and  of  bequeathing 
also  to  posterity  the  outline  of  a  work,  which  they  may  com- 
plete. To  speak  more  accurately  there  is  a  third  work  to  be 
composed;  the  first  concerns  courtesans,  while  the  second  is 
the  physiology  of  pleasure ! 

"When  there  are  ten  of  us,  we  cross  ourselves." 

In  the  present  state  of  our  morals  and  of  our  imperfect  civ- 
ilization, a  problem  crops  up  which  for  the  moment  is 
insoluble,  and  which  renders  superfluous  all  discussion  on  the 
art  of  choosing  a  wife;  we  commend  it,  as  we  have  done  all 
the  others,  to  the  meditation  of  philosophers. 

PROBLEM. 

It  has  not  yet  been  denided  whether  a  wife  is  forced  into 
infidelity  by  the  impossibility  of  obtaining  any  change,  or  by 
the  liberty  which  is  allowed  her  in  this  connection. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  81 

Moreover,  as  in  this  work  we  pitch  upon  a  man  at  the 
moment  that  he  is  newly  married,  we  declare  that  if  he  has 
found  a  wife  of  sanguine  temperament,  of  vivid  imagination, 
of  a  nervous  constitution  or  of  an  indolent  character,  his  situ- 
ation cannot  fail  to  be  extremely  serious. 

A  man  would  find  himself  in  a  position  of  danger  even  more 
critical  if  his  wife  drank  nothing  but  water  [see  the  Meditation 
entitled  Conjugal  Hygiene]  ;  but  if  she  had  some  talent  for 
singing,  or  if  she  were  disposed  to  take  cold  easily,  he  should 
tremble  all  the  time;  for  it  must  be  remembered  that  women 
who  sing  are  at  least  as  passionate  as  women  whose  mucous 
membrane  shows  extreme  delicacy. 

Again,  this  danger  would  be  aggravated  still  more  if  your 
wife  were  less  than  seventeen;  or  if,  on  the  other  hand,  her 
general  complexion  were  pale  and  dull,  for  this  sort  of  woman 
is  almost  always  artificial. 

But  we  do  not  wish  to  anticipate  here  any  description  of  the 
terrors  which  threaten  husbands  from  the  symptoms  of  unhap- 
piness  which  they  read  in  the  character  of  their  wives.  This 
digression  has  already  taken  us  too  far  from  the  subject  of 
boarding  schools,  in  which  so  many  catastrophes  are  hatched, 
and  from  which  issue  so  many  young  girls  incapable  of  appre- 
ciating the  painful  sacrifices  by  which  the  honest  man  who 
does  them  the  honor  of  marrying  them,  has  obtained  opulence ; 
young  girls  eager  for  the  enjoyments  of  luxury,  ignorant  of 
our  laws,  ignorant  of  our  manners,  claim  with  avidity  the 
empire  which  their  beauty  yields  them,  and  show  themselves 
quite  ready  to  turn  away  from  the  genuine  utterances  of  the 
heart,  while  they  readily  listen  to  the  buzzing  of  flattery. 

This  Meditation  should  plant  in  the  memory  of  all  who  read 
it,  even  those  who  merely  open  the  book  for  the  sake  of  glanc- 
ing at  it  or  distracting  their  mind,  an  intense  repugnance  for 
young  women  educated  in  a  boarding  school,  and  if  it  succeeds 
in  doing  so,  its  services  to  the  public  will  have  already  proved 
considerable. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 


MEDITATION  VII. 

OF  THE  HONEYMOON. 

If  our  first  meditations  prove  that  it  is  almost  impossible 
for  a  married  woman  to  remain  virtuous  in  France,  our 
enumeration  of  the  celibates  and  the  predestined,  our  remarks 
upon  the  education  of  girls,  and  our  rapid  survey  of  the  diffi- 
culties which  attend  the  choice  of  a  wife  will  explain  up  to  a 
certain  point  this  national  frailty.  Thus,  after  indicating 
frankly  the  aching  malady  under  which  the  social  state  is 
laboring,  we  have  sought  for  the  causes  in  the  imperfection  of 
the  laws,  in  the  irrational  condition  of  our  manners,  in  the 
incapacity  of  our  minds,  and  in  the  contradictions  which  char- 
acterize our  habits.  A  single  point  still  claims  our  observa- 
tion, and  that  is  the  first  onslaught  of  the  evil  we  are  con- 
fronting. 

We  reach  this  first  question  on  approaching  the  high  prob- 
lems suggested  by  the  honeymoon ;  and  although  we  find  here 
the  starting  point  of  all  the  phenomena  of  married  life,  it 
appears  to  us  to  be  the  brilliant  link  round  which  are  clus- 
tered all  our  observations,  our  axioms,  our  problems,  which 
have  been  scattered  deliberately  among  the  wise  quips  which 
our  loquacious  meditations  retail.  The  honeymoon  would 
seem  to  be,  if  we  may  use  the  expression,  the  apogee  of  that 
analysis  to  which  we  must  apply  ourselves,  before  engaging 
in  battle  our  two  imaginary  champions. 

The  expression  honeymoon  is  an  Anglicism,  which  has 
become  an  idiom  in  all  languages,  so  gracefully  does  it  depict 
the  nuptial  season  which  is  so  fugitive,  and  during  which  life 
is  nothing  but  sweetness  and  rapture ;  the  expression  survives 
as  illusions  and  errors  survive,  for  it  contains  the  most  odious 
of  falsehoods.  If  this  season  is  presented  to  us  as  a  nymph 
crowned  with  fresh  flowers,  caressing  as  a  siren,  it  is  because  in 
it  is  unhappiness  personified,  and  unhappiness  generally  comes 
during  the  indulgence  of  folly. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  83 

The  married  couple  who  intend  to  love  each  other  during 
their  whole  life  have  no  notion,  of  a  honeymoon ;  for  them  it 
has  no  existence,  or  rather  its  existence  is  perennial ;  they  are 
like  the  immortals  who  do  not  understand  death.  But  the 
consideration  of  this  happiness  is  not  germane  to  our  book; 
and  for  our  readers  marriage  is  under  the  influence  of  two 
moons,  the  honeymoon  and  the  Eed-moon.  This  last  termi- 
nates its  course  by  a  revolution,  which  changes  it  to  a  crescent; 
and  when  once  it  rises  upon  a  home  its  light  there  is  eternal. 

How  can  the  honeymoon  rise  upon  two  beings  who  cannot 
possibly  love  each  other  ? 

How  can  it  set,  when  once  it  has  risen  ? 

Have  all  marriages  their  honeymoon  ? 

Let  us  proceed  to  answer  these  questions  in  order. 

It  is  in  this  connection  that  the  admirable  education  which 
we  give  to  girls,  and  the  wise  provisions  made  by  the  law  under 
which  men  marry,  bear  all  their  fruit.  Let  us  examine  the 
circumstances  which  precede  and  attend  those  marriages  which 
are  least  disastrous. 

The  tone  of  our  morals  develops  in  the  young  girl  whom  you, 
make  your  wife  a  curiosity  which  is  naturally  excessive;  but 
as  mothers  in  France  pique  themselves  on  exposing  their  girls 
every  day  to  the  fire  which  they  do  not  allow  to  scorch  them, 
this  curiosity  has  no  limit. 

Her  profound  ignorance  of  the  mysteries  of  marriage  con- 
ceals from  this  creature,,  who  is  as  innocent  as  she  is  crafty, 
a  clear  view  of  the  dangers  by  which  marriage  is  followed; 
and  as  marriage  is  incessantly  described  to  her  as  an  epoch 
in  which  tyranny  and  liberty  equally  prevail,  and  in  which 
enjoyment  and  supremacy  are  to  be  indulged  in,  her  desires 
are  intensified  by  all  her  interest  in  an  existence  as  yet  unful- 
filled ;  for  her  to  marry  is  to  be  called  up  from  nothingness 
into  life ! 

If  she  has  a  disposition  for  happiness,  for  religion,  for 
morality,  the  voices  of  the  law  and  of  her  mother  have  repeated 
to  her  that  this  happiness  can  only  come  to  her  from  you. 

Obedience  if  it  is  not  virtue,  is  at  least  a  necessary  thing 


84  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

with  her;  for  she  expects  everything  from  you.  In  the  first 
place,  society  sanctions  the  slavery  of  a  wife,  but  she  does  not 
conceive  even  the  wish  to  be  free,  for  she  feels  herself  weak, 
timid  and  ignorant. 

Of  course  she  tries  to  please  you,  unless  a  chance  error  is 
committed,  or  she  is  seized  by  a  repugnance  which  it  would 
be  unpardonable  in  you  not  to  divine.  She  tries  to  please 
because  she  does  not  know  you. 

In  a  word,  in  order  to  complete  your  triumph,  you  take  her 
at  a  moment  when  nature  demands,  often  with  some  violence, 
the  pleasure  of  which  you  are  the  dispenser.  Like  St.  Peter 
you  hold  the  keys  of  Paradise. 

I  would  ask  of  any  reasonable  creature,  would  a  demon 
marshal  round  the  angel  whose  ruin  he  had  vowed  all  the  ele- 
ments of  disaster  with  more  solicitude  than  that  with  which 
good  morals  conspire  against  the  happiness  of  a  husband? 
Are  you  not  a  king  surrounded  by  flatterers  ? 

This  young  girl,  with  all  her  ignorance  and  all  her  desires, 
committed  to  the  mercy  of  a  man  who,  even  though  he  be  in 
love,  cannot  know  her  shrinking  and  secret  emotions,  will  sub- 
mit to  him  with  a  certain  sense  of  shame,  and  will  be  obedient 
and  complaisant  so  long  as  her  young  imagination  persuades 
her  to  expect  the  pleasure  or  the  happiness  of  that  morrow 
which  never  dawns. 

In  this  unnatural  situation  social  laws  and  the  laws  of 
nature  are  in  conflict,  but  the  young  girl  obediently  abandons 
herself  to  it,  and,  from  motives  of  self-interest,  suffers  in 
silence.  Her  obedience  is  a  speculation ;  her  complaisance  is  a 
hope ;  her  devotion  to  you  is  a  sort  of  vocation,  of  which  you 
reap  the  advantage;  and  her  silence  is  generosity.  She  will 
remain  the  victim  of  your  caprices  so  long  as  she  does  not 
understand  them ;  she  will  suffer  from  the  limitations  of  your 
character  until  she  has  studied  it;  she  will  sacrifice  herself 
without  love,  because  she  believed  in  the  show  of  passion  you 
made  at  the  first  moment  of  possession ;  she  will  no  longer  be 
silent  when  once  she  has  learned  the  uselessness  of  her  sacri- 
fices. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  85 

And  then  the  morning  arrives  when  the  inconsistencies 
which  have  prevailed  in  this  union  rise  up  like  branches  of  a 
tree  bent  down  for  a  moment  under  a  weight  which  has  been 
gradually  lightened.  You  have  mistaken  for  love  the  nega- 
tive attitude  of  a  young  girl  who  was  waiting  for  happiness, 
who  flew  in  advance  of  your  desires,  in  the  hope  that  you 
would  go  forward  in  anticipation  of  hers,  and  who  did  not 
dare  to  complain  of  the  secret  unhappiness,  for  which  she  at 
first  accused  herself.  What  man  could  fail  to  be  the  dupe  of 
a  delusion  prepared  at  such  long  range,  and  in  which  a  young 
innocent  woman  is  at  once  the  accomplice  and  the  victim? 
Unless  -you  were  a  divine  being  it  would  be  impossible  for  you 
to  escape  the  fascination  with  which  nature  and  society  have 
surrounded  you.  Is  not  a  snare  set  in  everything  which  sur- 
rounds you  on  the  outside  and  influences  you  within  ?  For  in 
order  to  be  happy,  is  it  not  necessary  to  control  the  impetuous 
desires  of  your  senses?  Where  is  the  powerful  barrier  to 
restrain  her,  raised  by  the  light  hand  of  a  woman  whom  you 
wish  to  please,  because  you  do  not  possess?  Moreover, 
you  have  caused  your  troops  to  parade  and  march  by,  when 
there  was  no  one  at  the  window;  you  have  discharged  your 
fireworks  whose  framework  alone  was  left,  when  your  guest 
arrived  to  see  them.  Your  wife,  before  the  pledges  of  mar- 
riage, 'Was  like  a  Mohican  at  the  Opera :  the  teacher  becomes 
listless,  when  the  savage  begins  to  understand. 

LVI. 

In  married  life,  the  moment  when  two  hearts  come  to  under- 
stand each  other  is  sudden  as  a  flash  of  lightning,  and  never 
^returns,  when  once  it  is  passed. 

This  first  entrance  .into  life  of  two  persons,  during  which  a 
'woman  is  encouraged  by  the  hope  of  happiness,  by  the  still 
fresh  sentiment  of  her  married  duty,  by  the  wish  to  please, 
by  the  sense  of  virtue  which  begins  to  be  so  attractive  as  soon 
as  it  shows  love  to  be  in  harmony  with  duty,  is  called  the 
honeymoon.  How  can  it  last  long  between  two  beings  who  are 


36  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

united  for  their  whole  life,  unless  they  know  each  other  per- 
f ectly  ?  If  there  is  one  thing  which  ought  to  cause  astonish- 
ment it  is  this,  that  the  deplorable  absurdities  which  our  man- 
ners heap  up  around  the  nuptial  couch  give  birth  to  so 
few  hatreds!  But  that  the  life  of  the  wise  man  is  a  calm 
current,  and  that  of  the  prodigal  a  cataract;  that  the  child, 
whose  thoughtless  hands  have  stripped  the  leaves  from  every 
rose  upon  his  pathway,  finds  nothing  but  thorns  on  his  return ; 
that  the  man  who  in  his  wild  youth  has  squandered  a  million, 
will  never  enjoy,  during  his  life,  the  income  of  forty  thousand 
francs,  which  this  million  would  have  provided — are  trite  com- 
monplaces, if  one  thinks  of  the  moral  theory  of  life ;  -but  new 
discoveries,  if  we  consider  the  conduct  of  most  men.  You  may 
see  here  a  true  image  of  all  honeymoons ;  this  is  their  history, 
this  is  the  plain  fact  and  not  the  cause  that  underlies  it. 

But  that  men  endowed  with  a  certain  power  of  thought  by 
a  privileged  education,  and  accustomed  to  think  deliberately, 
in  order  to  shine  in  politics,  literature,  art,  commerce  or  pri- 
vate life — that  these  men  should  all  marry  with  the  intention 
of  being  happy,  of  governing  a  wife,  either  by  love  or  by  force, 
and  should  all  tumble  into  the  same  pitfall  and  should  become 
foolish,  after  having  enjoyed  a  certain  happiness  for  a 
certain  time, — this  is  certainly  a  problem  whose  solution  is 
to  be  found  rather  in  the  unknown  depths  of  the  human  soul, 
than  in  the  quasi  physical  truths,  on  the  basis  of  which  we 
have  hitherto  attempted  to  explain  some  of  these  phenomena. 
The  risky  search  for  the  secret  laws,  which  almost  all  men  are 
bound  to  violate  without  knowing  it,  under  these  circum- 
stances, promises  abundant  glory  for  any  one,  even  though 
he  make  shipwreck  in  the  enterprise  upon  which  we  now  ven- 
ture to  set  forth.  Let  us  then  make  the  attempt. 

In  spite  of  all  that  fools  have  to  say  about  the  difficulty  they 
have  had  in  explaining  love,  there  are  certain  principles  relat- 
ing to  it  as  infallible  as  those  of  geometry ;  but  in  each  char- 
acter these  are  modified  according  to  its  tendency ;  hence  the 
caprices  of  love,  which  are  due  to  the  infinite  number  of  vary- 
ing temperaments.  If  we  were  permitted  never  to  see  the 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  87 

various  effects  of  light  without  also  perceiving  on  what  they 
were  based,  many  minds  would  refuse  to  believe  in  the  move- 
ment of  the  sun  and  in  its  oneness.  Let  the  blind  men  cry 
out  as  they  like;  I  boast  with  Socrates,  although  I  am  not  as 
wise  as  he  was,  that  I  know  of  naught  save  love ;  and  I  intend 
to  attempt  the  formulation  of  some  of  its  precepts,  in  order 
to  spare  married  people  the  trouble  of  cudgeling  their  brains ; 
they  would  soon  reach  the  limit  of  their  wit. 

Now  all  the  preceding  observations  may  be  resolved  into  a 
single  proposition,  which  may  be  considered  either  the  first 
or  last  term  in  this  secret  theory  of  love,  whose  statement 
would  end  by  wearying  us,  if  we  did  not  bring  it  to  a  prompt 
conclusion.  This  principle  is  contained  in  the  following 
formula : 

LVII. 

Between  two  beings  susceptible  of  love,  the  duration  of  pas- 
sion is  in  proportion  to  the  original  resistance  of  the  woman, 
or  to  the  obstacles  which  the  accidents  of  social  life  put'  in  the 
way  of  your  happiness. 

If  you  have  desired  your  object  only  for  one  day,  your  love 
perhaps  will  not  last  more  than  three  nights.  Where  must  we 
seek  for  the  causes  of  this  law  ?  I  do  not  know.  If  you  cast 
your  eyes  around  you,  you  will  find  abundant  proof  of  this 
rule ;  in  the  vegetable  world  the  plants  which  take  the  longest 
time  to  grow  are  those  which  promise  to  have  the  longest  life ; 
in  the  moral  order  of  things  the  works  produced  yesterday  die 
to-morrow;  in  the  physical  world  the  womb  which  infringes 
the  laws  of  gestation  bears  dead  fruit.  In  everything,  a  work 
which  is  permanent  has  been  brooded  over  by  time  for  a  long 
period.  A  long  future  requires  a  long  past.  If  love  is  a  child, 
passion  is  a  man.  This  general  law,  which  all  men  obey,  to 
which  all  beings  and  all  sentiments  must  submit,  is  precisely 
that  which  every  marriage  infringes,  as  we  have  plainly  shown. 
This  principle  has  given  rise  to  the  love  tales  of  the  Middle 
Ages ;  the  Amadises,  the  Lancelots,  the  Tristans  of  ballad  liter- 
ature, whose  constancy  may  justly  be  called  fabulous,  are  alle- 


88  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

gories  of  the  national  mythology  which  our  imitation  of  Greek 
literature  nipped  in  the  bud.  These  fascinating  characters, 
outlined  by  the  imagination  of  the  troubadours,  set  their  seal 
and  sanction  upon  this  truth. 

LVIII. 

We  do  not  attach  ourselves  permanently  to  any  possessions, 
excepting  in  proportion  to  the  trouble,  toil  and  longing  which 
they  have  cost  us. 

All  that  our  meditations  have  revealed  to  us  about  the  basis 
of  the  primordial  law  of  love  is  comprised  in  the  following 
axiom,  which  is  at  the  same  time  the  principle  and  the  result 
of  the  law. 

LIX. 

In  every  case  we  receive  only  in  proportion  to  what  we  give. 

This  last  principle  is  so  sel-f -evident  that  we  will  not  attempt 
to  demonstrate  it.  We  merely  add  a  single  observation  which 
appears  to  us  of  some  importance.  The  writer  who  said: 
"Everything  is  true,  and  everything  is  false,"  announced  a 
fact  which  the  human  intellect,  naturally  prone  to  sophism, 
interprets  as  it  chooses,  but  it  really  seems  as  though  human 
affairs  have  as  many  facets  as  there  are  minds  that  contem- 
plate them.  This  fact  may  be  detailed  as  follows : 

There  cannot  be  found,  in  all  creation,  a  single  law  which 
is  not  counterbalanced  by  a  law  exactly  contrary  to  it ;  life  in 
everything  is  maintained  by  the  equilibrium  of  two'  opposing 
forces.  So  in  the  present  subject,  as  regards  love,  if  you  give 
too  much,  you  will  not  receive  enough.  The  mother  who  shows 
her  children  her  whole  tenderness  calls  forth  their  ingrati- 
tude, and  ingratitude  is  occasioned,  perhaps,  by  the  impossi- 
bility of  reciprocation.  The  wife  who  loves  more  than  she  is 
loved  must  necessarily  be  the  object  of  tyranny.  Durable  love 
is  that  which  always  keeps  the  forces  of  two  human  beings  in 
equilibrium.  Now  this  equilibrium  may  be  maintained  per- 
manently; the  one  who  loves  the  more  ought  to  stop  at  the 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  89 

point  of  the  one  who  loves  the  less.  And  is  it  not,  after  all, 
the  sweetest  sacrifice  that  a  loving  heart  can  make,  that  love 
should  so  accommodate  itself  as  to  adjust  the  inequality  ? 

What  sentiment  of  admiration  must  rise  in  the  soul  of  a 
philosopher  on  discovering  that  there  is,  perhaps,  but  one 
single  principle  in  the  world,  as  there  is  but  one  God ;  and  that 
our  ideas  and  our  affections  are  subject  to  the  same  laws  which 
cause  the  sun  to  rise,  the  flowers  to  bloom,  the  universe  to 
teem  with  life ! 

Perhaps,  we  ought  to  seek  in  the  metaphysics  of  love  the 
reasons  for  the  following  proposition,  which  throws  the  most 
vivid  light  on  the  question  of  honeymoons  and  of  Bed-moons : 

THEOREM. 

Man  goes  from  aversion  to  love;  but  if  he  has  begun  by 
loving,  and  afterwards  comes  to  feel  aversion,  he  never  returns 
to  love. 

In  certain  human  organisms  the  feelings  are  dwarfed, 
as  the  thought  may  be  in  certain  sterile  imaginations.  Thus, 
just  as  some  minds  have  the  faculty  of  comprehending  the 
connections  existing  between  different  things  without  formal 
deduction;  and  as  they  have  the  faculty  of  seizing  upon  each 
formula  separately,  without  combining  them,  or  without  the 
power  of  insight,  comparison  and  expression;  so  in  the  same 
way,  different  souls  may  have  more  or  less  imperfect  ideas 
of  the  various  sentiments.  Talent  in  love,  as  in  every  other 
art,  consists  in  the  power  of  forming  a  conception  combined 
with  the  power  of  carrying  it  out.  The  world  is  full  of  people 
who  sing  airs,  but  who  omit  the  ritornello,  who  have  quarters 
of  an  idea,  as  they  have  quarters  of  sentiment,  but  who  can 
no  more  co-ordinate  the  movements  of  their  affections  than  of 
their  thoughts.  In  a  word,  they  are  incomplete.  Unite  a  fine 
intelligence  with  a  dwarfed  intelligence  and  you  precipitate 
a  disaster ;  for  it  is  necessary  that  equilibrium  be  preserved  in 
everything. 


00  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

We  leave  to  the  philosophers  of  the  boudoir  or  to  the  sages 
of  the  back  parlor  to  investigate  the  thousand  ways  in  which 
men  of  different  temperaments,  intellects,  social  positions  and 
fortunes  disturb  this  equilibrium.  Meanwhile  we  will  pro- 
ceed to  examine  the  last  cause  for  the  setting  of  the  honey- 
moon and  the  rising  of  the  Ked-moon. 

There  is  in  life  one  principle  more  potent  than  life  itself. 
It  is  a  movement  whose  celerity  springs  from  an  unknown 
motive  power.  Man  is  no  more  acquainted  with  the  secret  of 
this  revolution  than  the  earth  is  aware  of  that  which  causes 
her  rotation.  A  certain  something,  which  I  gladly  call  the 
current  of  life,  bears  along  our  choicest  thoughts,  makes  use 
of  most  people's  will  and  carries  us  on  in  spite  of  ourselves. 
Thus,  a  man  of  common-sense,  who  never  fails  to  pay  his  bills, 
if  he  is  a  merchant,  a  man  who  has  been  able  to  escape  death, 
or  what  perhaps  is  more  trying,  sickness,  by  the  observation 
of  a  certain  easy  but  daily  regimen,  is  completely  and  duly 
nailed  up  between  the  four  planks  of  his  coffin,  after  having 
said  every  evening :  "Dear  me !  to-morrow  I  will  not  forget 
my  pills !"  How  are  we  to  explain  this  magic  spell  which 
rules  all  the  affairs  of  life  ?  Do  men  submit  to  it  from  a  want 
of  energy?  Men  who  have  the  strongest  wills  are  subject  to 
it.  Is  it  default  of  memory?  People  who  possess  this  fac- 
ulty in  the  highest  degree  yield  to  its  fascination. 

Every  one  can  recognize  the  operation  of  this  influence  in 
the  case  of  his  neighbor,  and  it  is  one  of  the  things  which 
exclude  the  majority  of  husbands  from  the  honeymoon.  It  is 
thus  that  the  wise  man,  survivor  of  all  reefs  and  shoals,  such 
as  we  have  pointed  out,  sometimes  falls  into  the  snares  which 
he  himself  has  set. 

I  have  myself  noticed  that  man  deals  with  marriage  and  its 
dangers  in  very  much  the  same  way  that  he  deals  with  wigs ; 
and  perhaps  the  following  phases  of  thought  concerning  wigs 
may  furnish  a  formula  for  human  life  in  general. 

FIRST  EPOCH. — Is  it  possible  that  I  shall  ever  have  white 
hair? 

SECOND  EPOCH. — In  any  case,  if  I  have  white  hair,  I  shall 
never  wear  a  wig.  Good  Lord !  what  is  more  ugly  than  a  wig? 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  91 

One  morning  you  hear  a  young  voice,  which  love  much 
oftener  makes  to  vibrate  than  lulls  to  silence,  exclaiming: 

"Well,  I  declare !  you  have  a  white  hair !" 

THIRD  EPOCH. — Why  not  wear  a  well-made  wig  which 
people  would  not  notice?  There  is  a  certain  merit  in  deceiv- 
ing everybody;  besides,  a  wig  keeps  you  warm,  prevents  tak- 
ing cold,  etc. 

FOURTH  EPOCH. — The  wig  is  so  skillfully  put  on  that  you 
deceive  every  one  who  does  not  know  you. 

The  wig  takes  up  all  your  attention,  and  amour-propre 
makes  you  every  morning  as  busy  as  the  most  skillful  hair- 
dresser. 

FIFTH  EPOCH. — The  neglected  wig.  "Good  heavens !  How 
tedious  it  is,  to  have  to  go  with  bare  head  every  evening,  and 
to  curl  one's  wig  every  morning!" 

SIXTH  EPOCH. — The  wig  allows  certain  white  hairs  to 
escape;  it  is  put  on  awry  and  the  observer  perceives  on  the 
back  of  your  neck  a  white  line,  which  contrasts  with  the  deep 
tints  pushed  back  by  the  collar  of  your  coat. 

SEVENTH  EPOCH. — Your  wig  is  as  scraggy  as  dog's-tooth 
grass;  and — excuse  the  expression — you  are  making  fun  of 
your  wig. 

"Sir,"  said  one  of  the  most  powerful  feminine  intelligences 
which  have  condescended  to  enlighten  me  on  some  of  the 
most  obscure  passages  in  my  book,  "what  do  you  mean  by  this 
wig?" 

.  "Madame,"  I  answered,  "when  a  man  falls  into  a  mood  of 
indifference  with  regard  to  his  wig,  he  is, — he  is — what  your 
husband  probably  is  not." 

"But  my  husband  is  not — "  (she  paused  and  thought  for  a 
moment).  "He  is  not  amiable;  he  is  not — well,  he  is  not — of 
an  even  temper ;  he  is  not — " 

"Then,  madame,  he  would  doubtless  be  indifferent  to  his 
wig !" 

We  looked  at  each  other,  she  with  a  well-assumed  air  of 
dignity,  I  with  a  suppressed  smile. 

"I  see,"  said  I,  "that  we  must  pay  special  respect  to  the 


92  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

ears  of  the  little  sex,  for  they  are  the  only  chaste  things  about 
them." 

I  assumed  the  attitude  of  a  man  who  has  something  of 
importance  to  disclose,  and  the  fair  dame  lowered  her  eyes, 
:  as  if  she  had  some  reason  to  blush. 

"Madame,  in  these  days  a  minister  is  not  hanged,  as  once 
upon  a  time,  for  saying  yes  or  no;  a  Chateaubriand  would 
scarcely  torture  Frangoise  de  Foix,  and  we  wear  no  longer  at 
our  side  a  long  sword  ready  to  avenge  an  insult.  Now  in  a 
century  when  civilization  has  m-ade  such  rapid  progress,  when 
we  can  learn  a  science  in  twenty-four  lessons,  everything  must 
follow  this  race  after  perfection.  We  can  no  longer  speak  the 
manly,  rude,  coarse  language  of  our  ancestors.  The  age  in 
which  are  fabricated  such  fine,  such  brilliant  stuffs,  such  ele- 
gant furniture,  and  when  are  made  such  rich  porcelains,  must 
needs  be  the  age  of  periphrase  and  circumlocution.  We  must 
try,  therefore,  to  coin  a  new  word  in  place  of  the  comic 
expression  which  Moliere  used;  since  the  language  of  this 
great  man,  as  a  contemporary  author  has  said,  is  too  free  for 
ladies  who  find  gauze  too  thick  for  their  garments.  But  people 
of  the  world  know,  as  well  as  the  learned,  how  the  Greeks  had 
an  innate  taste  for  mysteries.  That  poetic  nation  knew  well 
how  to  invest  with  the  tints  of  fable  the  antique  traditions  of 
their  history.  At  the  voice  of  their  rhapsodists  together  with 
their  poets  and  romancers,  kings  became  gods  and  their 
adventures  of  gallantry  were  transformed  into  immortal  alle- 
gories. According  to  M.  Chompre,  licentiate  in  law,  the  classic 
author  of  the  Dictionary  of  Mythology,  the  labyrinth  was 
'an  enclosure  planted  with  trees  and  adorned  with  buildings 
arranged  in  such  a  way  that  when  a  young  man  once  entered, 
he  could  no  more  find  his  way  out.'  Here  and  there  flowery 
thickets  were  presented  to  his  view,  but  in  the  midst  of  a 
multitude  of  alleys,  which  crossed  and  recrossed  his  path  and 
bore  the  appearance  of  a  uniform  passage,  among  the  briars, 
rocks  and  thorns,  the  patient  found  himself  in  combat  with 
an  animal  called  the  Minotaur. 

"Now,  madame,  if  you  will  allow  me  the  honor  of  calling 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MAKRIAGE  93 

to  your  mind  the  fact  that  the  Minotaur  was  of  all  known 
beasts  that  which  Mythology  distinguishes  as  the  most  dan- 
gerous ;  that  in  order  to  save  themselves  from  his  ravages,  the 
Athenians  were  bound  to  deliver  to  him,  every  single  year, 
fifty  virgins;  you  will  perhaps  escape  the  error  of  good 
M.  Chompre,  who  saw  in  the  labyrinth  nothing  but  an  English 
garden;  and  you  will  recognize  in  this  ingenious  fable  a 
refined  allegory,  or  we  may  better  say  a  faithful  and  fearful 
image  of  the  dangers  of  marriage.  The  paintings  recently 
discovered  at  Herculaneum  have  served  to  confirm  this  opinion. 
And,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  learned  men  have  for  a  long  time 
believed,  in  accordance  with  the  writings  of  certain  authors, 
that  the  Minotaur  was  an  animal  half -man,  half-bull ;  but  the 
fifth  panel  of  ancient  paintings  at  Herculaneum  represents  to 
us  this  allegorical  monster  with  a  body  entirely  human;  and, 
to  take  away  all  vestige  of  doubt,  he  lies  crushed  at  the  feet 
of  Theseus.  Now,  my  dear  madame,  why  should  we  not  ask 
Mythology  to  come  and  rescue  us  from  that  hypocrisy  which 
is  gaining  ground  with  us  and  hinders  us  from  laughing  as  our 
fathers  laughed  ?  And  thus,  since  in  the  world  a  young  lady 
does  not  very  well  know  how  to  spread  the  veil  under  which 
an  honest  woman  hides  her  behavior,  in  a  contingency  which 
our  grandfathers  would  have  roughly  explained  by  a  single 
word,  you,  like  a  crowd  of  beautiful  but  prevaricating  ladies, 
you  content  yourselves  with  saying,  'Ah !  yes,  she  is  very  ami- 
able, but, — but  what? — 'but  she  is  often  very  inconsistent — .' 
I  have  for  a  long  time  tried  to  find  out  the  meaning  of  this  last 
word,  and,  above  all,  the  figure  of  rhetoric  by  which  you  make 
it  express  the  opposite  of  that  which  it  signifies;  but  all  my 
researches  have  been  in  vain.  Vert- Vert  used  the  word  last, 
and  was  unfortunately  addressed  to  the  innocent  nuns  whose 
infidelities  did  not  in  any  way  infringe  the  honor  of  the  men. 
When  a  woman  is  inconsistent  the  husband  must  be,  according 
to  me,  minotaurized.  If  the  minotaurized  man  is  a  fine  fellow, 
if  he  enjoys  a  certain  esteem, — and  many  husbands  really 
deserve  to  be  pitied, — then,  in  speaking  of  him,  you  say  in  a 
pathetic  voice,  'M.  A is  a  very  estimable  man,  his  wife  is 


94  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

exceedingly  pretty,  but  they  say  he  is  not  happy  in  his  domestic 
relations/  Thus,  madame,  the  estimable  man  who  is  unhappy 
in  his  domestic  relations,  the  man  who  has  an  inconsistent 
wife,  or  the  husband  who  is  minotaurized  are  simply  husbands 
as  they  appear  in  Moliere.  Well,  then,  0  goddess  of  modern 
taste,  do  not  these  expressions  seem  to  you  characterized  by  a 
transparency  chaste  enough  for  anybody  ?" 

"Ah !  mon  Dien !"  she  answered,  laughing,  "if  the  thing  is 
the  same,  what  does  it  matter  whether  it  be  expressed  in  two 
syllables  or  in  a  hundred  ?" 

She  bade  me  good-bye,  with  an  ironical  nod  and  disappeared, 
doubtless  to  join  the  countesses  of  my  preface  and  all  the 
metaphorical  creatures,  so  often  employed  by  romance-writers 
as  agents  for  the  recovery  or  composition  of  ancient  manu- 
scripts. 

As  for  you,  the  more  numerous  and  the  more  real  creatures 
who  read  my  book,  if  there  are  any  among  you  who  make  com- 
mon cause  with  my  conjugal  champion,  I  give  you  notice  that 
you  will  not  at  once  become  unhappy  in  your  domestic  rela- 
tions. A  man  arrives  at  this  conjugal  condition  not  suddenly, 
but  insensibly  and  by  degrees.  Many  husbands  have  even 
remained  unfortunate  in  their  domestic  relations  during  their 
whole  life  and  have  never  known  it.  This  domestic  revolu- 
tion develops  itself  in  accordance  with  fixed  rules;  for  the 
revolutions  of  the  honeymoon  are  as  regular  as  the  phases  of 
the  moon  in  heaven,  and  are  the  same  in  every  married  house. 
Have  we  not  proved  that  moral  nature,  like  physical  nature, 
has  its  laws  ? 

Your  young  wife  will  never  take  a  lover,  as  we  have  else- 
where said,  without  making  serious  reflections.  As  soon  as 
the  honeymoon  wanes,  you  will  find  that  you  have  aroused  in 
her  a  sentiment  of  pleasure  which  you  have  not  satisfied ;  you 
have  opened  to  her  the  book  of  life;  and  she  has  derived  an 
excellent  idea  from  the  prosaic  dullness  which  distinguishes 
your  complacent  love,  of  the  poetry  which  is  the  natural  result 
when  souls  and  pleasures  are  in  accord.  Like  a  timid  bird, 
still  startled  by  the  report  of  a  gun  which  has  ceased,  she  puts 


M 

her  head  out  of  her  nest,  looks  round  her,  and  sees  the  world ; 
and  knowing  the  word  of  a  charade  which  you  have  played, 
she  feels  instinctively  the  void  which  exists  in  your  languish- 
ing passion.  She  divines  that  it  is  only  with  a  lover  that  she 
can  regain  the  delightful  exercise  of  her  free  will  in  love. 

You  have  dried  the  green  wood  in  preparation  for  a  fire. 

In  the  situation  in  which  both  of  you  find  yourselves,  there 
is  no  woman,  even  the  most  virtuous,  who  would  not  be  found 
worthy  of  a  grande  passion,  who  has  not  dreamed  of  it,  and 
who  does  not  believe  that  it  is  easily  kindled,  for  there  is  always 
found  a  certain  amour-propre  ready  to  reinforce  that  con- 
quered enemy — a  jaded  wife. 

"If  the  role  of  an  honest  woman  were  nothing  more  than 
perilous,"  said  an  old  lady  to  me,  "I  would  admit  that  it  would 
serve.  But  it  is  tiresome;  and  I  have  never  met  a  virtuous 
woman  who  did  not  think  about  deceiving  somebody." 

And  then,  before  any  lover  presents  himself,  a  wife  dis- 
cusses with  herself  the  legality  of  the  act;  she  enters  into  a 
conflict  with  her  duties,  with  the  law,  with  religion  and  with 
the  secret  desires  of  a  nature  which  knows  no  check-rein 
excepting  that  which  she  places  upon  herself.  And  then  com- 
mences for  you  a  condition  of  affairs  totally  new;  then  you 
receive  the  first  intimation  which  nature,  that  good  and 
indulgent  mother,  always  gives  to  the  creatures  who  are 
exposed  to  any  danger.  Nature  has  put  a  bell  on  the  neck  of 
the  Minotaur,  as  on  the  tail  of  that  frightful  snake  which 
is  the  terror  of  travelers.  And  then  appear  in  your  wife  what 
we  will  call  the  first  symptoms,  and  woe  to  him  who  does  not 
know  how  to  contend  with  them.  Those  who  in  reading  our 
book  will  remember  that  they  saw  those  symptoms  in  their  own 
domestic  life  can  pass  to  the  conclusion  of  this  work,  where 
they  will  find  how  they  may  gain  consolation. 

The  situation  referred  to,  in  which  a  married  couple  bind 
themselves  for  a  longer  or  a  shorter  time,  is  the  point  from 
which  our  work  starts,  as  it  is  the  end  at  which  our  observa- 
tions stop.  A  man  of  intelligence  should  know  how  to  recog- 
nize the  mysterious  indications,  the  obscure  signs  and  the 


96  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

involuntary  revelation  which  a  wife  unwittingly  exhibits ;  lor 
the  next  Meditation  will  doubtless  indicate  the  more  evident 
of  the  manifestations  to  neophytes  in  the  sublime  science  of 
marriage. 


MEDITATION  VIII. 

OF  THE  FIRST  SYMPTOMS. 

When  your  wife  reaches  that  crisis  in  which  we  have  left 
her,  you  yourself  are  wrapped  in  a  pleasant  and  unsuspicious 
security.  You  have  so  often  seen  the  sun  that  you  begin  to 
think  it  is  shining  over  everybody.  You  therefore  give  no 
longer  that  attention  to  the  least  action  of  your  wife,  which 
was  impelled  by  your  first  outburst  of  passion. 

This  indolence  prevents  many  husbands  from  perceiving 
the  symptoms  which,  in  their  wives,  herald  the  first  storm; 
and  this  disposition  of  mind  has  resulted  in  the  minotauriza- 
tion  of  more  husbands  than  have  either  opportunity,  carriages, 
sofas  and  apartments  in  town. 

The  feeling  of  indifference  in  the  presence  of  danger  is  to 
some  degree  justified  by  the  apparent  tranquillity  which  sur- 
rounds you.  The  conspiracy  which  is  formed  against  you  by 
our  million  of  hungry  celibates  seems  to  be  unanimous  in  its 
advance.  Although  all  are  enemies  of  each  other  and  know 
each  other  well,  a  sort  of  instinct  forces  them  into  co-opera- 
tion. 

Two  persons  are  married.  The  myrmidons  of  the  Minotaur, 
young  and  old,  have  usually  the  politeness  to  leave  the  bride 
and  bridegroom  entirely  to  themselves  at  first.  They  look 
upon  the  husband  as  an  artisan,  whose  business  it  is  to  trim, 
polish,  cut  into  facets  and  mount  the  diamond,  which  is  to 
pass  from  hand  to  hand  in  order  to  be  admired  all  around. 
Moreover,  the  aspect  of  a  young  married  couple  much  taken 
with  each  other  always  rejoices  the  heart  of  those  among  the 
celibates  who  are  known  as  roues;  they  take  good  care  not  to 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  97 

disturb  the  excitement  by  which  society  is  to  be  profited ;  they 
also  know  that  heavy  showers  do  not  last  long.  They  therefore 
keep  quiet;  they  watch,  and  wait,  with  incredible  vigilance, 
for  the  moment  when  bride  and  groom  begin  to  weary  of  the 
seventh  heaven. 

The  tact  with  which  celibates  discover  the  moment  when 
the  breeze  begins  to  rise  in  a  new  home  can  only  be  compared 
to  the  indifference  of  those  husbands  for  whom  the  Eed-moon 
rises.  There  is,  even  in  intrigue,  a  moment  of  ripeness  which 
must  be  waited  for.  The  great  man  is  he  who  anticipates  the 
outcome  of  certain  circumstances.  Men  of  fifty-two,  whom 
we  have  represented  as  being  so  dangerous,  know  very  well,  for 
example,  that  any  man  who  offers  himself  as  lover  to  a 
woman  and  is  haughtily  rejected,  will  be  received  with  open 
arms  three  months  afterwards.  But  it  may  be  truly  said  that 
in  general  married  people  in  betraying  their  indifference 
towards  each  other  show  the  same  naivete  with  which  they  first 
betrayed  their  love.  At  the  time  when  you  are  traversing 
with  madame  the  ravishing  fields  of  the  seventh  heaven — 
where  according  to  their  temperament,  newly  married  people 
remain  encamped  for  a  longer  or  shorter  time,  as  the  preced- 
ing Meditation  has  proved — you  go  little  or  not  at  all  into 
society.  Happy  as  you  are  in  your  home,  if  you  do  go  abroad, 
it  will  be  for  the  purpose  of  making  up  a  choice  party  and 
visiting  the  theatre,  the  country,  etc.  From  the  moment  you 
the  newly  wedded  make  your  appearance  in  the  world  again, 
you  and  your  bride  together,  or  separately,  and  are  seen  to  be 
attentive  to  each  other  at  balls,  at  parties,  at  all  the  empty 
amusements  created  to  escape  the  void  of  an  unsatisfied  heart, 
the  celibates  discern  that  your  wife  comes  there  in  search  of 
distraction;  her  home,  her  husband  are  therefore  wearisome 
to  her. 

At  this  point  the  celibate  knows  that  half  of  the  journey 
is  accomplished.  At  this  point  you  are  on  the  eve  of  being 
minotaurized,  and  your  wife  is  likely  to  become  inconsistent ; 
which  means  that  she  is  on  the  contrary  likely  to  prove  very 
consistent  in  her  conduct,  that  she  has  reasoned  it  out  with 


98  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

astonishing  sagacity  and  that  you  are  likely  very  soon  to  smell 
fire.  From  that  moment  she  will  not  in  appearance  fail  in 
any  of  her  duties,  and  will  put  on  the  colors  of  that  virtue  in 
which  she  is  most  lacking.  Said  Crebillon : 

"Alasl 
Is  it  right  to  be  heir  of  the  man  whom  we  slay?  " 

Never  has  she  seemed  more  anxious  to  please  you.  She  will 
seek,  as  much  as  possible,  to  allay  the  secret  wounds  which 
she  thinks  about  inflicting  upon  your  married  bliss,  she  will 
do  so  by  those  little  attentions  which  induce  you  to  believe 
in  the  eternity  of  her  love;  hence  the  proverb,  "Happy  as  a 
fool."  But  in  accordance  with  the  character  of  women,  they 
either  despise  their  own  husbands  from  the  very  fact  that  they 
find  no  difficulty  in  deceiving  them ;  or  they  hate  them  when 
they  find  themselves  circumvented  by  them ;  or  they  fall  into 
a  condition  of  indifference  towards  them,  which  is  a  thousand 
times  worse  than  hatred.  In  this  emergency,  the  first  thing 
which  may  be  diagnosed  in  a  woman  is  a  decided  oddness  of 
behavior.  A  woman  loves  to  be  saved  from  herself,  to  escape 
her  conscience,  but  without  the  eagerness  shown  in  this  con- 
nection by  wives  who  are  thoroughly  unhappy.  She  dresses 
herself  with  especial  care,  in  order,  she  will  tell  you,  to  flatter 
your  amour-propre  by  drawing  all  eyes  upon  her  in  the  midst 
of  parties  and  public  entertainments.  * 

When  she  returns  to  the  bosom  of  her  stupid  home  you  will 
see  that,  at  times,  she  is  gloomy  and  thoughtful,  then  sud- 
denly laughing  and  gay  as  if  beside  herself ;  or  assuming  the 
serious  expression  of  a  German  when  he  advances  to  the  fight. 
Such  varying  moods  always  indicate  the  terrible  doubt  and 
hesitation  to  which  we  have  already  referred.  There  are 
women  who  read  romances  in  order  to  feast  upon  the  images 
of  love  cleverly  depicted  and  always  varied,  of  love  crowned 
yet  triumphant;  or  in  order  to  familiarize  themselves  in 
thought  with  the  perils  of  an  intrigue. 

She  will  profess  the  highest  esteem  for  you,  she  will  tell 
you  that  she  loves  you  as  a  sister;  and, that  such  reasonable 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  99 

friendship  is  the  only  true,  the  only  durable  friendship,  the 
only  tie  which  it  is  the  aim  of  marriage  to  establish  between 
man  and  wife. 

She  will  adroitly  distinguish  between  the  duties  which  are 
all  she  has  to  perform  and  the  rights  which  she  can  demand  to 
exercise. 

She  views  with  indifference,  appreciated  by  you  alone,  all 
the  details  of  married  happiness.  This  sort  of  happiness,  per- 
haps, has  never  been  very  agreeable  to  her  and  moreover  it  is 
always  with  her.  She  knows  it  well,  she  has  analyzed  it ;  and 
what  slight  but  terrible  evidence  comes  from  these  circum- 
stances to  prove  to  an  intelligent  husband  that  this  frail 
creature  argues  and  reasons,  instead  of  being  carried  away 
on  the  tempest  of  passion. 

LX. 

The  more  a  man  judges  the  less  he  loves. 

And  now  will  burst  forth  from  her  those  pleasantries  at 
which  you  will  be  the  first  to  laugh  and  those  reflections 
which  will  startle  you  by  their  profundity;  now  you  will  see 
sudden  changes  of  mood  and  the  caprices  of  a  mind  which 
hesitates.  At  times  she  will  exhibit  extreme  tenderness,  as  if 
she  repented  of  her  thoughts  and  her  projects ;  sometimes  she 
will  be  sullen  and  at  cross-purposes  with  you ;  in  a  word,  she 
will  fulfill  the  varium  et  mutabile  femina  which  we  hitherto 
have  had  the  folly  to  attribute  to  the  feminine  temperament. 
Diderot,  in  his  desire  to  explain  the  mutations  almost  atmos- 
pheric in  the  behavior  of  women,  has  even  gone  so  far  as  to 
make  them  the  offspring  of  what  he  calls  la  bete  feroce;  but  we 
never  see  these  whims  in  a  woman  who  is  happy. 

These  symptoms,  light  as  gossamer,  resemble  the  clouds 
which  scarcely  break  the  azure  surface  of  the  sky  and  which 
they  call  flowers  of  the  storm.  But  soon  their  colors  take  a 
deeper  intensity. 

In  the  midst  of  this  solemn  premeditation,  which  tends, 
as  Madame  de  Stael  says,  to  bring  more  poetry  into  life,  some 


100  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

women,  in  whom  virtuous  mothers  either  from  considerations 
of  worldly  advantage  of  duty  or  sentiment,  or  through  sheer 
hypocrisy,  have  inculcated  steadfast  principles,  take  the  over- 
whelming fancies  by  which  they  are  assailed  for  suggestions 
of  the  devil ;  and  you  will  see  them  therefore  trotting  regularly 
to  mass,  to  midday  offices,  even  to  vespers.  This  false  devo- 
tion exhibits  itself,  first  of  all,  in  the  shape  of  pretty  books 
of  devotion  in  a  costly  binding,  by  the  aid  of  which  these  dear 
sinners  attempt  in  vain  to  fulfill  the  duties  imposed  by  relig- 
ion, and  long  neglected  for  the  pleasures  of  marriage. 

Now  here  we  will  lay  down  a  principle,  and  you  must 
engrave  it  on  your  memory  in  letters  of  fire. 

When  a  young  woman  suddenly  takes  up  religious  prac- 
tices which  she  has  before  abandoned,  this  new  order  of  life 
always  conceals  a  motive  highly  significant,  in  view  of  her 
husband's  happiness.  In  the  case  of  at  least  seventy-nine 
women  out  of  a  hundred  this  return  to  God  proves  that  they 
have  been  inconsistent,  or  that  they  intend  to  become  so. 

But  a  symptom  more  significant  still  and  more  decisive, 
and  one  that  every  husband  should  recognize  under  pain  of 
being  considered  a  fool,  is  this : 

At  the  time  when  both  of  you  are  immersed  in  the  illusive 
delights  of  the  honeymoon,  your  wife,  as  one  devoted  to  you, 
would  constantly  carry  out  your  will.  She  was  happy  in  the 
power  of  showing  the  ready  will,  which  both  of  you  mistook 
for  love,  and  she  would  have  liked  for  you  to  have  asked  her 
to  walk  on  the  edge  of  the  roof,  and  immediately,  nimble  as 
a  squirrel,  she  would  have  run  over  the  tiles.  In  a  word,  she 
found  an  ineffable  delight  in  sacrificing  to  you  that  ego  which 
made  her  a  being  distinct  from  yours.  She  had  identified  her- 
self with  your  nature  and  was  obedient  to  that  vow  of  the 
heart,  Una  caro. 

All  this  delightful  promptness  of  an  earlier  day  gradually 
faded  away.  Wounded  to  find  her  will  counted  as  nothing, 
your  wife  will .  attempt,  nevertheless,  to  reassert  it  by  meany 
of  a  system  developed  gradually,  and  from  day  to  day,  with 
increased  energy. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  101 

This  system  is  founded  upon  what  we  may  call  the  dignity 
D£  the  married  woman.  The  first  effect  of  this  system  is  to 
mingle  with  your  pleasures  a  certain  reserve  and  a  certain 
(ukewarmness,  of  which  you  are  the  sole  judge. 

According  to  the  greater  or  lesser  violence  of  your  sensual 
passion,  you  have  perhaps  discerned  some  of  those  twenty-two 
pleasures  which  in  other  times  created  in  Greece  twenty-two 
kinds  of  courtesans,  devoted  especially  to  these  delicate 
branches  of  the  same  art.  Ignorant  and  simple,  curious  and 
full  of  hope,  your  young  wife  may  have  taken  some  degrees 
in  this  science  as  rare  as  it  is  unknown,  and  which  we  especially 
commend  to  the  attention  of  the  future  author  of  Physiology 
of  Pleasure. 

Lacking  all  these  different  kinds  of  pleasure,  all  these 
caprices  of  soul,  all  these  arrows  of  love,  you  are  reduced  to 
the  most  common  of  love  fashions,  of  that  primitive  and  inno- 
cent wedding  gait,  the  calm  homage  which  the  innocent  Adam 
rendered  to  our  common  Mother  and  which  doubtless  sug- 
gested to  the  Serpent  the  idea  of  taking  them  in.  But  a 
symptom  so  complete  is  not  frequent.  Most  married  couples 
are  too  good  Christians  to  follow  the  usages  of  pagan  Greece, 
so  we  have  ranged,  among  the  last  symptoms,  the  appearance 
in  the  calm  nuptial  couch  of  those  shameless  pleasures  which 
spring  generally  from  lawless  passion.  In  their  proper  time 
and  place  we  will  treat  more  fully  of  this  fascinating  diag- 
nostic; at  this  point,  things  are  reduced  to  a  listlessness  and 
conjugal  repugnance  which  you  alone  are  in  a  condition  to 
appreciate. 

At  the  same  time  that  she  is  ennobling  by  her  dignity  the 
objects  of  marriage,  your  wife  will  pretend  that  she  ought  to 
have  her  opinion  and  you  yours.  "In  marrying,"  she  will  say, 
"a  woman  does  not  vow  that  she  will  abdicate  the  throne  of 
reason.  Are  women  then  really  slaves?  Human  laws  can 
fetter  the  body ;  but  the  mind ! — ah  !  God  has  placed  it  so  near 
Himself  that  no  human  hand  can  touch  it." 

These  ideas  necessarily  proceed  either  from  the  too  liberal 
teachings  which  you  have  allowed  her  to  receive,  or  from  some 


102  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

reflections  which  you  have  permitted  her  to  make.  A  whole 
Meditation  has  been  devoted  to  Home  Instruction. 

Then  your  wife  begins  to  say,  "My  chamber,  my  bed,  my 
apartment."  To  many  of  your  questions  she  will  reply,  "But, 
my  dear,  this  is  no  business  of  yours !"  Or :  "Men  have  their 
part  in  the  direction  of  the  house,  and  women  have  theirs." 
Or,  laughing  at  men  who  meddle  in  household  affairs,  she  will 
affirm  that  "men  do  not  understand  some  things." 

The  number  of  things  which  you  do  not  understand 
increases  day  by  day. 

One  fine  morning,  you  will  see  in  your  little  church  two 
altars,  where  before  you  never  worshiped  but  at  one.  The  altar 
of  your  wife  and  your  own  altar  have  become  distinct,  and 
this  distinction  will  go  on  increasing,  always  in  accordance 
with  the  system  founded  upon  the  dignity  of  woman. 

Then  the  following  ideas  will  appear,  and  they  will  be  incul- 
cated in  you  whether  you  like  it  or  not,  by  means  of  a  living 
force  very  ancient  in  origin  and  little  known.  Steam-power, 
horse-power,  man-power,  and  water-power  are  good  inventions, 
but  nature  has  provided  women  with  a  moral  power,  in  com- 
parison with  which  all  other  powers  are  nothing :  we  may  call 
it  rattle-power.  This  force  consists  in  a  continuance  of  the 
same  sound,  in  an  exact  repetition  of  the  same  words,  in-  a 
reversion,  over  and  over  again,  to  the  same  ideas,  and  this  so 
unvaried,  that  from  hearing  them  over  and  over  again  you 
will  admit  them,  in  order  to  be  delivered  from  the  discussion. 
Thus  the  power  of  the  rattle  will  prove  to  you : 

That  you  are  very  fortunate  to  have  such  an  excellent  wife ; 

That  she  has  done  you  too  much  honor  in  marrying  you ; 

That  women  often  see  clearer  than  men ; 

That  you  ought  to  take  the  advice  of  your  wife  in  every 
thing,  and  almost  always  ought  to  follow  it; 

That  you  ought  to  respect  the  mother  of  your  children,  to 
honor  her  and  have  confidence  in  her ; 

That  the  best  way  to  escape  being  deceived,  is  to  rely  upon 
a  wife's  refinement,  for  according  to  certain  old  ideas  which 
we  have  had  the  weakness  to  give  credit,  it  is  impossible  for  a 
man  to  prevent  his  wife  from  minotaurizing  him ; 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  103 

That  a  lawful  wife  is  a  man's  best  friend ; 

That  a  woman  is  mistress  in  her  own  house  and  queen  in 
her  drawing-room,  etc. 

Those  who  wish  to  oppose  a  firm  resistance  to  a  woman's 
conquest,  effected  by  means  of  her  dignity  over  man's  power, 
fall  into  the  category  of  the  predestined. 

At  first,  quarrels  arise  which  in  the  eye  of  wives  give  an 
air  of  tyranny  to  husbands.  The  tyranny  of  a  husband  is 
always  a  terrible  excuse  for  inconsistency  in  a  wife.  Then,  in 
their  frivolous  discussions  they  are  enabled  to  prove  to  their 
families  and  to  ours,  to  everybody  and  to  ourselves,  that  we 
are  in  the  wrong.  If,  for  the  sake  of  peace,  or  from  love,  you 
acknowledge  the  pretended  rights  of  women,  you  yield  an 
advantage  to  your  wife  by  which  she  will  profit  eternally.  A 
husband,  like  a  government,  ought  never  to  acknowledge  a 
mistake.  In  case  you  do  so  your  power  will  be  outflanked  by 
the  subtle  artifices  of  feminine  dignity ;  then  all  will  be  lost ; 
from  that  moment  she  will  advance  from  concession  to  con- 
cession until  she  has  driven  you  from  her  bed. 

The  woman  being  shrewd,  intelligent,  sarcastic  and  having 
leisure  to  meditate  over  an  ironical  phrase,  can  easily  turn 
you  into  ridicule  during  a  momentary  clash  of  opinions.  The 
day  on  which  she  turns  you  into  ridicule,  sees  the  end  of  your 
happiness.  Your  power  has  expired.  A  woman  who  has 
laughed  at  her  husband  cannot  henceforth  love  him.  A  man 
should  be,  to  the  woman  who  is  in  love  with  him,  a  being  full 
of  power,  of  greatness,  and  always  imposing.  A  family  can- 
not exist  without  despotism.  Think  of  that,  ye  nations ! 

Now  the  difficult  course  which  a  man  has  to  steer  in  pres- 
ence of  such  serious  incidents  as  these,  is  what  we  may  call  the 
haute  politique  of  marriage,  and  is  the  subject  of  the  second 
and  third  parts  of  our  book.  That  breviary  of  marital  Machi- 
avelism  will  teach  you  the  manner  in  which  you  may  grow  to 
greatness  within  that  frivolous  mind,  within  that  soul  of  lace- 
work,  to  use  Napoleon's  phrase.  You  may  learn  how  a  man 
may  exhibit  a  soul  of  steel,  may  enter  upon  this  little  domestic 
war  without  ever  yielding  the  empire  of  his  will,  and  may  do 


104  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

so  without  compromising  his  happiness.  For  if  you  exhibit 
any  tendency  to  abdication,  your  wife  will  despise  you,  for  the 
sole  reason  that  she  has  discovered  you  to  be  destitute  of 
mental  vigor;  you  are  no  longer  a  man  to  her. 

But  we  have  not  yet  reached  the  point  at  which  are  to  be 
developed  those  theories  and  principles,  by  means  of  which 
a  man  may  unite  elegance  of  manners  with  severity  of  meas- 
ures ;  let  it  suffice  us,  for  the  moment,  to  point  out  the  impor- 
tance of  impending  events  and  let  us  pursue  our  theme. 

At  this  fatal  epoch,  you  will  see  that  she  is  adroitly  setting 
up  a  right  to  go  out  alone. 

You  were  at  one  time  her  god,  her  idol.  She  has  now 
reached  that  height  of  devotion  at  which  it  is  permitted  to  see 
holes  in  the  garments  of  the  saints. 

"Oh,  mon  Dieu !  My  dear,"  said  Madame  de  la  Valliere 
to  her  husband,  "how  badly  you  wear  your  sword !  M.  de 
Kichelieu  has  a  way  of  making  it  hang  straight  at  his  side, 
which  you  ought  to  try  to  imitate ;  it  is  in  much  better  taste." 

"My  dear,  you  could  not  tell  me  in  a  more  tactful  manner 
that  we  have  been  married  five  months!"  replied  the  Duke, 
whose  repartee  made  his  fortune  in  the  reign  of  Louis  XV. 

She  will  study  your  character  in  order  to  find  weapons 
against  you.  Such  a  study,  which  love  would  hold  in  horror, 
reveals  itself  in  the  thousand  little  traps  which  she  lays  pur- 
posely to  make  you  scold  her;  when  a  woman  has  no  excuse 
for  minotaurizing  her  husband  she  sets  to  work  to  make  one. 

She  will  perhaps  begin  dinner  without  waiting  for  you. 

If  you  drive  through  the  middle  of  the  town,  she  will  point 
out  certain  objects  which  escaped  your  notice;  she  will  sing 
before  you  without  feeling  afraid;  she  will  interrupt  you, 
sometimes  vouchsafe  no  reply  to  you,  and  will  prove  to  you, 
in  a  thousand  different  ways,  that  she  is  enjoying  at  your  side' 
the  use  of  all  her  faculties  and  exercising  her  private  judg- 
ment. 

She  will  try  to  abolish  entirely  your  influence  in  the  man- 
agement of  the  house  and  to  become  sole  mistress  of  your  for- 
tune. At  first  this  struggle  will  serve  as  a  distraction  for  her 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  105 

soul,  whether  it  be  empty  or  in  too  violent  commotion;  next, 
she  will  find  in  your  opposition  a  new  motive  for  ridicule. 
Slang  expressions  will  not  fail  her,  and  in  France  we  are  so 
quickly  vanquished  by  the  ironical  smile  of  another ! 

At  other  times  headaches  and  nervous  attacks  make  their 
appearance;  but  these  symptoms  furnish  matter  for  a  whole 
future  Meditation.  In  the  world  she  will  speak  of  you  with- 
out blushing,  and  will  gaze  at  you  with  assurance.  She  will 
begin  to  blame  your  least  actions  because  they  are  at  variance 
with  her  ideas,  or  her  secret  intentions.  She  will  take  no  care 
of  what  pertains  to  you,  she  will  not  even  know  whether  you 
have  all  you  need.  You  are  no  longer  her  paragon. 

In  imitation  of  Louis  XIV.,  who  carried  to  his  mistresses 
the  bouquets  of  orange  blossoms  which  the  head  gardener  of 
Versailles  put  on  his  table  every  morning,  M.  de  Vivonne  used 
almost  every  day  to  give  his  wife  choice  flowers  during  the 
early  period  of  his  marriage.  One  morning  he  found  the  bou- 
quet lying  on  the  side  table  without  having  been  placed,  as 
usual,  in  a  vase  of  water. 

"Oh !  Oh !"  said  he,  "if  I  am  not  a  cuckold,  I  shall  very; 
soon  be  one." 

You  go  on  a  journey  for  eight  days  and  you  receive  no  let- 
ters, or  you  receive  one,  three  pages  of  which  are  blank. — 
Symptom. 

You  come  home  mounted  on  a  valuable  horse  which  you  like 
very  much,  and  between  her  kisses  your  wife  shows  her  uneasi- 
ness about  the  horse  and  his  fodder. — Symptom. 

To  these  features  of  the  case,  you  will  be  able  to  add  others. 
We  shall  endeavor  in  the  present  volume  always  to  paint  things 
in  bold  fresco  style  and  leave  the  miniatures  to  you.  Accord- 
ing to  the  characters  concerned,  the  indications  which  we  are 
describing,  veiled  under  the  incidents  of  ordinary  life,  are  of 
infinite  variety.  One  man  may  discover  a  symptom  in  the 
way  a  shawl  is  put  on,  while  another  needs  to  receive  a  fillip 
to  his  intellect,  in  order  to  notice  the  indifference  of  his  mate. 

Some  fine  spring  morning,  the  day  after  a  ball,  or  the  eve 
of  a  country  party,  this  situation  reaches  its  last  phase ;  your 


106  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

wife  is  listless  and  the  happiness  within  her  reach  has  no  more 
attractions  for  her.  Her  mind,  her  imagination,  perhaps  her 
natural  caprices  call  for  a  lover.  Nevertheless,  she  dare  not 
yet  embark  upon  an  intrigue  whose  consequences  and  details 
fill  her  with  dread.  You  are  still  there  for  some  purpose  or 
other;  you  are  a  weight  in  the  balance,  although  a  very  light 
one.  On  the  other  hand,  the  lover  presents  himself  arrayed 
in  all  the  graces  of  novelty  and  all  the  charms  of  mystery. 
The  conflict  which  has  arisen  in  the  heart  of  your  wife 
becomes,  in  presence  of  the  enemy,  more  real  and  more  full  of 
peril  than  before.  Very  soon  the  more  dangers  and  risks 
there  are  to  be  run,  the  more  she  burns  to  plunge  into  that 
delicious  gulf  of  fear,  enjoyment,  anguish  and  delight.  Her 
imagination  kindles  and  sparkles,  her  future  life  rises  before 
her  eyes,  colored  with  romantic  and  mysterious  hues.  Her 
soul  discovers  that  existence  has  already  taken  its  tone  from 
this  struggle  which  to  a  woman  has  so  much  solemnity  in  it. 
All  is  agitation,  all  is  fire,  all  is  commotion  within  her.  She 
lives  with  three  times  as  much  intensity  as  before,  and  judges 
the  future  by  the  present.  The  little  pleasure  which  you  have 
lavished  upon  her  bears  witness  against  you;  for  she  is  not 
excited  as  much  by  the  pleasures  which  she  has  received,  as  by 
those  which  she  is  yet  to  enjoy;  does  not  imagination  show 
her  that  her  happiness  will  be  keener  with  this  lover,  whom 
the  laws  deny  her,  than  with  you  ?  And  then,  she  finds  enjoy- 
ment even  in  her  terror  and  terror  in  her  enjoyment.  Then 
she  falls  in  love  with  this  imminent  danger,  this  sword  of 
Damocles  hung  over  her  head  by  you  yourself,  thus  preferring 
the  delirious  agonies  of  such  a  passion,  to  that  conjugal  inanity 
which  is  worse  to  her  than  death,  to  that  indifference  which  is 
less  a  sentiment  than  the  absence  of  all  sentiment. 

You,  who  must  go  to  pay  your  respects  to  the  Minister  of 
Finance,  to  write  memorandums  at  the  bank,  to  make  your 
reports  at  the  Bourse,  or  to  speak  in  the  Chamber ;  you,  young 
men,  who  have  repeated  with  many  others  in  our  first  Medita- 
tion the  oath  that  you  will  defend  your  happiness  in  defend- 
ing your  wife,  what  can  you  oppose  to  these  desires  of  hers 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  107 

which  are  so  natural?  For,  with  these  creatures  of  fire,  to 
live  is  to  feel;  the  moment  they  cease  to  experience  emotion 
they  are  dead.  The  law  in  virtue  of  which  you  take  your  posi- 
tion produces  in  her  this  involuntary  act  of  minotaurism. 
"There  is  one  sequel/'  said  D'Alembert,  "to  the  laws  of  move- 
ment/' Well,  then,  where  are  your  means  of  defence? — 
Where,  indeed? 

Alas !  if  your  wife  has  not  yet  kissed  the  apple  of  the  Ser- 
pent, the  Serpent  stands  before  her ;  you  sleep,  we  are  awake, 
and  our  book  begins. 

Without  inquiring  how  many  husbands,  among  the  five  hun- 
dred thousand  which  this  book  concerns,  will  be  left  with  the 
predestined;  how  many  have  contracted  unfortunate  mar- 
riages ;  how  many  have  made  a  bad  beginning  with  their  wives ; 
and  without  wishing  to  ask  if  there  be  many  or  few  of  this 
numerous  band  who  can  satisfy  the  conditions  required  for 
struggling  against  the  danger  which  is  impending,  we  intend 
to  expound  in  the  second  and  third  part  of  this  work  the 
methods  of  fighting  the  Minotaur  and  keeping  intact  the  virtue 
of  wives.  But  if  fate,  the  devil,  the  celibate,  opportunity, 
desire  your  ruin,  in  recognizing  the  progress  of  all  intrigues, 
in  joining  in  the  battles  which  are  fought  by  every  home, 
you  will  possibly  be  able  to  find  some  consolation.  Many 
people  have  such  a  happy  disposition,  that  on  showing  to  them 
the  condition  of  things  and  explaining  to  them  the  why  and 
the  wherefore,  they  scratch  their  foreheads,  rub  their  hands, 
stamp  on  the  ground,  and  are  satisfied. 


MEDITATION  IX. 
EPILOGUE. 

Faithful  to  our  promise,  this  first  part  has  indicated  the 
general  causes  which  bring  all  marriages  to  the  crises  which 
we  are  about  to  describe;  and,  in  tracing  the  steps  of  this 
conjugal  preamble,  we  have  also  pointed  out  the  way  in  which 


108  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

the  catastrophe  is  to  be  avoided,  for  we  have  pointed  out  the 
errors  by  which  it  is  brought  about. 

But  these  first  considerations  would  be  incomplete  if,  after 
endeavoring  to  throw  some  light  upon  the  inconsistency  of  our 
ideas,  of  our  manners  and  of  our  laws,  with  regard  to  a  ques- 
tion which  concerns  the  life  of  almost  all  living  beings,  we 
did  not  endeavor  to  make  plain,  in  a  short  peroration,  the 
political  causes  of  the  infirmity  which  pervades  all  modern 
society.  After  having  exposed  the  secret  vices  of  marriage, 
would  it  not  be  an  inquiry  worthy  of  philosophers  to  search 
out  the  causes  which  have  rendered  it  so  vicious? 

The  system  of  law  and  of  manners  which  so  far  directs 
women  and  controls  marriage  in  France,  is  the  outcome  of 
ancient  beliefs  and  traditions  which  are  no  longer  in  accord- 
ance with  the  eternal  principles  of  reason  and  of  justice, 
brought  to  light  by  the  great  Devolution  of  1789. 

Three  great  disturbances  have  agitated  France:  the  con- 
quest of  the  country  by  the  Romans,  the  establishment  of 
Christianity  and  the  invasion  of  the  Franks.  Each  of  these 
events  has  left  a  deep  impress  upon  the  soil,  upon  the  laws, 
upon  the  manners  and  upon  the  intellect  of  the  nation. 

Greece  having  one  foot  on  Europe  and  the  other  on  Asia, 
was  influenced  by  her  voluptuous  climate  in  the  choice  of  her 
marriage  institutions ;  she  received  them  from  the  East,  where 
her  philosophers,  her  legislators  and  her  poets  went  to  study 
the  abstruse  antiquities  of  Egypt  and  Chaldea.  The  absolute 
seclusion  of  women  which  was  necessitated  under  the  burning 
sun  of  Asia  prevailed  under  the  laws  of  Greece  and  Ionia. 
The  women  remained  in  confinement  within  the  marbles  of 
the  gyneceum.  The  country  was  reduced  to  the  condition  of 
a  city,  to  a  narrow  territory,  and  the  courtesans  who  were  con- 
nected with  art  and  religion  by  so  many  ties,  were  sufficient 
to  satisfy  the  first  passions  of  the  young  men,  who  were  few 
in  number,  since  their  strength  was  elsewhere  taken  up  in  the 
violent  exercises  of  that  training  which  was  demanded  of  them 
by  the  military  system  of  those  heroic  times. 

At  the  beginning  of  her  royal  career  Rome,  having  sent  to 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  109 

Greece  to  seek  such  principles  of  legislation  as  might  suit  the 
sky  of  Italy,  stamped  upon  the  forehead  of  the  married  women 
the  brand  of  complete  servitude.  The  senate  understood  the 
importance  of  virtue  in  a  republic,  hence  the  severity  of 
manners  in  the  excessive  development  of  the  marital  and 
paternal  power.  The  dependence  of  the  woman  on  her  hus- 
band is  found  inscribed  on  every  code.  The  seclusion  pre- 
scribed by  the  East  becomes  a  duty,  a  moral  obligation,  a 
virtue.  On  these  principles  were  raised  temples  to  modesty 
and  temples  consecrated  to  the  sanctity  of  marriage;  hence, 
sprang  the  institution  of  censors,  the  law  of  dowries,  the 
sumptuary  laws,  the  respect  for  matrons  and  all  the  charac- 
teristics of  the  Roman  law.  Moreover,  three  acts  of  feminine 
violation  either  accomplished  or  attempted,  produced  three 
revolutions !  And  was  it  not  a  grand  event,  sanctioned  by  the 
decrees  of  the  country,  that  these  illustrious  women  should 
make  their  appearances  on  the  political  arena !  Those  noble 
Roman  women,  who  were  by  law  obliged  to  be  either  brides  or 
mothers,  passed  their  life  in  retirement  engaged  in  educating 
the  masters  of  the  world.  Eome  had  no  courtesans  because  the 
youth  of  the  city  were  engaged  in  eternal  war.  If,  later  on, 
dissoluteness  appeared,  it  merely  resulted  from  the  despotism 
of  emperors;  and  still  the  prejudices  founded  upon  ancient 
manners  were  so  influential  that  Rome  never  saw  a  woman 
on  a  stage.  These  facts  are  not  put  forth  idly  in  scanning 
the  history  of  marriage  in  France. 

After  the  conquest  of  Gaul,  the  Romans  imposed  their  laws 
upon  the  conquered;  but  they  were  incapable  of  destroying 
both  the  profound  respect  which  our  ancestors  entertained 
for  women  and  the  ancient  superstitions  which  made  women 
the  immediate  oracles  of  God.  The  Roman  laws  ended  by 
prevailing,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  others,  in  this  country  once 
known  as  the  "land  of  written  law,"  or  Oallia  togata,  and 
their  ideas  of  marriage  penetrated  more  or  less  into  the  "land 
of  customs." 

But,  during  the  conflict  of  laws  with  manners,  the  Franks 
invaded  the  Gauls  and  gave  to  the  country  the  dear  name  of 


HO  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

France.  These  warriors  came  from  the  North  and  brought  the 
system  of  gallantry  which  had  originated  in  their  western 
regions,  where  the  mingling  of  the  sexes  did  not  require  in 
those  icy  climates  the  jealous  precautions  of  the  East.  The 
women  of  that  time  elevated  the  privations  of  that  kind  of 
life  by  the  exaltation  of  their  sentiments.  The  drowsy  minds 
of  the  day  made  necessary  those  varied  forms  of  delicate 
solicitation,  that  versatility  of  address,  the  fancied  repulses 
of  coquetry,  which  belong  to  the  system  whose  principles  have 
been  unfolded  in  our  First  Part,  as  admirably  suited  to  the 
temperate  clime  of  France. 

To  the  East,  then,  belong  the  passion  and  the  delirium  of 
passion,  the  long  brown  hair,  the  harem,  the  amorous  divini- 
ties, the  splendor,  the  poetry  of  love  and  the  monuments  of 
love. — To  the  West,  the  liberty  of  wives,  the  sovereignty  of 
their  blond  locks,  gallantry,  the  fairy  life  of  love,  the  sorcery 
of  passion,  the  profound  ecstasy  of  the  soul,  the  sweet  feelings 
of  melancholy  and  the  constancy  of  love. 

These  two  systems,  starting  from  opposite  points  of  the 
globe,  have  come  into  collision  in  France;  in  France,  where 
one  part  of  the  country,  Languedoc,  was  attracted  by  Oriental 
traditions,  while  the  other,  Languedoil,  was  the  native  land  of 
a  creed  which  attributes  to  woman  a  magical  power.  In  the 
Languedoil,  love  necessitates  mystery;  in  the  Languedoc,  to 
see  is  to  love. 

At  the  height  of  this  struggle  came  the  triumphant  entry 
of  Christianity  into  France,  and  there  it  was  preached  by 
women,  and  there  it  consecrated  the  divinity  of  a  woman  who 
in  the  forests  of  Brittany,  of  Vendee  and  of  Ardennes  took, 
under  the  name  of  Notre-Dame,  the  place  of  more  than  one 
idol  in  the  hollow  of  old  Druidic  oaks. 

If  the  religion  of  Christ,  which  is  above  all  things  a  code 
of  morality  and  politics,  gave  a  soul  to  all  living  beings,  pro- 
claimed that  equality  of  all  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  by  such 
principles  as  these  fortified  the  chivalric  sentiments  of  the 
North,  this  advantage  was  counterbalanced  by  the  fact,  that 
the  sovereign  pontiff  resided  at  Rome,  of  which  seat  he  consid- 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  111 

ered  himself  the  lawful  heir,  through  the  universality  of  the 
Latin  tongue,  which  became  that  of  Europe  during  the  Middle 
Ages,  and  through  the  keen  interest  taken  by  monks,  writers 
and  lawyers  in  establishing  the  ascendency  of  certain  codes, 
discovered  by  a  soldier  in  the  sack  of  Amalfi. 

These  two  principles  of  the  servitude  and  the  sovereignty 
of  women  retain  possession  of  the  gronnd,  each,  of  them 
defended  by  fresh  arguments. 

The  Salic  law,  which  was  a  legal  error,  was  a  triumph  for 
the  principle  of  political  and  civil  servitude  for  women,  but 
it  did  not  diminish  the  power  which  French  manners  accorded 
them,  for  the  enthusiasm  of  chivalry  which  prevailed  in 
Europe  supplanted  the  party  of  manners  against  the  party 
of  law. 

And  in  this  way  was  created  that  strange  phenomenon  which 
since  that  time  has  characterized  both  our  national  despotism 
and  our  legislation ;  for  ever  since  those  epochs  which  seemed 
to  presage  the  Revolution,  when  the  spirit  of  philosophy  rose 
and  reflected  upon  the  history  of  the  past,  France  has  been 
the  prey  of  many  convulsions.  Feudalism,  the  Crusades,  the 
Eeformation,  the  struggle  between  the  monarchy  and  the 
aristocracy,  Despotism  and  Priestcraft  have  so  closely  held 
the  country  within  their  clutches,  that  woman  still  remains 
the  subject  of  strange  counter-opinions,  each  springing  from 
one  of  the  three  great  movements  to  which  we  have  referred. 
Was  it  possible  that  the  woman  question  should  be  discussed 
and  woman's  political  education  and  marriage  should  be  ven- 
tilated when  feudalism  threatened  the  throne,  when  reform 
menaced  both  king  and  barons,  and  the  people,  between  the 
hierarchy  and  the  empire,  were  forgotten?  According  to  a 
saying  of  Madame  Keeker,  women,  amid  these  great  move- 
ments, were  like  the  cotton  wool  put  into  a  case 'of  porcelain. 
They  were  counted  for  nothing,  but  without  them  everything 
would  have  been  broken. 

A  married  woman,  then,  in  France  presents  the  spectacle 
of  a  queen  out  at  service,  of  a  slave,  at  once  free  and  a  pris- 
oner; a  collision  between  these  two  principles  which  fre- 


112  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

quently  occurred,  produced  odd  situations  by  the  thousand. 
And  then,  woman  was  physically  little  understood,-  and  what 
was  actually  sickness  in  her,  was  considered  a  prodigy,  witch- 
craft or  monstrous  turpitude.  In  those  days  these  creatures, 
treated  by  the  law  as  reckless  children,  and  put  under  guar- 
dianship, were  by  the  manners  of  the  time  deified  and  adored. 
Like  the  freedmen  of  emperors,  they  disposed  of  crowns,  they 
decided  battles,  they  awarded  fortunes,  they  inspired  crimes 
and  revolutions,  wonderful  acts  of  virtue,  by  the  mere  flash 
of  their  glances,  and  yet  they  possessed  nothing  and  were  not 
even  possessors  of  themselves.  They  were  equally  fortunate 
and  unfortunate.  Armed  with  their  weakness  and  strong  in 
instinct,  they  launched  out  far  beyond  the  sphere  which  the 
law  allotted  them,  showing  themselves  omnipotent  for  evil, 
but  impotent  for  good;  without  merit  in  the  virtues  that 
were  imposed  upon  them,  without  excuse  in  their  vices; 
accused  of  ignorance  and  yet  denied  an  education;  neither 
altogether  mothers  nor  altogether  wives.  Having  all  the  time 
to  conceal  their  passions,  while  they  fostered  them,  they  sub- 
mitted to  the  coquetry  of  the  Franks,  while  they  were  obliged, 
like  Eoman  women,  to  stay  within  the  ramparts  of  their 
castles  and  bring  up  those  who  were  to  be  warriors.  While 
no  system  was  definitely  decided  upon  by  legislation  as  to  the 
position  of  women,  their  minds  were  left  to  follow  their  incli- 
nations, and  there  are  found  among  them  as  many  who 
resemble  Marion  Delorme  as  those  who  resemble  Cornelia; 
there  are  vices  among  them,  but  there  are  as  many  virtues. 
These  were  creatures  as  incomplete  as  the  laws  which  gov- 
erned them ;  they  were  considered  by  some  as  a  being  midway 
between  man  and  the  lower  animals,  as  a  malignant  beast 
which  the  laws  could  not  too  closely  fetter,  and  which  nature 
had  destined,  with  so  many  other  things,  to  serve  the  pleasure 
of  men;  while  others  held  woman  to  be  an  angel  in  exile,  a 
source  of  happiness  and  love,  the  only  creature  who  responded 
to  the  highest  feelings  of  man,  while  her  miseries  were  to  be 
recompensed  by  the  idolatry  of  every  heart.  How  could  the 
consistency,  which  was  wanting  in  a  political  system,  be 
expected  in  the  general  manners  of  the  nation? 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  113 

And  so  woman  became  what  circumstances  and  men  made 
her,  instead  of  being  what  the  climate  and  native  institutions 
should  have  made  her;  sold,  married  against  her  taste,  in 
accordance  with  the  Patria  potestas  of  the  Romans,  at  the  same 
time  that  she  fell  under  the  marital  despotism  which  desired 
her  seclusion,  she  found  herself  tempted  to  take  the  only 
reprisals  which  were  within  her  power.  Then  she  became  a 
dissolute  creature,  as  soon  as  men  ceased  to  be  intently  occu- 
pied in  intestine  war,  for  the  same  reason  that  she  was  a  vir- 
tuous woman  in  the  midst  of  civil  disturbances.  Every  edu- 
cated man  can  fill  in  this  outline,  for  we  seek  from  movements 
like  these  the  lessons  and  not  the  poetic  suggestion  which  they 
yield. 

The  Revolution  was  too  entirely  occupied  in  breaking  down 
and  building  up,  had  too  many  enemies,  or  followed  perhaps 
too  closely  on  the  deplorable  times  witnessed  under  the 
regency  and  under  Louis  XV.,  to  pay  any  attention  to  the 
position  which  women  should  occupy  in  the  social  order. 

The  remarkable  men  who  raised  the  immortal  monument 
which  our  codes  present  were  almost  all  old-fashioned  stu- 
dents of  law  deeply  imbued  with  a  spirit  of  Roman  jurispru- 
dence; and  moreover  they  were  not  the  founders  of  any 
political  institutions.  Sons  of  the  Revolution,  they  believed, 
in  accordance  with  that  movement,  that  the  law  of  divorce 
wisely  restricted  and  the  bond  of  dutiful  submission  were 
sufficient  ameliorations  of  the  previous  marriage  law.  When 
that  former  order  of  things  was  remembered,  the  change  made 
by  the  new  legislation  seemed  immense. 

At  the  present  day  the  question  as  to  which  of  these  two 
principles  shall  triumph  rests  entirely  in  the  hands  of  our  wise 
legislators.  The  past  has  teaching  which  should  bear  fruit  in 
the  future.  Have  we  lost  all  sense  of  the  eloquence  of  fact  ? 

The  principles  of  the  East  resulted  in  the  existence  of 
eunuchs  and  seraglios ;  the  spurious  social  standing  of  France 
has  brought  in  the  plague  of  courtesans  and  the  more  deadly 
plague  of  our  marriage  system;  and  thus,  to  use  the  language 
of  a  contemporary,  the  East  sacrifices  to  paternity  men  and 


114  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

the  principle  of  justice;  France,  women  and  modesty.  Neither 
the  East  nor  France  has  attained  the  goal  which  their  institu- 
tions point  to;  for  that  is  happiness.  The  man  is  not  more 
loved  by  the  women  of  a  harem  than  the  husband  is  sure  of 
being  in  France,  as  the  father  of  his  children ;  and  marrying 
is  not  worth  what  it  costs.  It  is  time  to  offer  no  more  sacri- 
fice to  this  institution,  and  to  amass  a  larger  sum  of  happi- 
ness in  the  social  state  by  making  our  manners  and  our  insti- 
tution conformable  to  our  climate. 

Constitutional  government,  a  happy  mixture  of  two  ex- 
treme political  systems,  despotism  and  democracy,  suggests  the 
necessity  of  blending  also  the  two  principles  of  marriage, 
which  so  far  clash  together  in  France.  The  liberty  which  we 
boldly  claim  for  young  people  is  the  only  remedy  for  the  host 
of  evils  whose  source  we  have  pointed  out,  by  exposing  the 
inconsistencies  resulting  from  the  bondage  in  which  girls  are 
kept.  Let  us  give  back  to  youth  the  indulgence  of  those  pas- 
sions, those  coquetries,  love  and  its  terrors,  love  and  its 
delights,  and  that  fascinating  company  which  followed  the 
coming  of  the  Franks.  At  this  vernal  season  of  life  no  fault 
is  irreparable,  and  Hymen  will  come  forth  from  the  bosom  of 
experiences,  armed  with  confidence,  stripped  of  hatred,  and 
love  in  marriage  will  be  justified,  because  it  will  have  had  the 
privilege  of  comparison. 

In  this  change  of  manners  the  disgraceful  plague  of  public 
prostitution  will  perish  of  itself.  It  is  especially  at  the  time 
when  the  man  possesses  the  frankness  and  timidity  of  ado- 
lescence, that  in  his  pursuit  of  happiness  he  is  competent  to 
meet  and  struggle  with  great  and  genuine  passions  of  the 
heart.  The  soul  is  happy  in  making  great  efforts  of  what- 
ever kind ;  provided  that  it  can  act,  that  it  can  stir  and  move, 
it  makes  little  difference,  even  though  it  exercise  its  power 
against  itself.  In  this  observation,  the  truth  of  which  every- 
body can  see,  there  may  be  found  one  secret  of  successful 
legislation,  of  tranquillity  and  happiness.  And  then,  the 
pursuit  of  learning  has  now  become  so  highly  developed  that 
the  most  tempestuous  of  our  coming  Mirabeaus  can  consume 
his  energy  either  in  the  indulgence  of  a  passion  or  the  stud} 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  116 

of  a  science.  How  many  young  people  have  been  saved  from 
debauchery  by  self-chosen  labors  or  the  persistent  obstacles 
put  in  the  way  of  a  first  love,  a  love  that  was  pure !  And  what 
young  girl  does  not  desire  to  prolong  the  delightful  child- 
hood of  sentiment,  is  not  proud  to  have  her  nature  known, 
and  has  not  felt  the  secret  tremblings  of  timidity,  the  modesty 
of  her  secret  communings  with  herself,  and  wished  to  oppose 
them  to  the  young  desires  of  a  lover  inexperienced  as  herself ! 
The  gallantry  of  the  Franks  and  the  pleasures  which  attend 
it  should  then  be  the  portion  of  youth,  and  then  would  natu- 
rally result  a  union  of  soul,  of  mind,  of  character,  of  habits, 
of  temperament  and  of  fortune,  such  as  would  produce  the 
happy  equilibrium  necessary  for  the  felicity  of  the  married 
couple.  This  system  would  rest  upon  foundations  wider  and 
freer,  if  girls  were  subjected  to  a  carefully  calculated  system 
of  disinheritance ;  or  if,  in  order  to  force  men  to  choose  only 
those  who  promised  happiness  by  their  virtues,  their  char- 
acter or  their  talents,  they  were  married  as  in  the  United 
States  without  dowry. 

In  that  case,  the  system  adopted  by  the  Eomans  could 
advantageously  be  applied  to  the  married  women  who  when 
they  were  girls  used  their  liberty.  Being  exclusively  engaged 
in  the  early  education  of  their  children,  which  is  the  most 
important  of  all  maternal  obligations,  occupied  in  creating 
and  maintaining  the  happiness  of  the  household,  so  admir- 
ably described  in  the  fourth  book  of  Julie,  they  would  be  in 
their  houses  like  the  women  of  ancient  Rome,  living  images 
of  Providence,  which  reigns  over  all,  and  yet  is  nowhere 
visible.  In  this  case  the  laws  covering  the  infidelity  of  the 
wife  should  be  extremely  severe.  They  should  make  the  pen- 
alty disgrace,  rather  than  inflict  painful  or  coercive  sentences. 
France  has  witnessed  the  spectacle  of  women  riding  asses  for 
the  pretended  crime  of  magic,  and  many  an  innocent  woman 
has  died  of  shame.  In  this  may  be  found  the  secret  of  future 
marriage  legislation.  The  young  girls  of  Miletus  delivered 
themselves  from  marriage  by  voluntary  death;  the  senate 
condemned  the  suicides  to  be  dragged  naked  on  a  hurdle,  and 
the  other  virgins  condemned  themselves  for  life. 


116  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

Women  and  marriage  will  never  be  respected  until  we  have 
that  radical  change  in  manners  which  we  are  now  begging  for. 
This  profound  thought  is  the  ruling  principle  in  the  two 
finest  productions  of  an  immortal  genius.  Emile  and  La 
Nouvelle  Helo'ise  are  nothing  more  than  two  eloquent  pleas 
for  the  system.  The  voice  there  raised  will  resound  through 
the  ages,  because  it  points  to  the  real  motives  of  true  legisla- 
tion, and  the  manners  which  will  prevail  in  the  future.  By 
placing  children  at  the  breast  of  their  mothers,  Jean-Jacques 
rendered  an  immense  service  to  the  cause  of  virtue;  but  his 
age  was  too  deeply  gangrened  with  abuses  to  understand  the 
lofty  lessons  unfolded  in  those  two  poems;  it  is  right  to  add 
also  that  the  philosopher  was  in  these  works  overmastered  by 
the  poet,  and  in  leaving  in  the  heart  of  Julie  after  her  mar- 
riage some  vestiges  of  her  first  love,  he  was  led  astray  by  the 
attractiveness  of  a  poetic  situation,  more  touching  indeed, 
but  less  useful  than  the  truth  which  he  wished  to  display. 

Nevertheless,  if  marriage  in  France  is  an  unlimited  con- 
tract to  which  men  agree  with  a  silent  understanding  that  they 
may  thus  give  more  relish  to  passion,  more  curiosity,  more 
mystery  to  love,  more  fascination  to  women;  if  a  woman  is 
rather  an  ornament  to  the  drawing-room,  a  fashion-plate,  a 
portmanteau,  than  a  being  whose  functions  in  the  order  politic 
are  an  essential  part  of  the  country's  prosperity  and  the 
nation's  glory,  a  creature  whose  endeavors  in  life  vie  in  utility 
with  those  of  men — I  admit  that  all  the  above  theory,  all 
these  long  considerations  sink  into  nothingness  at  the  pros- 
pect of  such  an  important  destiny  ! 

But  after  having  squeezed  a  pound  of  actualities  in  order 
to  obtain  one  drop  of  philosophy,  having  paid  sufficient  homage 
to  that  passion  for  the  historic,  which  is  so  dominant  in  our 
time,  let  us  turn  our  glance  upon  the  manners  of  the  present 
period.  Let  us  take  the  cap  and  bells  and  the  coxcomb  of 
which  Rabelais  once  made  a  sceptre,  and  let  us  pursue  the 
course  of  this  inquiry  without  giving  to  one  joke  more  seri- 
ousness than  comports  with  it,  and  without  giving  to  serious 
things  the  jesting  tone  which  ill  befits  them. 


SECOND  PART. 

MEANS  OP  DEFENCE,  INTERIOR  AND  EXTERIOR. 

'*  To  be  or  not  to  be, 
That  is  the  question." 

— SHAKSPEABE,  Hamlet. 

MEDITATION  X. 
A  TREATISE  ON  MARITAL  POLICY. 

When  a  man  reaches  the  position  in  which  the  first  part 
of  this  book  sets  him,  we  suppose  that  the  idea  of  his  wife 
being  possessed  by  another  makes  his  heart  beat,  and  rekindles 
his  passion,  either  by  an  appeal  to  his  amour  propre,  his  ego- 
tism, or  his  self-interest,  for  unless  he  is  still  on  his  wife's 
side,  he  must  be  one  of  the  lowest  of  men  and  deserves  his 
fate. 

In  this  trying  moment  it  is  very  difficult  for  a  husband  to 
avoid  making  mistakes ;  for,  with  regard  to  most  men,  the  art 
of  ruling  a  wife  is  even  less  known  than  that  of  judiciously 
choosing  one.  However,  marital  policy  consists  chiefly  in  the 
practical  application  of  three  principles  which  should  be  the 
soul  of  your  conduct.  The  first  is  never  to  believe  what  a 
woman  says ;  the  second,  always  to  look  for  the  spirit  without 
dwelling  too  much  upon  the  letter  of  her  actions;  and  the 
third,  not  to  forget  that  a  woman  is  never  so  garrulous  as 
when  she  holds  her  tongue,  and  is  never  working  with  more 
energy  than  when  she  keeps  quiet. 

From  the  moment  that  your  suspicions  are  aroused,  you 
ought  to  be  like  a  man  mounted  on  a  tricky  horse,  who  always 
watches  the  ears  of  the  beast,  in  fear  of  being  thrown  from 
the  saddle. 

But  art  consists  not  so  much  in  the  knowledge  of  princi- 
ples, as  in  the  manner  of  applying  them;  to  reveal  them  to 

(117) 


118  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

ignorant  people  is  to  put  a  razor  in  the  hand  of  a  monkey. 
Moreover,  the  first  and  most  vital  of  your  duties  consists  in 
perpetual  dissimulation,  an  accomplishment  in  which  most 
husbands  are  sadly  lacking.  In  detecting  the  symptoms  of 
minotaurism  a  little  too  plainly  marked  in  the  conduct  of 
their  wives,  most  men  at  once  indulge  in  the  most  insulting 
suspicions.  Their  minds  contract  a  tinge  of  bitterness  which 
manifests  itself  in  their  conversation,  and  in  their  manners; 
and  the  alarm  which  fills  their  heart,  like  the  gas  flame  in  a 
glass  globe,  lights  up  their  countenances  so  plainly,  that  it 
accounts  for  their  conduct. 

Now  a  woman,  who  has  twelve  hours  more  than  you  have 
each  day  to  reflect  and  to  study  you,  reads  the  suspicion  writ- 
ten upon  your  face  at  the  very  moment  that  it  arises.  She  will 
never  forget  this  gratuitous  insult.  Nothing  can  ever  remedy 
that.  All  is  now  said  and  done,  and  the  very  next  day,  if  she 
has  opportunity,  she  will  join  the  ranks  of  inconsistent  women. 

You  ought  then  to  begin  under  these  circumstances  to  affect 
towards  your  wife  the  same  boundless  confidence  that  you  have 
hitherto  had  in  her.  If  you  begin  to  lull  her  anxieties  by 
honeyed  words,  you  are  lost,  she  will  not  believe  you ;  for  she 
has  her  policy  as  you  have  yours.  Now  there  is  as  much  need 
for  tact  as  for  kindliness  in  your  behavior,  in  order  to  incul- 
cate in  her,  without  her  knowing  it,  a  feeling  of  security, 
which  will  lead  her  to  lay  back  her  ears,  and  prevent  you  from 
using  rein  or  spur  at  the  wrong  moment. 

But  how  can  we  compare  a  horse,  the  frankest  of  all  ani- 
mals, to  a  being,  the  flashes  of  whose  thought,  and  the  move- 
ments of  whose  impulses  render  her  at  moments  more  prudent 
than  the  Servite  Fra-Paolo,  the  most  terrible  adviser  that  the 
Ten  at  Venice  ever  had;  more  deceitful  than  a  king;  more 
adroit  than  Louis  XL;  more  profound  than  Machiavelli;  as 
sophistical  as  Hobbes;  as  acute  as  Voltaire;  as  pliant  as  the 
fiancee  of  Mamolin;  and  distrustful  of  no  one  in  the  whole 
wide  world  but  you  ? 

Moreover,  to  this  dissimulation,  by  means  of  which  the 
springs  that  move  your  conduct  ought  to  be  made  as  invisible 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  118 

as  those  that  move  the  world,  must  be  added  absolute  self- 
control.  That  diplomatic  imperturbability,  so  boasted  of  by 
Talleyrand,  must  be  the  least  of  your  qualities;  his  exquisite 
politeness  and  the  grace  of  his  manners  must  distinguish  your 
conversation.  The  professor  here  expressly  forbids  you  to 
use  your  whip,  if  you  would  obtain  complete  control  over  your 
gentle  Andalusian  steed. 

LXI. 

If  a  man  strike  his  mistress  it  is  a  self-inflicted  wound; 
but  if  he  strike  his  wife  it  is  suicide ! 

How  can  we  think  of  a  government  without  police,  an 
action  without  force,  a  power  without  weapons? — Now  this 
is  exactly  the  problem  which  we  shall  try  to  solve  in  our  future 
meditations.  But  first  we  must  submit  two  preliminary  obser- 
vations. They  will  furnish  us  with  two  other  theories  con- 
cerning the  application  of  all  the  mechanical  means  which  we 
propose  you  should  employ.  An  instance  from  life  will 
refresh  these  arid  and  dry  dissertations :  the  hearing  of  such  a 
story  will  be  like  laying  down  a  book,  to  work  in  the  field. 

In  the  year  1822,  on  a  fine  morning  in  the  month  of 
January,  I  was  traversing  the  boulevards  of  Paris,  from  the 
quiet  circles  of  the  Marais  to  the  fashionable  quarters  of  the 
Chaussee-d'Antin,  and  I  observed  for  the  first  time,  not  with- 
out a  certain  philosophic  joy,  the  diversity  of  physiognomy 
and  the  varieties  of  costume  which,  from  the  Rue  du  Pas-de- 
la-Mule  even  to  the  Madeleine,  make  each  portion  of  the 
boulevard  a  world  of  itself,  and  this  whole  zone  of  Paris, 
a  grand  panorama  of  manners.  Having  at  that  time  no  idea 
of  what  the  world  was,  and  little  thinking  that  one  day  I 
should  have  the  audacity  to  set  myself  up  as  a  legislator  on 
marriage,  I  was  going  to  take  lunch  at  the  house  of  a  college 
friend,  who  was  perhaps  too  early  in  life  afflicted  with  a  wife 
and  two  children.  My  former  p.rofessor  of  mathematics  lived 
at  a  short  distance  from  the  house  of  my  college  friend,  and 
I  promised  myself  the  pleasure  of  a  visit  to  this  worthy 
mathematician  before  indulging  my  appetite  for  the  dainties 


120  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

of  friendship.  I  accordingly  made  my  way  to  the  heart  of  a 
study,  where  everything  was  covered  with  a  dust  which  bore 
witness  to  the  lofty  abstraction  of  the  scholar.  But  a  surprise 
was  in  store  for  me  there.  I  perceived  a  pretty  woman  seated 
on  the  arm  of  an  easy  chair,  as  if  mounted  on  an  English 
horse;  her  face  took  on  the  look  of  conventional  surprise  worn 
by  mistresses  of  the  house  towards  those  they  do  not  know, 
but  she  did  not  disguise  the  expression  of  annoyance  which, 
at  my  appearance,  clouded  her  countenance  with  the  thought 
that  I  was  aware  how  ill-timed  was  my  presence.  My  master, 
doubtless  absorbed  in  an  equation,  had  not  yet  raised  his 
head;  I  therefore  waved  my  right  hand  towards  the  young 
lady,  like  a  fish  moving  his  fin,  and  on  tiptoe  I  retired  with  a 
mysterious  smile  which  might  be  translated  "I  will  not  be  the 
one  to  prevent  him  committing  an  act  of  infidelity  to  Urania." 
She  nodded  her  head  with  one  of  those  sudden  gestures  whose 
graceful  vivacity  is  not  to  be  translated  into  words. 

"My  good  friend,  don't  go  away,"  cried  the  geometrician. 
"This  is  my  wife !" 

I  bowed  for  the  second  time ! — Oh,  Coulon !  Why  wert 
thou  not  present  to  applaud  the  only  one  of  thy  pupils  who 
understood  from  that  moment  the  expression,  "anacreontic," 
as  applied  to  a  bow? — The  effect  must  have  been  very  over- 
whelming; for  Madame  the  Professoress,  as  the  Germans  say, 
rose  hurriedly  as  if  to  go,  making  me  a  slight  bow  which 

seemed  to  say :  "Adorable ! "  Her  husband  stopped  her, 

saying: 

"Don't  go,  my  child,  this  is  one  of  my  pupils." 

The  young  woman  bent  her  head  towards  the  scholar  as  a 
bird  perched  on  a  bough  stretches  its  neck  to  pick  up  a  seed. 

"It  is  not  possible,"  said  the  husband,  heaving  a  sigh,  "and 
I  am  going  to  prove  it  to  you  by  A  plus  B." 

"Let  us  drop  that,  sir,  I  beg  you,"  she  answered,  pointing 
with  a  wink  to  me. 

If  it  had  been  a  problem  in  algebra,  my  master  would  have 
understood  this  look,  but  it  was  Chinese  to  him,  and  so  he 
went  on. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  121 

"Look  here,  child,  I  constitute  you  judge  in  the  matter; 
our  income  is  ten  thousand  francs." 

At  these  words  I  retired  to  the  door,  as  if  I  were  seized  with 
a  wild  desire  to  examine  the  framed  drawings  which  had 
attracted  my  attention.  My  discretion  was  rewarded  by  an 
eloquent  glance.  Alas !  she  did  not  know  that  in  Fortunio 
I  could  have  played  the  part  of  Sharp-Ears,  who  heard  the 
truffles  growing. 

"In  accordance  with  the  principles  of  general  economy," 
said  my  master,  "no  one  ought  to  spend  in  rent  and  servant's 
wages  more  than  two-tenths  of  his  income;  now  our  apart- 
ment and  our  attendance  cost  altogether  a  hundred  louis.  I 
give  you  twelve  hundred  francs  to  dress  with"  [in  saying  this 
he  emphasized  every  syllable].  "Your  food,"  he  went  on, 
"takes  up  four  thousand  francs,  our  children  demand  at  least 
twenty-five  louis ;  I  take  for  myself  only  eight  hundred  francs ; 
washing,  fuel  and  light  mount  up  to  about  a  thousand  francs ; 
so  that  there  does  not  remain,  as  you  see,  more  than  six  hun- 
dred francs  for  unforeseen  expenses.  In  order  to  buy  the 
cross  of  diamonds,  we  must  draw  a  thousand  crowns  from  our 
capital,  and  if  once  we  take  that  course,  my  little  darling, 
there  is  no  reason  why  we  should  not  leave  Paris  which  you 
love  so  much,  and  at  once  take  up  our  residence  in  the  country, 
in  order  to  retrench.  Children  and  household  expenses  will 
increase  fast  enough  !  Come,  try  to  be  reasonable !" 

"I  suppose  I  must,"  she  said,  "but  you  will  be  the  only  hus- 
band in  Paris  who  has  not  given  a  New  Year's  gift  to  his 
wife." 

And  she  stole  away  like  a  school-boy  who  goes  to  finish  an 
imposed  duty.  My  master  made  a  gesture  of  relief.  When 
he  saw  the  door  close  he  rubbed  his  hands,  he  talked  of  the  war 
in  Spain;  and  I  went  my  way  to  the  Rue  de  Prove&oe,  little 
dreaming  that  I  had  received  the  first  installment  of  a  great 
lesson  in  marriage,  any  more  than  I  dreamt  of  trie  conquest 
of  Constantinople  by  General  Diebitsch.  I  arrived  at  my 
host's  house  at  the  very  moment  they  were  sitting  down  to 
luncheon,  after  having  waited  for  me  the  half  hour  dehi&nded 
by  usage.  It  was,  I  believe,  as  she  opened  a  pate  de  fa ,  gras 


122  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

that  my  pretty  hostess  said  to  her  husband,  with  a  determined 
air: 

"Alexander,  if  you  were  really  nice  you  would  give  me  that 
pair  of  ear-rings  that  we  saw  at  Fossin's." 

"You  shall  have  them,"  cheerfully  replied  my  friend,  draw- 
ing from  his  pocketbook  three  notes  of  a  thousand  francs,  the 
sight  of  which  made  his  wife's  eyes  sparkle.  "I  can  no  more 
resist  the  pleasure  of  offering  them  to  you,"  he  added,  "than 
you  can  that  of  accepting  them.  This  is  the  anniversary  of  the 
day  I  first  saw  you,  and  the  diamonds  will  perhaps  make  you 
remember  it ! " 

"You  bad  man !"  said  she,  with  a  winning  smile. 

She  poked  two  fingers  into  her  bodice,  and  pulling  out  a 
bouquet  of  violets  she  threw  them  with  childlike  contempt 
into  the  face  of  my  friend.  Alexander  gave  her  the  price  of 
the  jewels,  crying  out : 

"I  had  seen  the  flowers !" 

I  shall  ne.ver  forget  the  lively  gesture  and  the  eager  joy 
with  which,  like  a  cat  which  lays  its  spotted  paw  upon  a 
mouse,  the  little  woman  seized  the  three  bank  notes;  she 
rolled  them  up  blushing  with  pleasure,  and  put  them  in  the 
place  of  the  violets  which  before  had  perfumed  her  bosom. 
I  could  not  help  thinking  about  my  old  mathematical  master. 
I  did  not  then  see  any  difference  between  him  and  his  pupil, 
than  that  which  exists  between  a  frugal  man  and  a  prodigal, 
little  thinking  that  he  of  the  two  who  seemed  to  calculate  the 
better,  actually  calculated  the  worse.  The  luncheon  went  off 
merrily.  Very  soon,  seated  in  a  little  drawing-room  newly 
decorated,  before  a  cheerful  fire  which  gave  warmth  and  made 
our  hearts  expand  as  in  spring  time,  I  felt  compelled  to  make 
this  loving  couple  a  guest's  compliments  on  the  furnishing  of 
their  little  bower. 

"It  is  a  pity  that  all  this  costs  so  dear,"  said  my  friend, 
"but  it  is  right  that  the  nest  be  worthy  of  the  bird;  but  why 
the  devil  do  you  compliment  me  upon  curtains  which  are  not 
paid  for? — You  make  me  remember,  just  at  the  time  I  am 
digesting  lunch,  that  I  still  owe  two  thousand  francs  to  a  Turk 
of  an  upholsterer." 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  123 

At  these  words  the  mistress  of  the  house  made  a  menta) 
inventory  of  the  pretty  room  with  her  eyes,  and  the  radiancy 
of  her  face  changed  to  thoughtfulness.  Alexander  took  me 
by  the  hand  and  led  me  to  the  recess  of  a  bay  window. 

"Do  you  happen/'  he  said  in  a  low  voice,  "to  have  a  thou- 
sand crowns  to  lend  me  ?  I  have  only  twelve  thousand  francs 
income,  and  this  year — " 

"Alexander,"  cried  the  dear  creature,  interrupting  her  hus- 
band, while,  rushing  up,  she  offered  him  the  three  banknotes, 
"I  see  now  that  it  is  a  piece  of  folly — " 

"What  do  you  mean?"  answered  he,  "keep  your  money/' 

"But,  my  love,  I  am  ruining  you!  I  ought  to  know  that 
you  love  me  so  much,  that  I  ought  not  to  tell  you  all  that  I 
wish  for." 

"Keep  it,  my  darling,  it  is  your  lawful  property — nonsense, 
I  shall  gamble  this  winter  and  get  all  that  back  again !" 

"Gamble !"  cried  she,  with  an  expression  of  horror.  "Alex- 
ander, take  back  these  notes !  Come,  sir,  I  wish  you  to  do  so." 

"No,  no,"  replied  my  friend,  repulsing  the  white  and  deli- 
cate little  hand.  "Are  you  not  going  on  Thursday  to  a  ball  of 
Madame  de  B ?" 

"I  will  think  about  what  you  asked  of  me,"  said  I  to  my 
comrade. 

I  went  away  bowing  to  his  wife,  but  I  saw  plainly  after  that 
scene  that  my  anacreontic  salutation  did  not  produce  much 
effect  upon  her. 

"He  must  be  mad,"  thought  I  as  I  went  away,  "to  talk  of  a 
thousand  crowns  to  a  law  student." 

Five  days  later  I  found  myself  at  the  house  of  Madame  de 

B ,  whose  balls  were  becoming  fashionable.  In  the  midst 

of  the  quadrilles  I  saw  the  wife  of  my  friend  and  that  of  the 
mathematician.  Madame  Alexander  wore  a  charming  dress; 
some  flowers  and  white  muslin  were  all  that  composed  it. 
She  wore  a  little  cross  a  la  Jeannette,  hanging  by  a  black 
velvet  ribbon  which  set  off  the  whiteness  of  her  scented  skin ; 
long  pears  of  gold  decorated  her  ears.  On  the  neck  of  Madame 
the  Professoress  sparkled  a  superb  cross  of  diamonds. 


124  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

crHow  funny  that  is,"  said  I  to  a  personage  who  had  not 
yet  studied  the  world's  ledger,  nor  deciphered  the  heart  of  a 
single  woman. 

That  personage  was  myself.  If  I  had  then  the  desire  to 
dance  with  those  fair  women,  it  was  simply  because  I  knew  a 
secret  which  emboldened  my  timidity. 

"So  after  all,  madame,  you  have  your  cross  ?"  I  said  to  her 
first. 

"Well,  I  fairly  won  it !"  she  replied,  with  a  smile  hard  to 
describe. 

"How  is  this !  no  ear-rings  ?"  I  remarked  to  the  wife  of  my 
friend. 

"Ah!"  she  replied,  "I  have  enjoyed  possession  of  them 
during  a  whole  luncheon  time,  but  you  see  that  I  have  ended 
by  converting  Alexander." 

"He  allowed  himself  to  be  easily  convinced?" 

She  answered  with  a  look  of  triumph. 

Eight  years  afterwards,  this  scene  suddenly  rose  to  my 
memory,  though  I  had  long  since  forgotten  it,  and  in  the  light 
of  the  candles  I  distinctly  discerned  the  moral  of  it.  Yes,  a 
woman  has  a  horror  of  being  convinced  of  anything;  when 
you  try  to  persuade  her  she  immediately  submits  to  being  led 
astray  and  continues  to  play  the  role  which  nature  gave  her. 
In  her  view,  to  allow  herself  to  be  won  over  is  to  grant  a  favor, 
but  exact  arguments  irritate  and  confound  her;  in  order  to 
guide  her  you  must  employ  the  power  which  she  herself  so 
frequently  employs  and  which  lies  in  an  appeal  to  sensibility. 
It  is  therefore  in  his  wife,  and  not  in  himself,  that  a  husband, 
can  find  the  instruments  of  his  despotism;  as  diamond  cuts 
diamond  so  must  the  woman  be  made  to  tyrannize  over  her- 
self. To  know  how  to  offer  the  ear-rings  in  such  a  way  that 
they  will  be  returned,  is  a  secret  whose  application  embraces 
the  slightest  details  of  life.  And  now  let  us  pass  to  the  second 
observation. 

"He  who  can  manage  property  of  one  toman,  can  manage 
one  of  an  hundred  thousand,"  says  an  Indian  proverb;  and 
I,  for  my  part,  will  enlarge  upon  this  Asiatic  adage  and  de- 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARKIAGE  125 

clare,  that  he  who  can  govern  one  woman  can  govern  a  nation, 
and  indeed  there  is  very  much  similarity  between  these  two 
governments.  Must  not  the  policy  of  husbands  be  very  nearly 
the  same  as  the  policy  of  kings?  Do  not  we  see  kings  trying 
to  amuse  the  people  in  order  to  deprive  them  of  their  liberty ; 
throwing  food  at  their  heads  for  one  day,  in  order  to  make 
them  forget  the  misery  of  a  whole  year;  preaching  to  them 
not  to.steal  and  at  the  same  time  stripping  them  of  everything ; 
and  saying  to  them :  "It  seems  to  me  that  if  I  were  the  people 
I  should  be  virtuous"?  It  is  from  England  that  we  obtain 
the  precedent  which  husbands  should  adopt  in  their  houses. 
Those  who  have  eyes  ought  to  see  that  when  the  government 
is  running  smoothly  the  Whigs  are  rarely  in  power.  A  long 
Tory  ministry  has  always  succeeded  an  ephemeral  Liberal 
cabinet.  The  orators  of  a  national  party  resemble  the  rats 
which  wear  their  teeth  away  in  gnawing  the  rotten  panel; 
they  close  up  the  hole  as  soon  as  they  smell  the  nuts  and  the 
lard  locked  up  in  the  royal  cupboard.  The  woman  is  the 
Whig  of  our  government.  Occupying  the  situation  in  which 
we  have  left  her  she  might  naturally  aspire  to  the  conquest  of 
more  than  one  privilege.  Shut  your  eyes  to  her  intrigues, 
allow  her  to  waste  her  strength  in  mounting  half  the  steps 
of  your  throne ;  and  when  she  is  on  the  point  of  touching  your 
sceptre,  fling  her  back  to  the  ground,  quite  gently  and  with 
infinite  grace,  saying  to  her :  "Bravo !"  and  leaving  her  to 
expect  success  in  the  hereafter.  The  craftiness  of  this  man- 
oeuvre will  prove  a  fine  support  to  you  in  the  employment  of 
any  means  which  it  may  please  you  to  choose  from  your  arsenal, 
for  the  object  of  subduing  your  wife. 

Such  are  the  general  principles  which  a  husband  should  put 
into  practice,  if  he  wishes  to  escape  mistakes  in  ruling  his 
little  kingdom.  Nevertheless,  in  spite  of  what  was  decided 
by  the  minority  at  the  council  of  Macon  (Montesquieu,  who 
had  perhaps  foreseen  the  coming  of  constitutional  govern- 
ment has  remarked,  I  forget  in  what  part  of  his  writings, 
that  good  sense  in  public  assemblies  is  always  found  on  the 
side  of  the  minority),  we  discern  in  woman  a  soul  and  a  body, 


1£6  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

and  we  commence  by  investigating  the  means  to  gain  control 
of  her  moral  nature.  The  exercise  of  thought,  whatever  people 
may  say,  is  more  noble  than  the  exercise  of  bodily  organs,  and 
we  give  precedence  to  science  over  cookery  and  to  intellectual 
training  over  hygiene. 


MEDITATION  XI. 

INSTRUCTION  IN  THE  HOME. 

Whether  wives  should  or  should  not  be  put  under  instruc- 
tion— such  is  the  question  before  us.  Of  all  those  which  we 
have  discussed  this  is  the  only  one  which  has  two  extremes 
and  admits  of  no  compromise.  Knowledge  and  ignorance, 
such  are  the  two  irreconcilable  terms  of  this  problem.  Be- 
tween these  two  abysses  we  seem  to  see  Louis  XVIII.  reckon- 
ing up  the  felicities  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  the  unhap- 
piness  of  the  nineteenth.  Seated  in  the  centre  of  the  seesaw, 
which  he  knew  so  well  how  to  balance  by  his  own  weight,  he 
contemplates  at  one  end  of  it  the  fanatic  ignorance  of  a  lay 
brother,  the  apathy  of  a  serf,  the  shining  armor  on  the  horses 
of  a  banneret ;  he  thinks  he  hears  the  cry,  "France  and  Mont- 
joie-Saint-Denis !"  But  he  turns  round,  he  smiles  as  he  sees 
the  haughty  look  of  a  manufacturer,  who  is  captain  in  the 
national  guard ;  the  elegant  carriage  of  a  stock  broker ;  the  sim- 
ple costume  of  a  peer  of  France  turned  journalist  and  sending 
his  son  to  the  Polytechnique ;  then  he  notices  the  costly  stuffs, 
the  newspapers,  the  steam  engines;  and  he  drinks  his  coffee 
from  a  cup  of  Sevres,  at  the  bottom  of  which  still  glitters  the 
"N"  surmounted  by  a  crown. 

"Away  with  civilization  !  Away  with  thought !" — That  is 
your  cry.  You  ought  to  hold  in  horror  the  education  of  women 
for  the  reason  so  well  realized  in  Spain,  that  it  is  easier  to 
govern  a  nation  of  idiots  than  a  nation  of  scholars.  A  nation 
degraded  is  happy:  if  she  has  not  the  sentiment  of  liberty, 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  127 

neither  has  she  the  storms  and  disturbances  which  it  begets; 
she  lives  as  polyps  live;  she  can  be  cut  up  into  two  or  three 
pieces  and  each  piece  is  still  a  nation,  complete  and  living, 
and  ready  to  be  governed  by  the  first  blind  man  who  arms 
himself  with  the  pastoral  staff. 

What  is  it  that  produces  this  wonderful  characteristic  of 
humanity?  Ignorance;  ignorance  is  the  sole  support  of 
despotism,  which  lives  on  darkness  and  silence.  Now  happi- 
ness in  the  domestic  establishment  as  in  a  political  state  is 
a  negative  happiness.  The  affection  of  a  people  for  a  king, 
in  an  absolute  monarchy,  is  perhaps  less  contrary  to  nature 
than  the  fidelity  of  a  wife  towards  her  husband,  when  love 
between  them  no  longer  exists.  Now  we  know  that,  in  your 
house,  love  at  this  moment  has  one  foot  on  the  window-sill. 
It  is  necessary  for  you,  therefore,  to  put  into  practice  that 
salutary  rigor  by  which  M.  de  Metternich  prolongs  his  statu 
quo;  but  we  would  advise  you  to  do  so  with  more  tact  and 
with  still  more  tenderness;  for  your  wife  is  more  crafty  than 
all  the  Germans  put  together,  and  as  voluptuous  as  the 
Italians. 

You  should,  therefore,  try  to  put  off  as  long  as  possible  the 
fatal  moment  when  your  wife  asks  you  for  a  book.  This  will 
be  easy.  You  will  first  of  all  pronounce  in  a  tone  of  disdain 
the  phrase  "Blue  stocking;"  and,  on  her  request  being  re- 
peated, you  win  tell  her  what  ridicule  attaches,  among  the 
neighbors,  to  pedantic  women. 

You  will  then  repeat  to  her,  very  frequently,  that  the  most 
lovable  and  the  wittiest  women  in  the  world  are  found  at 
Paris,  where  women  never  read; 

That  women  are  like  people  of  quality  who,  according  to 
Mascarillo,  know  everything  without  having  learned  anything ; 
that  a  woman  while  she  is  dancing,  or  while  she  is  playing 
cards,  without  even  having  the  appearance  of  listening,  ought 
to  know  how  to  pick  up  from  the  conversation  of  talented  men 
the  ready-made  phrases  out  of  which  fools  manufacture  their 
wit  at  Paris; 

That  in  this  country  decisive  judgments  on  men  and  affairs 


128  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

are  passed  round  from  hand  to  hand;  and  that  the  little  cut- 
ting phrase  with  which  a  woman  criticises  an  author,  demol- 
ishes a  work,  or  heaps  contempt  on  a  picture,  has  more  power 
in  the  world  than  a  court  decision; 

That  women  are  beautiful  mirrors,  which  naturally  reflect 
the  most  brilliant  ideas; 

That  natural  wit  is  everything,  and  the  best  education  is 
gained  rather  from  what  we  learn  in  the  world  than  by  what 
we  read  in  books; 

That,  above  all,  reading  ends  in  making  the  eyes  dull,  etc. 

To  think  of  leaving  a  woman  at  liberty  to  read  the  books 
which  her  character  of  mind  may  prompt  her  to  choose !  This 
is  to  drop  a  spark  in  a  powder  magazine ;  it  is  worse  than  that, 
it  is  to  teach  your  wife  to  separate  herself  from  you;  to  live 
in  an  imaginary  world,  in  a  Paradise.  For  what  do  women 
read?  Works  of  passion,  the  Confessions  of  Rousseau,  ro- 
mances, and  all  those  compositions  which  work  most  power- 
fully on  their  sensibility.  They  like  neither  argument  nor 
the  ripe  fruits  of  knowledge.  Now  have  you  ever  considered 
the  results  which  follow  these  poetical  readings? 

Romances,  and  indeed  all  works  of  imagination,  paint  sen- 
timents and  events  with  colors  of  a  very  different  brilliancy 
from  those  presented  by  nature.  The  fascination  of  such 
works  springs  less  from  the  desire  which  each  author  feels 
to  show  his  skill  in  putting  forth  choice  and  delicate  ideas 
than  from  the  mysterious  working  of  the  human  intellect. 
It  is  characteristic  of  man  to  purify  and  refine  everything 
that  he  lays  up  in  the  treasury  of  his  thoughts.  What  human 
faces,  what  monuments  of  the  dead  are  not  made  more  beauti- 
ful than  actual  nature  in  the  artistic  representation?  The 
soul  of  the  reader  assists  in  this  conspiracy  against  the  truth, 
either  by  means  of  the  profound  silence  which  it  enjoys  in 
reading  or  by  the  fire  of  mental  conception  with  which  it  is 
agitated  or  by  the  clearness  with  which  imagery  is  reflected 
in  the  mirror  of  the  understanding.  Who  has  not  seen  on 
reading  the  Confessions  of  Jean-Jacques,  that  Madame  de 
Warens  is  described  as  much  prettier  than  she  ever  was  in 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  129 

actual  life  ?  It  might  almost  be  said  that  our  souls  dwell  with 
delight  upon  the  figures  which  they  had  met  in  a  former  exist- 
ence, under  fairer  skies;  that  they  accept  the  creations  of 
another  soul  only  as  wings  on  which  they  may  soar  into  space ; 
features  the  most  delicate  they  bring  to  perfection  by  making 
them  their  own ;  and  the  most  poetic  expression  which  appears 
in  the  imagery  of  an  author  brings  forth  still  more  ethereal 
imagery  in  the  mind  of  a  reader.  To  read  is  to  join  with 
the  writer  in  a  creative  act.  The  mystery  of  the  transub- 
stantiation  of  ideas,  originates  perhaps  in  the  instinctive  con- 
sciousness that  we  have  of  a  vocation  loftier  than  our  present 
destiny.  Or,  is  it  based  on  the  lost  tradition  of  a  former  life  ? 
What  must  that  life  have  been,  if  this  slight  residuum  of 
memory  offers  us  such  volumes  of  delight? 

Moreover,  in  reading  plays  and  romances,  woman,  a  creature 
much  more  susceptible  than  we  are  to  excitement,  expe- 
riences the  most  violent  transport.  She  creates  for  herself 
an  ideal  existence  beside  which  all  reality  grows  pale;  she 
at  once  attempts  to  realize  this  voluptuous  life,  to  take  to  her- 
self the  magic  which  she  sees  in  it.  And,  without  knowing  it, 
she  passes  from  spirit  to  letter  and  from  soul  to  sense. 

And  would  you  be  simple  enough  to  believe  that  the  man- 
ners, the  sentiments  of  a  man  like  you,  who  usually  dress  and 
undress  before  your  wife,  can  counterbalance  the  influence 
of  these  books  and  outshine  the  glory  of  their  fictitious  lovers, 
in  whose  garments  the  fair  reader  sees  neither  hole  nor  stain  ? 
— Poor  fool !  too  late,  alas !  for  her  happiness  and  for  yours, 
your  wife  will  find  out  that  the  heroes  of  poetry  are  as  rare 
in  real  life  as  the  Apollos  of  sculpture ! 

Very  many  husbands  will  find  themselves  embarrassed  in 
trying  to  prevent  their  wives  from  reading,  yet  there  are  cer- 
tain people  who  allege  that  reading  has  this  advantage,  that 
men  know  what  their  wives  are  about  when  they  have  a  book 
in  hand.  In  the  first  place  you  will  see,  in  the  next  Medita- 
tion, what  a  tendency  the  sedentary  life  has  to  make  a  woman 
quarrelsome;  but  have  you  never  met  those  beings  without 
jpoetry,  who  succeed  in  petrifying  their  unhappy  companions 


130  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

by  reducing  life  to  its  most  mechanical  elements?  Study 
great  men  in  their  conversation  and  learn  by  heart  the  admir- 
able arguments  by  which  they  condemn  poetry  and  the  pleas- 
ures of  imagination. 

But  if,  after  all  your  efforts,  your  wife  persists  in  wishing 
to  read,  put  at  her  disposal  at  once  all  possible  books  from 
the  A  B  C  of  her  little  boy  to  Rene,  a  book  more  dangerous  to 
you  when  in  her  hands  than  Therese  Philosophe.  You  might 
create  in  her  an  utter  disgust  for  reading  by  giving  her  tedious 
books;  and  plunge  her  into  utter  idiocy  with  Marie  Alacoque, 
The  Brosse  de  Penitence,  or  with  the  chansons  which  were  so 
fashionable  in  the  time  of  Louis  XV. ;  but  later  on  you  will 
find,  in  the  present  volume,  the  means  of  so  thoroughly  em- 
ploying your  wife's  time,  that  any  kind  of  reading  will  be 
quite  out  of  the  question. 

And  first  of  all,  consider  the  immense  resources  which  the 
education  of  women  has  prepared  for  you  in  your  efforts  to 
turn  your  wife  from  her  fleeting  taste  for  science.  Just  see 
with  what  admirable  stupidity  girls  lend  themselves  to  reap 
the  benefit  of  the  education  which  is  imposed  upon  them  in 
France;  we  give  them  in  charge  to  nursery  maids,  to  com- 
panions, to  governesses  who  teach  them  twenty  tricks  of  co- 
quetry and  false  modesty,  for  every  single  noble  and  true 
idea  which  they  impart  to  them.  Girls  are  brought  up  as 
slaves,  and  are  accustomed  to  the  idea  that  they  are  sent  into 
the  world  to  imitate  their  grandmothers,  to  breed  canary 
birds,  to  make  herbals,  to  water  little  Bengal  rose-bushes,  to 
fill  in  worsted  work,  or  to  put  on  collars.  Moreover,  if  a 
little  girl  in  her  tenth  year  has  more  refinement  than  a  boy 
of  twenty,  she  is  timid  and  awkward.  She  is  frightened  at 
a  spider,  chatters  nonsense,  thinks  of  dress,  talks  about  the 
fashions  and  has  not  the  courage  to  be  either  a  watchful 
mother  or  a  chaste  wife. 

Notice  what  progress  she  has  made;  she  has  been  shown 
how  to  paint  roses,  and  to  embroider  ties  in  such  a  way  as  to 
earn  eight  sous  a  day.  She  has  learned  the  history  of  France 
in  Ragois  and  chronology  in  the  Tables  du  Citoyen  Chan- 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  131 

treau,  and  her  young  imagination  has  been  set  free  in  the 
realm  of  geography;  all  without  any  aim,  excepting  that  of 
keeping  away  all  that  might  b<3  dangerous  to  her  heart;  but 
at  the  same  time  her  mother  and  her  teachers  repeat  with 
unwearied  voice  the  lesson,  that  the  whole  science  of  a  woman 
lies  in  knowing  how  to  arrange  the  fig  leaf  which  our  Mother 
Eve  wore.  "She  does  not  hear  for  fifteen  years,"  says  Diderot, 
"anything  else  but,  'my  daughter,  your  fig  leaf  is  on  badly; 
my  daughter,  your  fig  leaf  is  on  well ;  my  daughter,  would  it 
not  look  better  so  ?'  " 

Keep  your  wife  then  within  this  fine  and  noble  circle  of 
knowledge.  If  by  chance  your  wife  wishes  to  have  a  library, 
buy  for  her  Florian,  Malte-Brun,  The  Cabinet  des  Fees,  The 
Arabian  Nights,  Bedoute's  Roses,  The  Customs  of  China,  The 
Pigeons,  by  Madame  Knip,  the  great  work  on  Egypt,  etc. 
Carry  out,  in  short,  the  clever  suggestion  of  that  princess  who, 
when  she  was  told  of  a  riot  occasioned  by  the  dearness  of 
bread,  said,  "Why  don't  they  eat  cake  ?" 

Perhaps,  one  evening,  your  wife  will  reproach  you  for  being 
sullen  and  not  speaking  to  her ;  perhaps  she  will  say  that  you 
are  ridiculous,  when  you  have  just  made  a  pun;  but  this  is 
one  of  the  slight  annoyances  incident  to  our  system;  and, 
moreover,  what  does  it  matter  to  you  that  the  education  of 
women  in  France  is  the  most  pleasant  of  absurdities,  and  that 
your  marital  obscurantism  has  brought  a  doll  to  your  arms? 
As  you  have  not  sufficient  courage  to  undertake  a  fairer  task, 
would  it  not  be  better  to  lead  your  wife  along  the  beaten  track 
of  married  life  in  safety,  than  to  run  the  risk  of  making  her 
scale  the  steep  precipices  of  love  ?  She  is  likely  to  be  a  mother : 
you  must  not  exactly  expect  to  have  Gracchi  for  sons,  but  to 
be  really  pater  quern  nuptiae  demonstrant ;  now,  in  order 
to  aid  you  in  reaching  this  consummation,  we  must  make  this 
book  an  arsenal  from  which  each  one,  in  accordance  with  his 
wife's  character  and  his  own,  may  choose  weapons  fit  to  employ 
against  the  terrible  genius  of  evil,  which  is  always  ready  to 
rise  up  in  the  soul  of  a  wife ;  and  since  it  may  fairly  be  con- 
sidered that  the  ignorant  are  the  most  cruel  opponents  of 


132  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

feminine  education,  this  Meditation  will  serve  as  a  breviary 
for  the  majority  of  husbands. 

If  a  woman  has  received  a  man's  education,  she  possesses 
in  very  truth  the  most  brilliant  and  most  fertile  sources  of 
happiness  both  to  herself  and  to  her  husband ;  but  this  kind  of 
woman  is  as  rare  as  happiness  itself ;  and  if  you  do  not  possess 
her  for  your  wife,  your  best  course  is  to  confine  the  one  you 
do  possess,  for  the  sake  of  your  common  felicity,  to  the  region 
of  ideas  she  was  born  in,  for  you  must  not  forget  that  one 
moment  of  pride  in  her  might  destroy  you,  by  setting  on  the 
throne  a  slave  who  would  immediately  be  tempted  to  abuse  her 
power. 

After  all,  by  following  the  system  prescribed  in  this  Medi- 
tation, a  man  of  superiority  will  be  relieved  from  the  neces- 
sity of  putting  his  thoughts  into  small  change,  when  he  wishes 
to  be  understood  by  his  wife,  if  indeed  this  man  of  superiority 
has  been  guilty  of  the  folly  of  marrying  one  of  those  poor 
creatures  who  cannot  understand  him,  instead  of  choosing  for 
his  wife  a  young  girl  whose  mind  and  heart  he  has  tested  and 
studied  for  a  considerable  time. 

Our  aim  in  this  last  matrimonial  observation  has  not  been 
to  advise  all  men  of  superiority  to  seek  for  women  of  superi- 
ority and  we  do  not  wish  each  one  to  expound  our  principles 
after  the  manner  of  Madame  de  Stael,  who  attempted  in  the 
most  indelicate  manner  to  effect  a  union  between  herself  and 
Napoleon.  These  two  beings  would  have  been  very  unhappy 
in  their  domestic  life ;  and  Josephine  was  a  wife  accomplished 
in  a  very  different  sense  from  this  virago  of  the  nineteenth 
century. 

And,  indeed,  when  we  praise  those  undiscoverable  girls  so 
happily  educated  by  chance,  so  well  endowed  by  nature,  whose 
delicate  souls  endure  so  well  the  rude  contact  of  the  great 
soul  of  him  we  call  a  man,  we  mean  to  speak  of  those  rare  and 
noble  creatures  of  whom  Goethe  has  given  us  a  model  in  his 
Claire  of  Egmont;  we  are  thinking  of  those  women  who  seek 
no  other  glory  than  that  of  playing  their  part  well ;  who  adapt 
themselves  with  amazing  pliancy  to  the  will  and  pleasure  of 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  133 

those  whom  nature  has  given  them  for  masters;  soaring  at 
one  time  into  the  boundless  sphere  of  their  thought  and  in 
turn  stooping  to  the  simple  task  of  amusing  them  as  if  they 
were  children ;  understanding  well  the  inconsistencies  of  mas- 
culine and  violent  souls,  understanding  also  their  slightest 
word,  their  most  puzzling  looks;  happy  in  silence,  happy  also 
in  the  midst  of  loquacity;  and  well  aware  that  the  pleasures, 
the  ideas  and  the  moral  instincts  of  a  Lord  Byron  cannot  be 
those  of  a  bonnet-maker.  But  we  must  stop;  this  fair  picture 
has  led  us  too  far  from  our  subject;  we  are  treating  of  mar- 
riage and  not  of  love. 


MEDITATION  XII. 

THE  HYGIENE  OF  MARRIAGE. 

The  aim  of  this  Meditation  is  to  call  to  your  attention  a 
new  method  of  defence,  by  which  you  may  reduce  the  will 
of  your  wife  to  a  condition  of  utter  and  abject  submission. 
This  is  brought  about  by  the  reaction  upon  her  moral  nature 
of  physical  changes,  and  the  wise  lowering  of  her  physical 
condition  by  a  diet  skillfully  controlled. 

This  great  and  philosophical  question  of  conjugal  medicine 
will  doubtless  be  regarded  favorably  by  all  who  are  gouty, 
are  impotent,  or  suffer  from  catarrh ;  and  by  that  legion  of  old 
men  whose  dullness  we  have  quickened  by  our  article  on  the 
predestined.  But  it  principally  concerns  those  husbands  who 
have  courage  enough  to  enter  into  those  paths  of  machiavelism, 
such  as  would  not  have  been  unworthy  of  that  great  king  of 
France  who  endeavored  to  secure  the  happiness  of  the  nation 
at  the  expense  of  certain  noble  heads.  Here,  the  subject  is 
the  same.  The  amputation  or  the  weakening  of  certain  mem- 
bers is  always  to  the  advantage  of  the  whole  body. 

Do  you  think  seriously  that  a  celibate  who  has  been  subject 
to  a  diet  consisting  of  the  herb  hanea»  of  cucumbers,  of  purs- 


134  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

lane  and  the  applications  of  leeches  to  his  ears,  as  recom- 
mended by  Sterne,  would  be  able  to  carry  by  storm  the  honor 
tof  your  wife?  Suppose  that  a  diplomat  had  been  clever 
enough  to  affix  a  permanent  linen  plaster  to  the  head  of 
Napoleon,  or  to  purge  him  every  morning:  Do  you  tRink 
that  Napoleon,  Napoleon  the  Great,  would  ever  have  con- 
quered Italy  ?  Was  Napoleon,  during  his  campaign  in  Eussia, 
a  prey  to  the  most  horrible!  pangs  of  dysuria,  or  was  he  not  ? 
That  is  one  of  the  questions  which  has  weighed  upon  the 
minds  of  the  whole  world.  ,Is  it  not  certain  that  cooling 
applications,  douches,  baths,  etc.,  produce  great  changes  in 
more  or  less  acute  affections  of  the  brain  ?  In  the  middle  of 
the  heat  of  July,  when  each  one  of  your  pores  slowly  filters 
out  and  returns  to  the  devouring  atmosphere  the  glasses  of 
iced  lemonade  which  you  have  drunk  at  a  single  draught, 
have  you  ever  felt  the  flame  of  courage,  the  vigor  of  thought, 
the  complete  energy  which  rendered  existence  light  and  sweet 
to  you  some  months  before  ? 

No,  no;  the  iron  most  closely  cemented  into  the  hardest 
stone  will  raise  and  throw  apart  the  most  durable  monument, 
by  reason  of  the  secret  influence  exercised  by  the  slow  and 
invisible  variations  of  heat  and  cold,  which  vex  the  atmos- 
phere. In  the  first  place,  let  us  be  sure  that  if  atmospheric 
mediums  have  an  influence  over  man,  there  is  still  a  stronger 
reason  for  believing  that  man,  in  turn,  influences  the  imagi- 
nation of  his  kind,  by  the  more  or  less  vigor  with  which  he 
projects  his  will  and  thus  produces  a  veritable  atmosphere 
around  him. 

It  is  in  this  fact  that  the  power  of  the  actor's  talent  lies, 
as  well  as  that  of  poetry  and  of  fanaticism ;  for  the  former  is 
the  eloquence  of  words,  as  the  latter  is  the  eloquence  of  actions ; 
and  in  this  lies  the  foundation  of  a  science,  so  far  in  its 
infancy. 

This  will,  so  potent  in  one  man  against  another,  this  nervous 
and  fluid  force,  eminently  mobile  and  transmittible,  is  itself 
subject  to  the  changing  condition  of  our  organization,  and 
there  are  many  circumstances  which  make  this  frail  organism 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  135 

of  ours  to  vary.  At  this  point,  our  metaphysical  observation 
shall  stop  and  we  will  enter  into  an  analysis  of  the  circum- 
stances which  develop  the  will  of  man  and  impart  to  it  a 
greater  degree  of  strength  or  weakness. 

Do  not  believe,  however,  that  it  is  our  aim  to  induce  you 
to  put  cataplasms  on  the  honor  of  your  wife,  to  lock  her  up 
in  a  sweating  house,  or  to  seal  her  up  like  a  letter;  no.  We 
will  not  even  attempt  to  teach  you  the  magnetic  theory  which 
would  give  you  the  power  to  make  your  will  triumph  in  the 
soul  of  your  wife;  there  is  not  a  single  husband  who  would 
accept  the  happiness  of  an  eternal  love  at  the  price  of  this 
perpetual  strain  laid  upon  his  animal  forces.  But  we  shall 
attempt  to  expound  a  powerful  system  of  hygiene,  which  will 
enable  you  to  put  out  the  flame  when  your  chimney  takes 
fire.  The  elegant  women  of  Paris  and  the  provinces  (and 
these  elegant  women  form  a  very  distinguished  class  among 
the  honest  women)  have  plenty  of  means  of  attaining  the 
object  which  we  propose,  without  rummaging  in  the  arsenal 
of  medicine  for  the  four  cold  specifics,  the  water-lily  and  the 
thousand  inventions  worthy  only  of  witches.  We  will  leave 
to  ^lian  his  herb  hanea  and  to  Sterne  the  purslane  and 
cucumber  which  indicate  too  plainly  his  antiphlogistic  purpose. 

You  should  let  your  wife  recline  all  day  long  on  soft  arm- 
chairs, in  which  she  sinks  into  a  veritable  bath  of  eiderdown 
or  feathers;  you  should  encourage  in  every  way  that  does  no 
violence  to  your  conscience,  the  inclination  which  women 
have  to  breathe  no  other  air  but  the  scented  atmosphere  of  a 
chamber  seldom  opened,  where  daylight  can  scarcely  enter 
through  the  soft,  transparent  curtains. 

You  will  obtain  marvelous  results  from  this  system,  after 
having  previously  experienced  the  shock  of  her  excitement; 
but  if  you  are  strong  enough  to  support  this  momentary 
transport  of  your  wife,  you  will  soon  see  her  artificial  energy 
die  away.  In  general,  women  love  to  live  fast,  but,  after  their 
tempest  of  passion,  return  to  that  condition  of  tranquillity 
which  insures  the  happiness  of  a  husband. 

Jean- Jacques,  through  the  instrumentality  of  his  enchant- 


13ft  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

ing  Julie,  must  have  proved  to  your  wife  that  it  was  infinitely 
becoming  to  refrain  from  affronting  her  delicate  stomach  and 
her  refined  palate  by  making  chyle  out  of  coarse  lumps  of 
beef,  and  enormous  collops  of  mutton.  Is  there  anything  purer 
in  the  world  than  those  interesting  vegetables,  always  fresh 
and  scentless,  those  tinted  fruits,  that  coffee,  that  fragrant 
chocolate,  those  oranges,  the  golden  apples  of  Atalanta,  the 
dates  of  Arabia  and  the  biscuits  of  Brussels,  a  wholesome  and 
elegant  food  which  produces  satisfactory  results,  at  the  same 
time  that  it  imparts  to  a  woman  an  air  of  mysterious  origi- 
nality ?  By  the  regimen  which  she  chooses  she  becomes  quite 
celebrated  in  her  immediate  circle,  just  as  she  would  be  by  a 
singular  toilet,  a  benevolent  action  or  a  bon  mot.  Pythagoras 
must  needs  have  cast  his  spell  over  her,  and  become  as  much 
petted  by  her  as  a  poodle  or  an  ape. 

Never  commit  the  imprudence  of  certain  men  who,  for  the 
sake  of  putting  on  the  appearance  of  wit,  controvert  the  femi- 
nine dictum,  that  the  figure  is  preserved  by  meagre  diet. 
Women  on  such  a  diet  never  grow  fat,  that  is  clear  and  posi- 
tive; do  you  stick  to  that. 

Praise  the  skill  with  which  some  women,  renowned  for 
their  beauty,  have  been  able  to  preserve  it  by  bathing  them- 
selves in  milk,  several  times  a  day,  or  in  water  compounded  of 
substances  likely  to  render  the  skin  softer  and  to  lower  the 
nervous  tension. 

Advise  her  above  all  things  to  refrain  from  washing  her- 
self in  cold  water ;  because  water  warm  or  tepid  is  the  proper 
thing  for  all  kinds  of  ablutions. 

Let  Broussais  be  your  idol.  At  the  least  indisposition  of 
your  wife,  and  on  the  slightest  pretext,  order  the  application 
of  leeches;  do  not  even  shrink  from  applying  from  time  to 
time  a  few  dozen  on  yourself,  in  order  to  establish  the  system 
of  that  celebrated  doctor  in  your  household.  You  will  con- 
stantly be  called  upon  from  your  position  as  husband  to  dis- 
cover that  your  wife  is  too  ruddy ;  try  even  sometimes  to  bring 
the  blood  to  her  head,  in  order  to  have  the  right  to  introduce 
into  the  house  at  certain  intervals  a  squad  of  leeches. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  137 

Your  wife  ought  to  drink  water,  lightly  tinged  with  a 
Burgundy  wine  agreeable  to  her  taste,  but  destitute  of  any 
tonic  properties;  every  other  kind  of  wine  would  be  bad  for 
her.  Nev.er  allow  her  to  drink  water  alone ;  if  you  do,  you  are 
lost. 

"Impetuous  fluid!  as  soon  as  you  press  against  the  flood- 
gates of  the  brain,  how  quickly  do  they  yield  to  your  power ! 
Then  Curiosity  comes  swimming  by,  making  signs  to  her 
companions  to  follow ;  they  plunge  into  the  current.  Imagina- 
tion sits  dreaming  on  the  bank.  She  follows  the  torrent  with 
her  eyes  and  transforms  the  fragments  of  straw  and  reed 
into  masts  and  bowsprit.  And  scarcely  has  the  transforma- 
tion taken  place,  before  Desire,  holding  in  one  hand  her  skirt 
drawn  up  even  to  her  knees,  appears,  sees  the  vessel  and  takes 
possession  of  it.  0  ye  drinkers  of  water,  it  is  by  means  of 
that  magic  spring  that  you  have  so  often  turned  and  turned 
again  the  world  at  your  will,  throwing  beneath  your  feet  the 
weak,  trampling  on  his  neck,  and  sometimes  changing  even 
the  form  and  aspect  of  nature !" 

If  by  this  system  of  inaction,  in  combination  with  our  sys- 
tem of  diet,  you  fail  to  obtain  satisfactory  results,  throw 
yourself  with  might  and  main  into  another  system,  which  we 
will  explain  to  you. 

Man  has  a  certain  degree  of  energy  given  to  him.  Such 
and  such  a  man  or  woman  stands  to  another  as  ten  is  to  thirty, 
as  one  to  five ;  and  there  is  a  certain  degree  of  energy  which 
no  one  of  us  ever  exceeds.  The  quantity  of  energy,  or  will- 
power, which  each  of  us  possesses  diffuses  itself  like  sound ;  it 
is  sometimes  weak,  sometimes  strong ;  it  modifies  itself  accord- 
ing to  the  octaves  to  which  it  mounts.  This  force  is  unique, 
and  although  it  may  be  dissipated  in  desire,  in  passion,  in 
toils  of  intellect  or  in  bodily  exertion,  it  turns  towards  the 
object  to  which  man  directs  it.  A  boxer  expends  it  in  blows 
of  the  fist,  the  baker  in  kneading  his  bread,  the  poet  in  the 
enthusiasm  which  consumes  and  demands  an  enormous  quan- 
tity of  it;  it  passes  to  the  feet  of  the  dancer;  in  fact,  every 
one  diffuses  it  as  he  will,  and  may  I  see  the  Minotaur  trail- 


138  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

quilly  seated  this  very  evening  upon  my  bed,  if  you  do  not 
know  as  well  as  I  do  how  he  expends  it.  Almost  all  men 
spend  in  necessary  toils,  or  in  the  anguish  of  direful  passions, 
this  fine  sum  of  energy  and  of  will,  with  which  nature  has 
endowed  them;  but  our  honest  women  are  all  the  prey  to 
the  caprices  and  the  struggles  of  this  power  which  knows  not 
what  to  do  with  itself.  If,  in  the  case  of  your  wife,  this 
energy  has  not  been  subdued  by  the  prescribed  dietary  regimen, 
subject  her  to  some  form  of  activity  which  will  constantly 
increase  in  violence.  Find  some  means  by  which  her  sum 
of  force  which  inconveniences  you  may  be  carried  off,  by 
some  occupation  which  shall  entirely  absorb  her  strength. 
Without  setting  your  wife  to  work  the  crank  of  a  machine, 
there  are  a  thousand  ways  of  tiring  her  out  under  the  load  of 
constant  work. 

In  leaving  it  to  you  to  find  means  for  carrying  out  our  design 
— and  these  means  vary  with  circumstances — we  would  point 
out  that  dancing  is  one  of  the  very  best  abysses  in  which  love 
may  bury  itself.  This  point  having  been  very  well  treated 
by  a  contemporary,  we  will  give  him  here  an  opportunity  of 
speaking  his  mind : 

"The  poor  victim  who  is  the  admiration  of  an  enchanted 
audience  pays  dear  for  her  success.  What  result  can  possi- 
bly follow  on  exertions  so  ill-proportioned  to  the  resources  of 
the  delicate  sex  ?  The  muscles  of  the  body,  disproportionately 
wearied,  are  forced  to  their  full  power  of  exertion.  The 
nervous  forces,  intended  to  feed  the  fire  of  passions,  and  the 
labor  of  the  brain,  are  diverted  from  their  course.  The  fail- 
ure of  desire,  the  wish  for  rest,  the  exclusive  craving  for  sub- 
stantial food,  all  point  to  a  nature  impoverished,  more  anxious 
to  recruit  than  to  enjoy.  Moreover,  a  denizen  of  the  side 
scenes  said  to  me  one  day,  'Whoever  has  lived  with  dancers 
has  lived  with  sheep;  for  in  their  exhaustion  they  can  think 
of  nothing  but  strong  food.'  Believe  me,  then,  the  love  which 
a  ballet  girl  inspires  is  very  delusive;  in  her  we  find,  under 
an  appearance  of  an  artificial  springtime,  a  soil  which  is  cold 
as  well  as  greedy,  and  senses  which  are  utterly  dulled.  The 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  139 

Calabrian  doctors  prescribed  the  dance  as  a  remedy  for  the 
hysteric  affections  which  are  common  among  the  women  of 
their  country;  and  the  Arabs  use  a  somewhat  similar  recipe 
for  the  highbred  mares,  whose  too  lively  temperament  hinders 
their  fecundity.  'Dull  as  a  dancer'  is  a  familiar  proverb  at  the 
theatre.  In  fact,  the  best  brains  of  Europe  are  convinced 
that  dancing  brings  with  it  a  result  eminently  cooling. 

"In  support  of  this  it  may  be  necessary  to  add  other  obser- 
vations. The  life  of  shepherds  gives  birth  to  irregular  loves. 
The  morals  of  weavers  were  horribly  decried  in  Greece.  The 
Italians  have  given  birth  to  a  proverb  concerning  the  lubricity 
of  lame  women.  The  Spanish,  in  whose  veins  are  found  many 
mixtures  of  African  incontinence,  have  expressed  their  senti- 
ments in  a  maxim  which  is  familiar  with  them:  Muger  y 
galllna  pierna  quebrantada  [it  is  good  that  a  woman  and  a 
hen  have  one  broken  leg].  The  profound  sagacity  of  the 
Orientals  in  the  art  of  pleasure  is  altogether  expressed  by 
this  ordinance  of  the  caliph  Hakim,  founder  of  the  Druses, 
who  forbade,  under  pain  of  death,  the  making  in  his  kingdom 
of  any  shoes  for  women.  It  seems  that  over  the  whole  globe 
the  tempests  of  the  heart  wait  only  to  break  out  after  the  limbs 
are  at  rest !" 

What  an  admirable  manoeuvre  it  would  be  to  make  a  wife 
dance,  and  to  feed  her  on  vegetables ! 

Do  not  believe  that  these  observations,  which  are  as  true 
as  they  are  wittily  stated,  contradict  in  any  way  the  system 
which  we  have  previously  prescribed;  by  the  latter,  as  by  the 
former,  we  succeed  in  producing  in  a  woman  that  needed 
listlessness,  which  is  the  pledge  of  repose  and  tranquillity. 
By  the  latter  you  leave  a  door  open,  that  the  enemy  may 
flee;  by  the  former,  you  slay  him. 

Now  at  this  point  it  seems  to  us  that  we  hear  timorous 
people  and  those  of  narrow  views  rising  up  against  our  idea 
of  hygiene  in  the  name  of  morality  and  sentiment. 

"Is  not  woman  endowed  with  a  soul  ?  Has  she  not  feelings 
as  we  have?  What  right  has  any  one,  without  regard  to  her 
pain,  her  ideas,  or  her  requirements,  to  hammer  her  out,  as 


140  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

a  cheap  metal,  out  of  which  a  workman  fashions  a  candlestick 
or  an  extinguisher?  Is  it  because  the  poor  creatures  are 
already  so  feeble  and  miserable  that  a  brute  claims  the  power 
to  torture  them,  merely  at  the  dictate  of  his  own  fancies, 
which  may  be  more  or  less  just?  And,  if  by  this  weakening 
or  heating  system  of  yours,  which  draws  out,  softens,  hardens 
the  fibres,  you  cause  frightful  and  cruel  sicknesses,  if  you 
bring  to  the  tomb  a  woman  who  is  dear  to  you ;  if,  if, — " 

This  is  our  answer : 

Have  you  never  noticed  into  how  many  different  shapes  har- 
lequin and  columbine  change  their  little  white  hats?  They 
turn  and  twist  them  so  well  that  they  become,  one  after 
another,  a  spinning-top,  a  boat,  a  wine-glass,  a  half-moon,  a 
cap,  a  basket,  a  fish,  a  whip,  a  dagger,  a  baby,  and  a  man's 
head. 

This  is  an  exact  image  of  the  despotism  with  which  you 
ought  to  shape  and  reshape  your  wife. 

The  wife  is  a  piece  of  property,  acquired  by  contract;  she 
is  part  of  your  furniture,  for  possession  is  nine-tenths  of  the 
law;  in  fact,  the  woman  is  not,  to  speak  correctly,  anything 
but  an  adjunct  to  the  man;  therefore  abridge,  cut,  file  this 
article  as  you  choose;  she  is  in  every  sense  yours.  Take  no 
notice  at  all  of  her  murmurs,  of  her  cries,  of  her  sufferings; 
nature  has  ordained  her  for  your  use,  that  she  may  bear  every- 
thing— children,  griefs,  blows  and  pains  from  man. 

Don't  accuse  yourself  of  harshness.  In  the  codes  of  all  the 
nations  which  are  called  civilized,  man  has  written  the  laws 
which  govern  the  destiny  of  women  in  these  cruel  terms :  Vae 
metis  I  Woe  to  the  conquered ! 

Finally,  think  upon  this  last  observation,  the  most  weighty, 
perhaps,  of  all  that  we  have  made  up  to  this  time :  if  you,  her 
husband,  do  not  break  under  the  scourge  of  your  will  this 
weak  and  charming  reed,  there  will  be  a  celibate,  capricious 
and  despotic,  ready  to  bring  her  under  a  yoke  more  cruel  still ; 
and  she  will  have  to  endure  two  tyrannies  instead  of  one. 
Under  all  considerations,  therefore,  humanity  demands  that 
you  should  follow  the  system  of  our  hygiene. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  141 

MEDITATION  XIII. 

OP  PERSONAL  MEASURES. 

Perhaps  the  preceding  Meditations  will  prove  more  likely 
to  develop  general  principles  of  conduct,  than  to  repel  force 
by  force.  They  furnish,  however,  the  pharmacopoeia  of  medi- 
cine and  not  the  practice  of  medicine.  Now  consider  the 
personal  means  which  nature  has  put  into  your  hands  for  self- 
defence  ;  for  Providence  has  forgotten  no  one ;  if  to  the  sepia 
(that  fish  of  the  Adriatic)  has  been  given  the  black  dye  by 
which  he  produces  a  cloud  in  which  he  disappears  from  his 
enemy,  you  should  believe  that  a  husband  has  not  been  left 
without  a  weapon ;  and  now  the  time  has  come  for  you  to  draw 
yours. 

You  ought  to  have  stipulated  before  you  married  that  your 
wife  should  nurse  her  own  children;  in  this  case,  so  long  as 
she  is  occupied  in  bearing  children  or  in  nursing  them  you 
will  avoid  the  danger  from  one  or  two  quarters.  The  wife 
who  is  engaged  in  bringing  into  the  world  and  nursing  a  baby 
has  not  really  the  time  to  bother  with  a  lover,  not  to  speak  of 
the  fact  that  before  and  after  her  confinement  she  cannot 
show  herself  in  the  world.  In  short,  how  can  the  most  bold 
of  the  distinguished  women  who  are  the  subject  of  this  work 
show  herself  under  these  circumstances  in  public?  0  Lord 
Byron,  thou  who  didst  not  wish  to  see  women  even  eat ! 

Six  months  after  her  confinement,  and  when  the  child  is 
on  the  eve  of  being  weaned,  a  woman  just  begins  to  feel  that 
she  can  enjoy  her  restoration  and  her  liberty. 

If  your  wife  has  not  nursed  her  first  child,  you  have  too 
much  sense  not  to  notice  this  circumstance,  and  not  to  make 
her  desire  to  nurse  her  next  one.  You  will  read  to  her  the 
Smile  of  Jean-Jacques;  you  will  fill  her  imagination  with  a 
sense  of  motherly  duties;  you  will  excite  her  moral  feelings, 
etc. :  in  a  word,  you  are  either  a  fool  or  a  man  of  sense ;  and 
in  the  first  case,  even  after  reading  this  book,  you  will  always 


142  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

be  minotaurized ;  while  in  the  second,  you  will  understand 
how  to  take  a  hint. 

This  first  expedient  is  in  reality  your  own  personal  busi- 
ness. It  will  give  you  a  great  advantage  in  carrying  out  all 
the  other  methods. 

Since  Alcibiades  cut  the  ears  and  the  tail  of  his  dog,  in 
order  to  do  a  service  to  Pericles,  who  had  on  his  hands  a 
sort  of  Spanish  war,  as  well  as  an  Ouvrard  contract  affair, 
such  as  was  then  attracting  the  notice  of  the  Athenians,  there 
is  not  a  single  minister  who  has  not  endeavored  to  cut  the 
ears  of  some  dog  or  other. 

So  in  medicine,  when  inflammation  takes  place  at  some 
vital  poinb  of  the  system,  counter-irritation  is  brought  about 
at  some  other  point,  by  means  of  blisters,  scarifications  and 
cupping. 

Another  method  consists  in  blistering  your  wife,  or  giving 
her,  with  a  mental  needle,  a  prod  whose  violence  is  such  as  to 
make  a  diversion  in  your  favor. 

A  man  of  considerable  mental  resources  had  made  his  honey- 
moon last  for  about  four  years ;  the  moon  began  to  wane,  and 
he  saw  appearing  the  fatal  hollow  in  its  circle.  His  wife  was 
exactly  in  that  state  of  mind  which  we  attributed  at  the  close 
of  our  first  part  to  every  honest  woman ;  she  had  taken  a  fancy 
to  a  worthless  fellow  who  was  both  insignificant  in  appearance 
and  ugly ;  the  only  thing  in  his  favor  was,  he  was  not  her  own 
husband.  At  this  juncture,  her  husband,  meditated  the  cut- 
ting of  some  dog's  tail,  in  order  to  renew,  if  possible,  his  lease 
of  happiness.  His  wife  had  conducted  herself  with  such 
tact,  that  it  would  have  been  very  embarrassing  to  forbid  her 
lover  the  house,  for  she  had  discovered  some  slight  tie  of 
relationship  between  them.  The  danger  became,  day  by  day, 
more  imminent.  The  scent  of  the  Minotaur  was  all  around. 
One  evening  the  husband  felt  himself  plunged  into  a  mood  of 
deep  vexation  so  acute  as  to  be  apparent  to  his  wife.  His 
wife  had  begun  to  show  him  more  kindness  than  she  had 
ever  exhibited,  even  during  the  honeymoon ;  and  hence  ques- 
tion after  question  racked  his  mind.  On  her  part  a  dead 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  143 

silence  reigned.  The  anxious  questionings  of  his  mind  were 
redoubled;  his  suspicions  burst  forth,  and  he  was  seized  with 
forebodings  of  future  calamity!  Now,  on  this  occasion,  he 
deftly  applied  a  Japanese  blister,  which  burned  as  fiercely  as 
an  auto-da-fe  of  the  year  1600.  At  first  his  wife  employed  a 
thousand  stratagems  to  discover  whether  the  annoyance  of  her 
husband  was  caused  by  the  presence  of  her  lover;  it  was  her 
first  intrigue  and  she  displayed  a  thousand  artifices  in  it. 
Her  imagination  was  aroused ;  it  was  no  longer  taken  up  with 
her  lover ;  had  she  not  better,  first  of  all,  probe  her  husband's 
secret  ? 

One  evening  the  husband,  moved  by  the  desire  to  confide 
in  his  loving  helpmeet  all  his  troubles,  informed  her  that 
their  whole  fortune  was  lost.  They  would  have  to  give  up 
their  carriage,  their  box  at  the  theatre,  balls,  parties,  even 
Paris  itself ;  perhaps,  by  living  on  their  estate  in  the  country 
a  year  or  two,  they  might  retrieve  all!  Appealing  to  the 
imagination  of  his  wife,  he  told  her  how  he  pitied  her  for 
her  attachment  to  a  man  who  was  indeed  deeply  in  love  with 
her,  but  was  now  without  fortune;  he  tore  his  hair,  and  his 
wife  was  compelled  in  honor  to  be  deeply  moved ;  then  in  this 
first  excitement  of  their  conjugal  disturbance  he  took  her  off 
to  his  estate.  Then  followed  scarifications,  mustard  plaster 
upon  mustard  plaster,  and  the  tails  of  fresh  dogs  were  cut :  he 
caused  a  Gothic  wing  to  be  built  to  the  chateau;  madame 
altered  the  park  ten  times  over  in  order  to  have  fountains 
and  lakes  and  variations  in  the  grounds;  finally,  the  husband 
in  the  midst  of  her  labors  did  not  forget  his  own,  which  con- 
sisted in  providing  her  with  interesting  reading,  and  launch- 
ing upon  her  delicate  attentions,  etc.  Notice,  he  never  in- 
formed his  wife  of  the  trick  he  had  played  on  her;  and  if 
his  fortune  was  recuperated,  it  was  directly  after  the  building 
of  the  wing,  and  the  expenditure  of  enormous  sums  in  making 
water-courses;  but  he  assured  her  that  the  lake  provided  a 
water-power  by  which  mills  might  be  run,  etc. 

Now,  there  was  a  conjugal  blister  well  conceived,  for  thin 
husband  neither  neglected  to  rear  his  family  nor  to  invite 


144  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

to  his  house  neighbors  who  were  tiresome,  stupid  or  old;  and 
if  he  spent  the  winter  at  Paris,  he  flung  his  wife  into  the  vortex 
of  balls  and  races,  so  that  she  had  not  a  minute  to  give  to 
lovers,  who  are  usually  the  fruit  of  a  vacant  life. 

Journeys  to  Italy,  Switzerland  or  Greece,  sudden  com- 
plaints which  require  a  visit  to  the  waters,  and  the  most  dis- 
tant waters,  are  pretty  good  blisters.  In  fact,  a  man  of  sense 
should  know  how  to  manufacture  a  thousand  of  them. 

Let  us  continue  our  examination  of  such  personal  methods. 

And  here  we  would  have  you  observe  that  we  are  reasoning 
upon  an  hypothesis,  without  which  this  book  will  be  unintel- 
ligible to  you;  namely,  we  suppose  that  your  honeymoon  has 
lasted  for  a  respectable  time  and  that  the  lady  that  you  mar- 
ried was  not  a  widow,  but  a  maid;  on  the  opposite  supposi- 
tion, it  is  at  least  in  accordance  with  French  manners  to  think 
that  your  wife  married  you  merely  for  the  purpose  of  becoming 
inconsistent. 

From  the  moment  when  the  struggle  between  virtue  and 
inconsistency  begins  in  your  home,  the  whole  question  rests 
upon  the  constant  and  involuntary  comparison  which  your 
wife  is  instituting  between  you  and  her  lover. 

And  here  you  may  find  still  another  mode  of  defence, 
entirely  personal,  seldom  employed  by  husbands,  but  the  men 
of  superiority  will  not  fear  to  attempt  it.  It  is  to  belittle  the 
lover  without  letting  your  wife  suspect  your  intention.  You 
ought  to  be  able  to  bring  it  about  so  that  she  will  say  to  her- 
self some  evening  while  she  is  putting  her  hair  in  curl-papers, 
"My  husband  is  superior  to  him." 

In  order  to  succeed,  and  you  ought  to  be  able  to  succeed, 
since  you  have  the  immense  advantage  over  the  lover  in  know- 
ing the  character  of  your  wife,  and  how  she  is  most  easily 
wounded,  you  should,  with  all  the  tact  of  a  diplomat,  lead 
this  lover  to  do  silly  things  and  cause  him  to  annov  her,  with- 
out his  being  aware  of  it. 

In  the  first  place,  this  lover,  as  usual,  will  seek  your  friend- 
ship, or  you  will  have  friends  in  common ;  then,  either  through 
the  instrumentality  of  these  friends  or  by  insinuations  adroitly 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  145 

"bat  treacherously  made,  you  will  lead  him  astray  on  essential 
points;  and,  with  a  little  cleverness,  you  will  succeed  in  find- 
ing your  wife  ready  to  deny  herself  to  her  lover  when  he  calls, 
without  either  she  or  he  being  able  to  tell  the  reason.  Thus 
you  will  have  created  in  the  bosom  of  your  home  a  comedy  in 
five  acts,  in  which  you  play,  to  your  profit,  the  brilliant  role 
of  Figaro  or  Almaviva;  and  for  some  months  you  will  amuse 
yourself  so  much  the  more,  because  your  amour-propre,  your 
vanity,  your  all,  were  at  stake. 

I  had  the  good  fortune  in  my  youth  to  win  the  confidence 
of  an  old  emigre  who  gave  me  those  rudiments  of  education 
which  are  generally  obtained  by  young  people  from  women. 
This  friend,  whose  memory  will  always  be  dear  to  me,  taught 
me  by  his  example  to  put  into  practice  those  diplomatic  strata- 
gems which  require  tact  as  well  as  grace. 

The  Comte  de  Noce  had  returned  from  Coblenz  at  a  time 
when  it  was  dangerous  for  the  nobility  to  be  found  in  France. 
No  one  had  such  courage  and  such  kindness,  such  craft  and 
such  recklessness  as  this  aristocrat.  Although  he  was  sixty 
years  old  he  had  married  a  woman  of  twenty-five,  being  com- 
pelled to  this  act  of  folly  by  sof t-heartedness ;  for  he  thus 
delivered  this  poor  child  from  the  despotism  of  a  capricious 
mother.  "Would  you  like  to  be  my  widow?"  this  amiable 
old  gentleman  had  said  to  Mademoiselle  de  Pontivy,  but  his 
heart  was  too  affectionate  not  to  become  more  attached  to  his 
wife  than  a  sensible  man  ought  to  be.  As  in  his  youth  he  had 
been  under  the  influence  of  several  among  the  cleverest 
women  in  the  court  of  Louis  XV.,  he  thought  he  would  have 
no  difficulty  in  keeping  his  wife  from  any  entanglement. 
What  man  excepting  him  have  I  ever  seen,  who  could  put 
into  successful  practice  the  teachings  which  I  am  endeavoring 
to  give  to  husbands !  What  charm  could  he  impart  to  life  by 
his  delightful  manners  and  fascinating  conversation ! — His 
wife  never  knew  until  after  his  death  what  she  then  learned 
from  me,  namely,  that  he  had  the  gout.  His  face  was  amenity 
itself,  as  his  eyes  were  mirrors  of  love.  He  had  wisely  retired 
to  a  home  in  the  hollow  of  a  valley,  close  to  a  forest.  God 


146  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

only  knows  what  rambles  he  used  to  take  with  his  wife ! — Hia 
good  star  decreed  that  Mademoiselle  de  Pontivy  should  pos- 
sess an  excellent  heart  and  should  manifest  in  a  high  degree 
that  exquisite  refinement,  that  sensitive  modesty  which  renders 
beautiful  the  plainest  girl  in  the  world.  All  of  a  sudden, 
one  of  his  nephews,  a  good-looking  military  man,  who  had 
escaped  from  the  disasters  of  Moscow,  returned  to  his  uncle's 
house,  as  much  for  the  sake  of  learning  how  far  he  had  to 
fear  his  cousins,  as  heirs,  as  in  the  hope  of  laying  siege  to  his 
aunt.  His  black  hair,  his  moustache,  the  easy  small-talk  of 
the  staff  officer,  a  certain  freedom  which  was  elegant  as  well  as 
trifling,  his  bright  eyes,  contrasted  favorably  with  the  faded 
graces  of  his  uncle.  I  arrived  at  the  precise  moment  when  the 
young  countess  was  teaching  her  newly  found  relation  to  play 
backgammon.  The  proverb  says  that  "women  never  learn 
this  game  excepting  from  their  lovers,  and  vice  versa."  Now, 
during  a  certain  game,  M.  de  Noce  had  surprised  his  wife  and 
the  viscount  in  the  act  of  exchanging  one  of  those  looks  which 
are  full  of  mingled  innocence,  fear,  and  desire.  In  the  even- 
ing he  proposed  to  us  a  hunting-party,  and  we  agreed.  I  never 
saw  him  so  gay  and  so  eager  as  he  appeared  on  the  following 
morning,  in  spite  of  the  twinges  of  gout  which  heralded  an 
approaching  attack.  The  devil  himself  could  not  have  been 
better  able  to  keep  up  a  conversation  on  trifling  subjects  than 
he  was.  He  had  formerly  been  a  musketeer  in  the  Grays  and 
had  known  Sophie  Arnoud.  This  explains  all.  The  conversa- 
tion after  a  time  became  so  exceedingly  free  among  us  three, 
that  I  hope  God  may  forgive  me  for  it ! 

"I  would  never  have  believed  that  my  uncle  was  such  a 
dashing  blade !"  said  the  nephew. 

We  made  a  halt,  and  while  we  were  sitting  on  the  edge  of  a 
green  forest  clearing,  the  count  led  us  on  to  discourse  about 
women  just  as  Brantome  and  Aloysia  might  have  done. 

"You  fellows  are  very  happy  under  the  present  government ! 
— the  women  of  the  time  are  well  mannered"  (in  order  to 
appreciate  the  exclamation  of  the  old  gentleman,  the  reader 
should  have  heard  the  atrocious  stories  which  the  captain  had 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  147 

been  relating) .  "And  this,"  he  went  on,  "is  one  of  the  advan- 
tages resulting  from  the  Ecvolution.  The  present  system  gives 
very  much  more  charm  and  mystery  to  passion.  In  former 
times  women  were  easy;  ah!  indeed,  you  would  not  believe 
what  skill  it  required,  what  daring,  to  wake  up  those  worn- 
out  hearts ;  we  were  always  on  the  qui  vive.  But  yet  in  those 
days  a  man  became  celebrated  for  a  broad  joke,  well  put, 
or  for  a  lucky  piece  of  insolence.  That  is  what  women  love, 
and  it  will  always  be  the  best  method  of  succeeding '  with 
them !" 

These  last  words  were  uttered  in  a  tone  of  profound  con- 
tempt ;  he  stopped,  and  began  to  play  with  the  hammer  of  his 
gun  as  if  to  disguise  his  deep  feeling. 

"But  nonsense,"  he  went  on,  "my  day  is  over!  A  man 
ought  to  have  the  body  as  well  as  the  imagination  young. 
Why  did  I  marry  ?  What  is  most  treacherous  in  girls  educated 
by  mothers  who  lived  in  that  brilliant  era  of  gallantry,  is  that 
they  put  on  an  air  of  frankness,  of  reserve;  they  look  as  if 
butter  would  not  melt  in  their  mouths,  and  those  who  know 
them  well  feel  that  they  would  swallow  anything !" 

He  rose,  lifted  his  gun  with  a  gesture  of  rage,  and  dashing 
it  to  the  ground  thrust  it  far  up  the  butt  in  the  moist  sod. 

"It  would  seem  as  if  my  dear  aunt  were  fond  of  a  little 
fun/'  said  the  officer  to  me  in  a  low  voice. 

"Or  of  denouements  that  do  not  come  off!"  I  added. 

The  nephew  tightened  his  cravat,  adjusted  his  collar  and 
gave  a  jump  like  a  Calabrian  goat.  We  returned  to  the 
chateau  at  about  two  in  the  afternoon.  The  count  kept  me 
with  him  until  dinner-time,  under  the  pretext  of  looking  for 
some  medals,  of  which  he  had  spoken  during  our  return  home. 
The  dinner  was  dull.  The  countess  treated  her  nephew  with 
stiff  and  cold  politeness.  When  we  entered  the  drawing-room 
the  count  said  to  his  wife: 

"Are  you  going  to  play  backgammon  ? — We  will  leave  you/' 

The  young  countess  made  no  reply.  She  gazed  at  the  fire, 
as  if  she  had  not  heard.  Her  husband  took  some  steps  towards 
the  door,  inviting  me  by  the  wave  of  his  hand  to  follow  him. 


148  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

At  the  sound  of  his  footsteps,  his  wife  quickly  turned  her 
head. 

"Why  do  you  leave  us?"  said  she,  "you  will  have  all  to- 
morrow to  show  your  friend  the  reverse  of  the  medals." 

The  count  remained.  Without  paying  any  attention  to  the 
awkwardness  which  had  succeeded  the  former  military  aplomb 
of  his  nephew,  the  count  exercised  during  the  whole  evening 
his  full  powers  as  a  charming  conversationalist.  I  had  never 
before  seen  him  so  brilliant  or  so  gracious.  We  spoke  a  great 
deal  about  women.  The  witticisms  of  our  host  were  marked 
by  the  most  exquisite  refinement.  He  made  me  forget  that 
his  hair  was  white,  for  he  showed  the  brilliancy  which  belonged 
to  a  youthful  heart,  a  gaiety  which  effaces  the  wrinkles  from 
the  cheek  and  melts  the  snow  of  wintry  age. 

The  next  day  the  nephew  went  away.  Even  after  the  death 
of  M.  de  Noce,  I  tried  to  profit  by  the  intimacy  of  those 
familiar  conversations  in  which  women  are  sometimes  caught 
off  their  guard  to  sound  her,  but  I  could  never  learn  what 
impertinence  the  viscount  had  exhibited  towards  his  aunt. 
His  insolence  must  have  been  excessive,  for  since  that  time 
Madame  de  Noce  has  refused  to  see  her  nephew,  and  up  to  the 
present  moment  never  hears  him  named  without  a  slight  move- 
ment of  her  eyebrows.  I  did  not  at  once  guess  the  end  at  which 
the  Comte  de  Noce  aimed,  in  inviting  us  to  go  shooting;  but 
I  discovered  later  that  he  had  played  a  pretty  bold  game. 

Nevertheless,  if  you  happen  at  last,  like  M.  de  Noce,  to 
carry  off  a  decisive  victory,  do  not  forget  to  put  into  practice 
at  once  the  system  of  blisters;  and  do  not  for  a  moment 
imagine  that  such  tours  de  force  are  to  be  repeated  with 
safety.  If  that  is  the  way  you  use  your  talents,  you  will  end 
by  losing  caste  in  your  wife's  estimation ;  for  she  will  demand 
of  you,  reasonably  enough,  double  what  you  would  give  her, 
and  the  time  will  come  when  you  declare  bankruptcy.  The 
human  eoul  in  its  desires  follows  a  sort  of  arithmetical  pro- 
gression, the  end  and  origin  of  which  are  equally  unknown. 
Just  as  the  opium-eater  must  constantly  increase  his  doses, 
in  order  to  obtain  the  same  result,  so  our  mind,  imperious  as 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  149 

it  is  weak,  desires  that  feeling,  ideas  and  objects  should  go  on. 
ever  increasing  in  size  and  in  intensity.  Hence  the  necessity 
of  cleverly  distributing  the  interest  in  a  dramatic  work,  and 
of  graduating  doses  in  medicine.  Thus  you  see,  if  you  always 
resort  to  the  employment  of  means  like  these,  that  you  must 
accommodate  such  daring  measures  to  many  circumstances, 
and  success  will  always  depend  upon  the  motives  to  which  you 
appeal. 

And  finally,  have  you  influence,  powerful  friends,  an 
important  post?  The  last  means  I  shall  suggest  cuts  to  the 
root  of  the  evil.  Would  you  have  the  power  to  send  your 
wife's  lover  off  by  securing  his  promotion,  or  his  change  of 
residence  by  an  exchange,  if  he  is  a  military  man?  You 
cut  off  by  this  means  all  communication  between  them ;  later 
on  we  will  show  you  how  to  do  it;  for  sublata  causa  tollitur 
'effectus, — Latin  words  which  may  be  freely  translated  "there 
is  no  effect  without  a  cause." 

Xevertheless,  you  feel  that  your  wife  may  easily  choose 
another  lover ;  but  in  addition  to  these  preliminary  expedients, 
you  will  always  have  a  blister  ready,  in  order  to  gain  time, 
and  calculate  how  you  may  bring  the  affair  to  an  end  by  fresh 
devices. 

Study  how  to  combine  the  system  of  blisters  with  the  mimic 
wiles  of  Carlin,  the  immortal  Carlin  of  the  Comedie-Italienne 
who  always  held  and  amused  an  audience  for  whole  hours,  by 
uttering  the  same  words,  varied  only  by  the  art  of  pantomime 
and  pronounced  with  a  thousand  inflections  of  different  tone, 
— "The  queen  said  to  the  king !"  Imitate  Carlin,  discover 
some  method  of  always  keeping  your  wife  in  check,  so  as  not 
to  be  checkmated  yourself.  Take  a  degree  among  constitu- 
tional ministers,  a  degree  in  the  art  of  making  promises. 
Habituate  yourself  to  show  at  seasonable  times  the  punchi- 
nello  which  makes  children  run  after  you  without  knowing  the 
distance  they  run.  We  are  all  children,  and  women  are  all 
inclined  through  their  curiosity  to  spend  their  time  in  pursuit 
of  a  will-o'-the-wisp.  The  flame  is  brilliant  and  quickly 
vanishes,  but  is  not  the  imagination  at  hand  to  act  as  your 


150  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

ally?  Finally,  study  the  happy  art  of  being  near  her  and 
yet  not  being  near  her;  of  seizing  the  opportunity  which  will 
yield  you  pre-eminence  in  her  mind  without  ever  crushing 
her  with  a  sense  of  your  superiority,  or  even  of  her  own  happi- 
ness. If  the  ignorance  in  which  you  have  kept  her  does  not 
altogether  destroy  her  intellect,  you  must  remain  in  such  rela- 
tions with  her  that  each  of  you  will  still  desire  the  company 
of  the  other. 


MEDITATION  XIV. 
OF  APARTMENTS. 

The  preceding  methods  and  systems  are  in  a  way  purely 
moral;  they  share  the  nobility  of  the  soul,  there  is  nothing' 
repulsive  in  them ;  but  now  we  must  proceed  to  consider  pre- 
cautions a  la  Bartholo.  Do  not  give  way  to  timidity.  There 
is  a  marital  courage,  as  there  is  a  civil  and  military  courage, 
as  there  is  the  courage  of  the  National  Guard. 

What  is  the  first  course  of  a  young  girl  after  having  pur- 
chased a  parrot?  Is  it  not  to  fasten  it  up  in  a  pretty  cage, 
from  which  it  cannot  get  out  without  permission  ? 

You  may  learn  your  duty  from  this  child. 

Everything  that  pertains  to  the  arrangement  of  your  house 
and  of  your  apartments  should  be  planned  so  as  not  to  give 
your  wife  any  advantage,  in  case  she  has  decided  to  deliver 
you  to  the  Minotaur ;  half  of  all  actual  mischances  are  brought 
about  by  the  deplorable  facilities  which  the  apartments  fur- 
nish. 

Before  everything  else  determine  to  have  for  your  porter  a 
single  man  entirely  devoted  to  your  person.  This  is  a  treasure 
easily  to  be  found.  What  husband  is  there  throughout  the 
world  who  has  not  either  a  foster-father  or  some  old  servant, 
upon  whose  knees  he  has  been  dandled !  There  ought  to  exist, 
by  means  of  your  management,  a  hatred  like  that  of  Atreus 
and  Thyestes  between  your  wife  and  this  Nestor — guardian  of 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  151 

your  gate.  This  gate  is  the  Alpha  and  Omega  of  an  intrigue. 
May  not  all  intrigues  in  love  be  confined  in  these  words — 
entering  and  leaving? 

Your  house  will  be  of  no  use  to  you  if  it  does  not  stand 
between  a  court  and  a  garden,  and  so  constructed  as  to  be  de- 
tached from  all  other  buildings.  You  must  abolish  all  recesses 
in  your  apartments.  A  cupboard,  if  it  contain  but  six  pots  of 
preserves,  should  be  walled  in.  You  are  preparing  yourself 
for  war,  and  the  first  thought  of  a  general  is  to  cut  his  enemy 
off  from  supplies.  Moreover,  all  the  walls  must  be  smooth, 
in  order  to  present  to  the  eye  lines  which  may  be  taken  in  at 
a  glance,  and  permit  the  immediate  recognition  of  the  least 
strange  object.  If  you  consult  the  remains  of  antique  monu- 
ments you  will  see  that  the  beauty  of  Greek  and  Eoman  apart- 
ments sprang  principally  from  the  purity  of  their  lines,  the 
clear  sweep  of  their  walls  and  scantiness  of  furniture.  The 
Greeks  would  have  smiled  in  pity,  if  they  had  seen  the  gaps 
which  our  closets  make  in  our  drawing-rooms. 

This  magnificent  system  of  defence  should  above  all  j)e  put 
in  active  operation  in  the  apartment  of  your  wife;  never  let 
her  curtain  her  bed  in  such  a  way  that  one  can  walk  round  it 
amid  a  maze  of  hangings ;  be  inexorable  in  the  matter  of  con- 
necting passages,  and  let  her  chamber  be  at  the  bottom  of  your 
reception-rooms,  so  as  to  show  at  a  glance  those  who  come 
and  go. 

The  Marriage  of  Figaro  will  no  doubt  have  taught  you  to 
put  your  wife's  chamber  at  a  great  height  from  the  ground. 
All  celibates  are  Cherubins. 

Your  means,  doubtless,  will  permit  your  wife  to  have  a 
dressing-room,  a  bath-room,  and  a  room  for  her  chambermaid. 
Think  then  on  Susanne,  and  never  commit  the  fault  of  arrang- 
ing this  little  room  below  that  of  madame's.  But  place  it 
always  above,  and  do  not  shrink  from  disfiguring  your  man- 
sion by  hideous  divisions  in  the  windows. 

If,  by  ill  luck,  you  see  that  this  dangerous  apartment  com- 
municates with  that  of  your  wife  by  a  back  staircase,  earnestly 
consult  your  architect ;  let  his  genius  exhaust  itself  in  render- 


152  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

ing  this  dangerous  staircase  as  innocent  as  the  primitive  gar- 
ret ladder ;  we  conjure  you  let  not  this  staircase  have  appended 
to  it  any  treacherous  lurking-place ;  its  stiff  and  angular  steps 
must  not  be  arranged  with  that  tempting  curve  which  Faublas 
and  Justine  found  so  useful  when  they  waited  for  the  exit 

of  the  Marquis  de  B .     Architects  nowadays  make  such 

staircases  as  are  absolutely  preferable  to  ottomans.  Eestore 
rather  the  virtuous  garret  steps  of  our  ancestors. 

Concerning  the  chimneys  in  the  apartment  of  madame,  you 
must  take  care  to  place  in  the  flue,  five  feet  from  the  ground, 
an  iron  grill,  even  though  it  be  necessary  to  put  up  a  fresh 
one  every  time  the  chimney  is  swept.  If  your  wife  laughs  at 
this  precaution,  suggest  to  her  the  number  of  murders  that 
have  been  committed  by  means  of  chimneys.  Almost  all 
women  are  afraid  of  robbers.  The  bed  is  one  of  those  impor- 
tant pieces  of  furniture  whose  structure  will  demand  long 
consideration.  Everything  concerning  it  is  of  vital  importance. 
The  following  is  the  result  of  long  experience  in  the  con- 
struction of  beds.  Give  to  this  piece  of  furniture  a  form  so 
original  that  it  may  be  looked  upon  without  disgust,  in  the 
midst  of  changes  of  fashion  which  succeed  so  rapidly  in  ren- 
dering antiquated  the  creations  of  former  decorators,  for  it 
is  essential  that  your  wife  be  unable  to  change,  at  pleasure, 
this  theatre  of  married  happiness.  The  base  should  be  plain 
and  massive  and  admit  of  no  treacherous  interval  between  it 
and  the  floor ;  and  bear  in  mind  always  that  the  Donna  Julia 
of  Byron  hid  Don  Juan  under  her  pillow.  But  it  would  be 
ridiculous  to  treat  lightly  so  delicate  a  subject. 

LXIL 

The  bed  is  the  whole  of  marriage. 

Moreover,  we  must  not  delay  to  direct  your  attention  to  this 
wonderful  creation  of  human  genius,  an  invention  which 
claims  our  recognition  much  more  than  ships,  firearms, 
matches,  wheeled  carriages,  steam  engines  of  all  kinds,  more 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  153 

than  even  barrels  and  bottles.  In  the  first  place,  a  little 
thought  will  convince  us  that  this  is  all  true  of  the  bed;  but 
when  we  begin  to  think  that  it  is  our  second  father,  that  the 
most  tranquil  and  most  agitated  half  of  our  existence  is  spent 
under  its  protecting  canopy,  words  fail  in  eulogizing  it.  (See 
Meditation  XVII.,  entitled  "Theory  of  the  Bed.") 

When  the  war,  of  which  we  shall  speak  in  our  third  part, 
breaks  out  between  you  and  madame,  you  will  always  have 
plenty  of  ingenious  excuses  for  rummaging  in  the  drawers 
and  escritoires;  for  if  your  wife  is  trying  to  hide  from  you 
some  statue  of  her  adoration,  it  is  your  interest  to  know 
where  she  has  hidden  it.  A  gyneceum,  constructed  on  the 
method  described,  will  enable  you  to  calculate  at  a  glance, 
whether  there  is  present  in  it  two  pounds  of  silk  more  than 
usual.  Should  a  single  closet  be  constructed  there,  you  are 
a  lost  man  !  Above  all,  accustom  your  wife,  during  the  honey- 
moon, to  bestow  especial  pains  in  the  neatness  of  her  apart- 
ment; let  nothing  put  off  that.  If  you  do  not  habituate  her 
to  be  minutely  particular  in  this  respect,  if  the  same  objects 
are  not  always  found  in  the  same  places,  she  will  allow  things 
to  become  so  untidy,  that  you  will  not  be  able  to  see  that  there 
are  two  pounds  of  silk  more  or  less  in  her  room. 

The  curtains  of  your  apartments  ought  to  be  of  a  stuff 
which  is  quite  transparent,  and  you  ought  to  contract  the 
habit  in  the  evenings  of  walking  outside  so  that  madame 
may  see  you  come  right  up  to  the  window  just  out  of  absent- 
mindedness.  In  a  word,  with  regard  to  windows,  let  the  sills 
be  so  narrow  that  even  a  sack  of  flour  cannot  be  set  up  on  them. 

If  the  apartment  of  your  wife  be  arranged  on  these  princi- 
ples, you  will  be  in  perfect  safety,  even  if  there  are  niches 
enough  there  to  contain  all  the  saints  of  Paradise.  You  will 
be  able,  every  evening,  with  the  assistance  of  your  porter,  to 
strike  the  balance  between  the  entrances  and  exits  of  visitors; 
and,  in  order  to  obtain  accurate  results,  there  is  nothing  to 
prevent  your  teaching  him  to  keep  a  book  of  visitors,  in  double 
entry. 

If  you  have  a  garden,  cultivate  a  taste  for  dogs,  and  always 


154  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

keep  at  large  one  of  these  incorruptible  guardians  under  your 
windows;  you  will  thus  gain  the  respect  of  the  Minotaur, 
especially  if  you  accustom  your  four-footed  friend  to  take 
nothing  substantial  excepting  from  the  hand  of  your  porter, 
so  that  hard-hearted  celibates  may  not  succeed  in  poisoning 
him. 

But  all  these  precautions  must  be  taken  as  a  natural  thing, 
so  that  they  may  not  arouse  suspicions.  If  husbands  are  so 
imprudent  as  to  neglect  precautions  from  the  moment  they 
are  married,  they  ought  at  once  to  sell  their  house  and  buy 
another  one,  or,  under  the  pretext  of  repairs,  alter  their  present 
house  in  the  way  prescribed. 

You  will  without  scruple  banish  from  your  apartments  all 
sofas,  ottomans,  lounges,  sedan  chairs  and  the  like.  In  the 
first  place,  this  is  the  kind  of  furniture  that  adorns  the  homes 
of  grocers,  where  they  are  universally  found,  as  they  are  in 
those  of  barbers ;  but  they  are  essentially  the  furniture  of  per- 
dition; I  can  never  see  them  without  alarm.  It  has  always 
seemed  to  me  that  there  the  devil  himself  is  lurking  with  his 
horns  and  cloven  foot. 

After  all,  nothing  is  so  dangerous  as  a  chair,  and  it  is  ex- 
tremely unfortunate  that  women  cannot  be  shut  up  within 
the  four  walls  of  a  bare  room !  What  husband  is  there,  who 
on  sitting  down  on  a  rickety  chair  is  not  always  forced  to 
believe  that  this  chair  has  received  some  of  the  lessons  taught 
by  the  Sofa  of  Crebillon  junior?  But  happily  we  have  ar- 
ranged your  apartment  on  such  a  system  of  prevention  that 
nothing  so  fatal  can  happen,  or,  at  any  rate,  not  without  your 
contributory  negligence. 

One  fault  which  you  must  contraband  which  you  must  never 
correct,  will  consist  in  a  sort  of  heedless  curiosity,  which  will 
make  you  examine  unceasingly  all  the  boxes,  and  turn  upside 
down  the  contents  of  all  dressing-cases  and  work-baskets.  You 
must  proceed  to  this  domiciliary  visit  in  a  humorous  mood, 
and  gracefully,  so  that  each  time  you  will  obtain  pardon  by 
exciting  the  amusement  of  your  wife. 

You  must  always  manifest  a  most  profound  astonishment  on 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OP  MARRIAGE  155 

noticing  any  piece  of  furniture  freshly  upholstered  in  her 
well-appointed  apartment.  You  must  immediately  make  her 
explain  to  you  the  advantages  of  the  change;  and  then  you 
must  ransack  your  mind  to  discover  whether  there  be  not  some 
underhand  motive  in  the  transaction. 

This  is  hy  no  means  all.  You  have  too  much  sense  to 
forget  that  your  pretty  parrot  will  remain  in  her  cage  only  so 
long  as  that  cage  is  kept  beautiful.  The  least  accessory  of 
her  apartment  ought,  therefore,  to  breathe  elegance  and  taste. 
The  general  appearance  should  always  present  a  simple,  at 
the  same  time  a  charming  picture.  You  must  constantly 
renew  the  hangings  and  muslin  curtains.  The  freshness  of 
the  decorations  is  too  essential  to  permit  of  economy  on  this 
point.  It  is  the  fresh  chickweed  each  morning  carefully  put 
into  the  cage  of  their  birds,  that  makes  their  pets  believe  it 
is  the  verdure  of  the  meadows.  An  apartment  of  this  char- 
acter is  then  the  uliifiia  ratio  of  husbands;  a  wife  has  nothing 
to  say  when  everything  is  lavished  on  her. 

Husbands  who  are  condemned  to  live  in  rented  apartments 
find  themselves  in  the  most  terrible  situation  possible.  What 
happy  or  what  fatal  influence  cannot  the  porter  exercise  upon 
their  lot? 

Is  not  their  house  flanked  on  either  side  by  other  houses? 
It  is  true  that  by  placing  the  apartment  of  their  wives  on  one 
side  of  the  house  the  danger  is  lessened  by  one-half;  but  are 
they  not  obliged  to  learn  by  heart  and  to  ponder  the  age,  the 
condition,  the  fortune,  the  character,  the  habits  of  the  tenants 
of  the  next  house  and  even  to  know  their  friends  and  relations  ? 

A  husband  will  never  take  lodgings  on  the  ground  floor. 

Every  man,  however,  can  apply  in  his  apartments  the  pre- 
cautionary methods  which  we  have  suggested  to  the  owner 
of  a  house,  and  thus  the  tenant  will  have  this  advantage  over 
the  owner,  that  the  apartment,  which  is  less  spacious  than  the 
house,  is  more  easily  guarded. 


156 


MEDITATION  XV. 
OF  THE  CUSTOM  HOUSE. 

"But  no,  madame,  no — " 

"Ye?,  for  there  is  such  inconvenience  in  the  arrangement/' 

"Do  you  think,  madame,  that  we  wish,  as  at  the  frontier, 
to  watch  the  visits  of  persons  who  cross  the  threshold  of  your 
apartments,  or  furtively  leave  them,  in  order  to  see  whether 
they  bring  to  you  articles  of  contraband?  That  would  not 
be  proper;  and  there  is  nothing  odious  in  our  proceeding, 
any  more  than  there  is  anything  of  a  fiscal  character;  do  not 
be  alarmed."  : •.;.'•» 

The  Custom  House  of  the  marriage  state  is,  of  all  the  expe- 
dients prescribed  in  this  second  part,  that  which  perhaps 
demands  the  most  tact  and  the  most  skill  as  well  as  the  most 
knowledge  acquired  a  priori,  that  is  to  say  before  marriage. 
In  order  to  carry  it  out,  a  husband  ought  to  have  made  a  pro- 
found study  of  Lavater's  book,  and  to  be  imbued  with  all  his 
principles ;  to  have  accustomed  his  eye  to  judge  and  to  appre- 
hend with  the  most  astonishing  promptitude,  the  slightest 
physical  expressions  by  which  a  man  reveals  his  thoughts. 

Lavater's  Physiognomy  originated  a  veritable  science,  which 
has  won  a  place  in  human  investigation.  If  at  first  some 
doubts,  some  jokes  greeted  the  appearance  of  this  book,  since 
then  the  celebrated  Doctor  Gall  is  come  with  his  noble  theory 
of  the  skull  and  has  completed  the  system  of  the  Swiss  savant, 
and  given  stability  to  his  fine  and  luminous  observations. 
People  of  talent,  diplomats,  women,  all  those  who  are  num- 
bered among  the  choice  and  fervent  disciples  of  these  two 
celebrated  men,  have  often  had  occasion  to  recognize  many 
other  evident  signs,  by  which  the  course  of  human  thought  is 
indicated.  The  habits  of  the  body,  the  handwriting,  the  sound 
of  the  voice,  have  often  betrayed  the  woman  who  is  in  love, 
the  diplomat  who  is  attempting  to  deceive,  the  clever  admin- 
istrator, or  the  sovereign  who  is  compelled  to  distinguish  at 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  157 

a  glance,  love,  treason  or  merit  hitherto  unknown.  The  man 
whose  soul  operates  with  energy  is  like  a  poor  glowworm, 
which  without  knowing  it  irradiates  light  from  every  pore. 
He  moves  in  a  brilliant  sphere  where  each  effort  makes  a 
burning  light  and  outlines  his  actions  with  long  streamers  of 
fire.  . 

These,  then,  are  all  the  elements  of  knowledge  which  you 
should  possess,  for  the  conjugal  custom  house  insists  simply 
in  being  able  by  a  rapid  but  searching  examination  to  know 
the  moral  and  physical  condition  of  all  who  enter  or  leave 
your  house — all,  that  is,  who  have  seen  or  intend  to  see  your 
wife.  A  husband  is,  like  a  spider,  set  at  the  centre  of  an 
invisible  net,  and  receives  a  shock  from  the  least  fool  of  a 
fly  who  touches  it,  and  from  a  distance,  hears,  judges  and 
sees  what  is  either  his  prey  or  his  enemy. 

Thus  you  must  obtain  means  to  examine  the  celibate  who 
rings  at  your  door  under  two  circumstances  which  are  quite 
distinct,  namely,  when  he  is  about  to  enter  and  when  he  is 
inside. 

At  the  moment  of  entering  how  many  things  does  he  utter 
without  even  opening  his  mouth ! 

It  may  be  by  a  slight  wave  of  his  hand,  or  by  his  plunging 
his  fingers  many  times  into  his  hair,  he  sticks  up  or  smooths 
down  his  characteristic  bang. 

Or  he  hums  a  French  or  an  Italian  air,  merry  or  sad,  in  a 
voice  which  may  be  either  tenor,  contralto,  soprano  or  baritone. 

Perhaps  he  takes  care  to  see  that  the  ends  of  his  necktie  are 
properly  adjusted. 

Or  he  smooths  down  the  ruffles  or  front  of  his  shirt  or  even- 
ing-dress. 

Or  he  tries  to  find  out  by  a  questioning  and  furtive  glance 
whether  his  wig,  blonde  or  brown,  curled  or  plain,  is  in  its 
natural  position. 

Perhaps  he  looks  at  his  nails  to  see  whether  they  are  clean 
and  duly  cut. 

Perhaps  with  a  hand  which  is  either  white  or-  untidy,  well- 
gloved  or  otherwise,  he  twirls  his  moustache,  or  his  whiskers, 
or  picks  his  teeth  with  a  little  tortoise-shell  toothpick. 


158  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

Or  by  slow  and  repeated  movements  he  tries  to  place  bis 
chin  exactly  over  the  centre  of  his  necktie. 

Or  perhaps  he.  crosses  one  foot  over  the  other,  putting  his 
hands  in  his  pockets. 

Or  perhaps  he  gives  a  twist  to  his  shoe,  and  looks  at  it  as  if 
he  thought,  "Now,  there's  a  foot  that  is  not  badly  formed/' 

Or  according  as  he  has  come  on  foot  or  in  a  carriage,  he 
rubs  off  or  he  does  not  rub  off  the  slight  patches  of  mud  which 
soil  his  shoes. 

Or  perhaps  he  remains  as  motionless  as  a  Dutchman  smok- 
ing his  pipe. 

Or  perhaps  he  fixes  his  eyes  on  the  door  and  looks  like  a 
soul  escaped  from  Purgatory  and  waiting  for  Saint  Peter  with 
the  keys. 

Perhaps  he  hesitates  to  pull  the  bell;  perhaps  he  seizes  it 
negligently,  precipitately,  familiarly,  or  like  a  man  who  is 
quite  sure  of  himself. 

Perhaps  he  pulls  it  timidly,  producing  a  faint  tinkle  which 
is  lost  in  the  silence  of  the  apartments,  as  the  first  bell  of 
matins  in  winter-time,  in  a  convent  of  Minims;  or  perhaps 
after  having  rung  with  energy,  he  rings  again  impatient  that 
the  footman  has  not  heard  him. 

Perhaps  he  exhales  a  delicate  scent,  as  he  chews  a  pastille. 

Perhaps  with  a  solemn  air  he  takes  a  pinch  of  snuff,  brush- 
ing off  with  care  the  grains  that  might  mar  the  whiteness  of 
his  linen. 

Perhaps  he  looks  around  like  a  man  estimating  the  value 
of  the  staircase  lamp,  the  balustrade,  the  carpet,  as  if  he  were 
a  furniture  dealer  or  a  contractor. 

Perhaps  this  celibate  seems  a  young  or  an  old  man,  is  cold 
or  hot,  arrives  slowly,  with  an  expression  of  sadness  or  merri- 
ment, etc. 

You  see  that  here,  at  the  very  foot  of  your  staircase,  you 
are  met  by  an  astonishing  mass  of  things  to  observe. 

The  light  pencil-strokes,  with  which  we  have  tried  to  out- 
line this  figure,  will  suggest  to  you  what  is  in  reality  a  moral 
kaleidoscope  with  millions  of  variations.  And  yet  we  have  not 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  159 

even  attempted  to  bring  any  woman  on  to  the  threshold  which 
reveals  so  much;  for  in  that  case  our  remarks,  already  con- 
siderable in  number,  would  have  been  countless  and  light  as 
the  grains  of  sand  on  the  seashore. 

For  as  a  matter  of  fact,  when  he  stands  before  the  shut 
door,  a  man  believes  that  he  is  quite  alone ;  and  he  would  have 
no  hesitation  in  beginning  a  silent  monologue,  a  dreamy 
soliloquy,  in  which  he  revealed  his  desires,  his  intentions,  his 
personal  qualities,  his  faults,  his  virtues,  etc. ;  for  undoubtedly 
a  man  on  a  stoop  is  exactly  like  a  young  girl  of  fifteen  at  con- 
fession, the  evening  before  her  first  communion. 

Do  you  want  any  proof  of  this  ?  Notice  the  sudden  change 
of  face  and  manner  in  this  celibate  from  the  very  moment 
he  steps  within  the  house.  No  machinist  in  the  Opera,  no 
change  in  the  temperature  in  the  clouds  or  in  the  sun  can 
more  suddenly  transform  the  appearance  of  a  theatre,  the 
effect  of  the  atmosphere,  or  the  scenery  of  the  heavens. 

On  reaching  the  first  plank  of  your  antechamber,  instead 
of  betraying  with  so  much  innocence  the  myriad  thoughts 
which  were  suggested  to  you  on  the  steps,  the  celibate  has 
not  a  single  glance  to  which  you  could  attach  any  significance. 
The  mask  of  social  convention  wraps  with  its  thick  veil  his 
whole  bearing ;  but  a  clever  husband  must  already  have  divined 
at  a  single  look  the  object  of  his  visit,  and  he  reads  the  soul 
of  the  new  arrival  as  if  it  were  a  printed  book. 

The  manner  in  which  he  approaches  your  wife,  in  which  he 
addresses  her,  looks  at  her,  greets  her  and  retires — there  are 
volumes  of  observations,  more  or  less  trifling,  to  be  made  on 
these  subjects. 

The  tone  of  his  voice,  his  bearing,  his  awkwardness,  it  may 
be  his  smile,  even  his  gloom,  his  avoidance  of  your  eye, — all 
are  significant,  all  ought  to  be  studied,  but  without  apparent 
attention.  You  ought  to  conceal  the  most  disagreeable  dis- 
covery you  may  make  by  an  easy  manner  and  remarks  such 
as  are  ready  at  hand  to  a  man  of  society.  As  we  are  unable 
to  detail  the  minutiae  of  this  subject  we  leave  them  entirely  to 
the  sagacity  of  the  reader,  who  must  by  this  time  have  per- 


160  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

ceived  the  drift  of  our  investigation,  as  well  as  the  extent  of 
this  science  which  begins  at  the  analysis  of  glances  and  ends 
in  the  detection  of  such  movements  as  contempt  may  inspire 
in  a  great  toe  hidden  under  the  satin  of  a  lady's  slipper  or  the 
leather  of  a  man's  boot. 

But  the  exit ! — for  we  must  allow  for  occasions  where  you 
have  omitted  your  rigid  scrutiny  at  the  threshold  of  the  door- 
way, and  in  that  case  the  exit  becomes  of  vital  importance, 
and  all  the  more  so  because  this  fresh  study  of  the  celibate 
ought  to  be  made  on  the  same  lines,  but  from  an  opposite  point 
of  view,  from  that  which  we  have  already  outlined. 

In  the  exit  the  situation  assumes  a  special  gravity ;  for  then 
is  the  moment  in  which  the  enemy  has  crossed  all  the  intrench- 
ments  within  which  he  was  subject  to  our  examination  and 
has  escaped  into  the  street !  At  this  point  a  man  of  under- 
standing when  he  sees  a  visitor  passing  under  the  porte-cochere 
should  be  able  to  divine  the  import  of  the  whole  visit.  The 
indications  are  indeed  fewer  in  number,  but  how  distinct  is 
their  character !  The  denouement  has  arrived  and  the  man 
instantly  betrays  the  importance  of  it  by  the  frankest  expres- 
sion of  happiness,  pain  or  joy. 

These  revelations  are  therefore  easy  to  apprehend;  they 
appear  in  the  glance  cast  either  at  the  building  or  at  the 
windows  of  the  apartment;  in  a  slow  or  loitering  gait,  in  the 
rubbing  of  hands,  on  the  part  of  a  fool,  in  the  bounding  gait 
of  a  coxcomb,  or  the  involuntary  arrest  of  his  footsteps,  which 
marks  the  man  who  is  deeply  moved ;  in  a  word,  you  see  upon 
the  stoop  certain  questions  as  clearly  proposed  to  you  as 
if  a  provincial  academy  had  offered  a  hundred  crowns  for  an 
essay;  but  in  the  exit  you  behold  the  solution  of  these  ques- 
tions clearly  and  precisely  given  to  you.  Our  task  would 
be  far  above  the  power  of  human  intelligence  if  it  consisted 
in  enumerating  the  different  ways  by  which  men  betray  their 
feelings;  the  discernment  of  such  things  is  purely  a  matter 
of  tact  and  sentiment. 

If  strangers  are  the  subject  of  these  principles  of  observa- 
tion, you  have  a  still  stronger  reason  for  submitting  your 
wife  to  the  formal  safeguards  which  we  have  outlined. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  161 

A  married  man  should  make  a  profound  study  of  his  wife's 
countenance.  Such  a  study  is  easy,  it  is  even  involuntary  and 
continuous.  For  him  the  pretty  face  of  his  wife  must  needs 
contain  no  mysteries,  he  knows  how  her  feelings  are  depicted 
there  and  with  what  expression  she  shuns  the  fire  of  his  glance. 

The  slightest  movement  of  the  lips,  the  faintest  contraction 
of  the  nostrils,  scarcely  perceptible  changes  in  the  expression 
of  the  eye,  an  altered  voice,  and  those  indescribable  shades  of 
feeling  which  pass  over  her  features,  or  the  light  which  some- 
times bursts  forth  from  them,  are  intelligible  language  to 
you. 

The  whole  woman  nature  stands  before  you ;  all  look  at  her, 
but  none  can  interpret  her  thoughts.  But  for  you,  the  eye  is 
more  or  less  dimmed,  wide-opened  or  closed;  the  lid  twitches, 
the  eyebrow  moves;  a  wrinkle,  which  vanishes  as  quickly  as  a 
ripple  on  the  ocean,  furrows  her  brow  for  one  moment ;  the 
lip  tightens,  it  is  slightly  curved  or  it  is  wreathed  with  ani- 
mation— for  you  the  woman  has  spoken. 

If  in  those  puzzling  moments  in  which  a  woman  tries  dis- 
simulation in  presence  of  her  husband,  you  have  the  spirit  of 
a  sphinx  in  seeing  through  her,  you  will  plainly  observe  that 
your  custom-house  restrictions  are  mere  child's  play  to  her. 

When  she  comes  home  or  goes  out,  when  in  a  word  she  be- 
lieves she  is  alone,  your  wife  will  exhibit  all  the  imprudence 
of  a  jackdaw  and  will  tell  her  secret  aloud  to  herself;  more- 
over, by  her  sudden  change  of  expression  the  moment  she 
notices  you  (and  despite  the  rapidity  of  this  change,  you  will 
not  fail  to  have  observed  the  expression  she  wore  behind  your 
back)  you  may  read  her  soul  as  if  you  were  reading  a  book  of 
Plain  Song.  Moreover,  your  wife  will  often  find  herself  just 
on  the  point  of  indulging  in  soliloquies,  and  on  such  occasions 
her  husband  may  recognize  the  secret  feelings  of  his  wife. 

Is  there  a  man  as  heedless  of  love's  mysteries  as  not  to  have 
admired,  over  and  over  again,  the  light,  mincing,  even  bewitch- 
ing gait  of  a  woman  who  flies  on  her  way  to  keep  an  assigna- 
tion ?  She  glides  through  the  crowd,  like  a  snake  through  the 
grass.  The  costumes  and  stuffs  of  the  latest  fashion  spread 


162  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

out  their  dazzling  attractions  in  the  shop  windows  without 
claiming  her  attention;  on,  on  she  goes  like  to  the  faithful 
animal  who  follows  the  invisible  tracks  of  his  master;  she  is 
deaf  to  all  compliments,  blind  to  all  glances,  insensible  even 
to  the  light  touch  of  the  crowd,  which  is  inevitable  amid  the 
circulation  of  Parisian  humanity.  Oh,  how  deeply  she  feels 
the  value  of  a  minute!  Her  gait,  her  toilet,  the  expression 
of  her  face,  involve  her  in  a  thousand  indiscretions,  but  oh, 
what  a  ravishing  picture  she  presents  to  the  idler,  and  what 
an  ominous  page  for  the  eye  of  a  husband  to  read,  is  the  face 
of  this  woman  when  she  returns  from  the  secret  place  of 
rendezvous  in  which  her  heart  ever  dwells !  Her  happiness  is 
impressed  even  on  the  unmistakable  disarray  of  her  hair,  the 
mass  of  whose  wavy  tresses  has  not  received  from  the  broken 
comb  of  the  celibate  that  radiant  lustre,  that  elegant  and  well- 
proportioned  adjustment  which  only  the  practiced  hand  of 
her  maid  can  give.  And  what  charming  ease  appears  in  her 
gait!  How  is  it  possible  to  describe  the  emotion  which  adds 
such  rich  tints  to  her  complexion ! — which  robs  her  eyes  of  all 
their  assurance  and  gives  to  them  an  expression  of  mingled 
melancholy  and  delight,  of  shame  which  is  yet  blended  with 
pride ! 

These  observations,  stolen  from  our  Meditation,  Of  the 
Last  Symptoms,  and  which  are  really  suggested  by  the  situ- 
ation of  a  woman  who  tries  to  conceal  everything,  may  enable 
you  to  divine  by  analogy  the  rich  crop  of  observation  which 
is  left  for  you  to  harvest  when  your  wife  arrives  home,  or 
when,  without  having  committed  the  great  crime,  she  inno- 
cently lets  out  the  secrets  of  her  thoughts.  For  our  own  part 
we  never  see  a  landing  without  wishing  to  set  up  there  a 
mariner's  card  and  a  weather-cock. 

As  the  means  to  be  employed  for  constructing  a  sort  of 
domestic  observatory  depend  altogether  on  places  and  circum- 
stances, we  must  leave  to  the  address  of  a  jealous  husband 
the  execution  of  the  methods  suggested  in  this  Meditation. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  163 

MEDITATION  XVI. 
THE  CHARTER  OF  MARRIAGE. 

I  acknowledge  that  I  really  know  of  but  one  house  in  Paris 
which  is  managed  in  accordance  with  the  system  unfolded  in 
the  two  preceding  Meditations.  But  I  ought  to  add,  also, 
that  I  have  built  up  my  system  on  the  example  of  that  house. 
The  admirable  fortress  I  al]ude  to  belonged  to  a  young  coun- 
cillor of  state,  who  was  mad  with  love  and  jealousy. 

As  soon  as  he  learned  that  there  existed  a  man  who  was 
exclusively  occupied  in  bringing  to  perfection  the  institution 
of  marriage  in  France,  he  had  the  generosity  to  open  the  doors 
of  his  mansion  to  me  and  to  show  me  his  gyneceum.  I  admired 
the  profound  genius  which  so  cleverly  disguised  the  precau- 
tions of  almost  oriental  jealousy  under  the  elegance  of  furni- 
ture, beauty  of  carpets  and  brightness  of  painted  decorations. 
I  agreed  with  him  that  it  was  impossible  for  his  wife  to  render 
his  home  a  scene  of  treachery. 

"Sir,"  said  I,  to  this  Othello  of  the  council  of  state  who  did 
not  seem  to  me  peculiarly  strong  in  the  haute  politique  of 
marriage,  "I  have  no  doubt  that  the  viscountess  is  delighted 
to  live  in  this  little  Paradise;  she  ought  indeed  to  take  pro- 
digious pleasure  in  it.  especially  if  you  are  often  here.  But 
the  time  will  come  when  she  will  have  had  enough  of  it ;  for, 
my  dear  sir,  we  grow  tired  of  everything,  even  of  the  sublime. 
What  will  you  do  then,  when  madame,  failing  to  find  in 
all  your  inventions  their  primitive  charm,  shall  open  her 
mouth  in  a  yawn,  and  perhaps  make  a  request  with  a  view 
to  the  exercise  of  two  rights,  both  of  which  are  indispensable 
to  her  happiness:  individual  liberty,  that  is,  the  privilege  of 
going  and  coming  according  to  the  caprice  of  her  will;  and 
the  liberty  of  the  press,  that  is,  the  privilege  of  writing  and 
receiving  letters  without  fear  of  your  censure  ?" 

Scarcely  had  I  said  these  words  when  the  Vicomte  de 
V grasped  my  arm  tightly  and  cried : 


164  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

"Yes,  such  is  the  ingratitude  of  woman!  If  there  is  any 
thing  more  ungrateful  than  a  king,  it  is  a  nation;  but,  sir, 
•woman  is  more  ungrateful  than  either  of  them.  A  married 
woman  treats  us  as  the  citizens  of  a  constitutional  monarchy 
treat  their  king;  every  measure  has  been  taken  to  give  these 
citizens  a  life  of  prosperity  in  a  prosperous  country;  the 
government  has  taken  all  the  pains  in  the  world  with  its 
gendarmes,  its  churches,  its  ministry  and  all  the  parapher- 
nalia of  its  military  forces,  to  prevent  the  people  from  dying 
of  hunger,  to  light  the  cities  by  gas  at  the  expense  of  the 
citizens,  to  give  warmth  to  every  one  by  means  of  the  sun 
which  shines  at  the  forty-fifth  degree  of  latitude,  and  to 
forbid  every  one,  excepting  the  tax-gatherers,  to  ask  for 
money ;  it  has  labored  hard  to  give  to  all  the  main  roads  a  more 
or  less  substantial  pavement — but  none  of  these  advantages 
of  our  fair  Utopia  is  appreciated !  The  citizens  want  some- 
thing else.  They  are  not  ashamed  to  demand  the  right  of 
traveling  over  the  roads  at  their  own  will,  and  of  being  in- 
formed where  that  money  given  to  the  tax-gatherers  goes. 
And,  finally,  the  monarch  will  soon  be  obliged,  if  we  pay  any 
attention  to  the  chatter  of  certain  scribblers,  to  give  to  every 
individual  a  share  in  the  throne  or  to  adopt  certain  revolu- 
tionary ideas,  which  are  mere  Punch  and  Judy  shows  for  the 
public,  manipulated  by  a  band  of  self-st}rled  patriots,  riff-raff, 
always  ready  to  sell  their  conscience  for  a  million  francs,  for 
an  honest  woman,  or  for  a  ducal  coronet." 

"But,  monsieur,"  I  said,  interrupting  him,  "while  I  per- 
fectly agree  with  you  on  this  last  point,  the  question  remains, 
how  will  you  escape  giving  an  answer  to  the  just  demands 
of  your  wife?" 

"Sir,"  he  replied,  "I  shall  do — I  shall  answer  as  the  gov- 
ernment answers,  that  is,  those  governments  which  are  not 
so  stupid  as  the  opposition  would  make  out  to  their  constitu- 
ents. I  shall  begin  by  solemnly  interdicting  any  arrange- 
ment, by  virtue  of  which  my  wife  will  be  declared  entirely 
free.  I  fully  recognize  her  right  to  go  wherever  it  seems 
good  to  her,  to  write  to  whom  she  chooses,  and  to  receive 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  165 

letters,  the  contents  of  which  I  do  not  know.  My  wife  shall 
have  all  the  rights  that  belong  to  an  English  Parliament;  I 
shall  let  her  talk  as  much  as  she  likes,  discuss  and  propose 
strong  and  energetic  measures,  but  without  the  power  to  put 
them  into  execution,  and  then  after  that — well,  we  shall  see !" 

"By  St.  Joseph!"  said  I  to  myself,  "Here  is  a  man  who 
understands  the  science  of  marriage  as  well  as  I  myself  do. 
And  then,  you  will  see,  sir/'  I  answered  aloud,  in  order  to 
obtain  from  him  the  fullest  revelation  of  his  experience;  "you 
will  see,  some  fine  morning,  that  you  are  as  big  a  fool  as  the 
next  man." 

"Sir,"  he  gravely  replied,  "allow  me  to  finish  what  I  was 
saying.  Here  is  what  great  politicians  call  a  theory,  but  in 
practice  they  can  make  that  theory  vanish  in  smoke;  and 
ministers  possess  in  a  greater  degree  than  even  the  lawyers  of 
Normandy,  the  art  of  making  fact  yield  to  fancy.  M.  de 
Metternich  and  M.  de  Pilat,  men  of  the  highest  authority, 
have  been  for  a  long  time  asking  each  other  whether  Europe 
is  in  its  right  senses,  whether  it  is  dreaming,  whether  it  knows 
whither  it  is  going,  whether  it  has  ever  exercised  its  reason, 
a  thing  impossible  on  the  part  of  the  masses,  of  nations  and  of 
women.  M.  de  Metternich  and  M.  de  Pilat  are  terrified  to 
see  this  age  carried  away  by  a  passion  for  constitutions,  as 
the  preceding  age  was  by  the  passion  for  philosophy,  as  that 
of  Luther  was  for  a  reform  of  abuses  in  the  Eoman  religion; 
for  it  truly  seems  as  if  different  generations  of  men  were  like 
those  conspirators  whose  actions  are  directed  to  the  same 
end,  as  soon  as  the  watchword  has  been  given  them.  But 
their  alarm  is  a  mistake,  and  it  is  on  this  point  alone  that  I 
condemn  them,  for  they  are  right  in  their  wish  to  enjoy  power 
without  permitting  the  middle  class  to  come  on  a  fixed  day 
from  the  depth  of  each  of  their  six  kingdoms,  to  torment 
them.  How  could  men  of  such  remarkable  talent  fail  to 
divine  that  the  constitutional  comedy  has  in  it  a  moral  of 
profound  meaning,  and  to  see  that  it  is  the  very  best  policy 
to  give  the  age  a  bone  to  exercise  its  teeth  upon !  I  think 
exactly  as  they  do  on  the  subject  of  sovereignty.  A  power  is 


166  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

a  moral  being  as  much  interested  as  a  man  is  in  solf-preserva« 
tion.  This  sentiment  of  self-preservation  is  under  the  con- 
trol  of  an  essential  principle  which  may  be  expressed  in  three 
words — to  lose  nothing.  But  in  order  to  lose  nothing,  a 
power  must  grow  or  remain  indefinite,  for  a  power  which 
remains  stationary  is  nullified.  If  it  retrogrades,  it  is  under 
the  control  of  something  else,  and  loses  its  independent  exist- 
ence. I  am  quite  as  well  .aware,  as  are  those  gentlemen,  in 
what  a  false  position  an  unlimited  power  puts  itself  by  making 
concessions;  it  allows  to  another  power  whose  essence  is  to 
expand  a  place  within  its  own  sphere  of  activity.  One  of 
them  will  necessarily  nullify  the  other,  for  every  existing 
thing  aims  at  the  greatest  possible  development  of  its  own 
forces.  A  power,  therefore,  never  makes  concessions  which 
it  does  not  afterwards  seek  to  retract.  This  struggle  between 
two  powers  is  the  basis  on  which  stands  the  balance  of  govern- 
ment, whose  elasticity  so  mistakenly  alarmed  the  patriarch 
of  Austrian  diplomacy,  for  comparing  comedy  with  comedy 
the  least  perilous  and  the  most  advantageous  administration 
is  found  in  the  seesaw  system  of  the  English  and  of  the 
French  politics.  These  two  countries  have  said  to  the  people, 
'You  are  free;'  and  the  people  have  been  satisfied;  they  enter 
the  government  like  the  zeros  which  give  value  to  the  unit. 
But  if  the  people  wish  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  govern- 
ment, immediately  they  are  treated,  like  Sancho  Panza,  on 
that  occasion  when  the  squire,  having  become  sovereign  over 
an  island  on  terra  firma,  made  an  attempt  at  dinner  to  eat  the 
viands  set  before  him. 

"Now  we  ought  to  parody  this  admirable  scene  in  the  man- 
agement of  our  homes.  Thus,  my  wife  has  a  perfect  right  to 
go  out,  provided  she  tell  me  where  she  is  going,  how  she  is 
going,  what  is  the  business  she  is  engaged  in  when  she  is 
out  and  at  what  hour  she  will  return.  Instead  of  demanding 
this  information  with  the  brutality  of  the  police,  who  will 
doubtless  some  day  become  perfect,  I  take  pains  to  speak  to 
her  in  the  most  gracious  terms.  On  my  lips,  in  my  eyes,  in  my 
whole  countenance,  an  expression  plays,  which  indicates  both 


THE  -PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARKIAGE  167 

ewiosity  and  indifference,  seriousness  and  pleasantry,  harsh- 
ness and  tenderness.  These  little  conjugal  scenes  are  so  full 
of  vivacity,  of  tact  and  address  that  it  is  a  pleasure  to  take 
part  in  them.  The  very  day  on  which  I  took  from  the  head  of 
my  wife  the  wreath  of  orange  blossoms  which  she  wore,  I 
understood  that  we  were  playing  at  a  royal  coronation — the 
first  scene  in  a  comic  pantomime ! — I  have  my  gendarmes ! — 
I  have  my  guard  royal! — I  have  my  attorney  general — that 
I  do !"  he  continued  enthusiastically.  "Do  you  think  that 
I  would  allow  madame  to  go  anywhere  on  foot  unaccom- 
panied by  a  lackey  in  livery  ?  Is  not  that  the  best  style?  Not 
to  count  the  pleasure  she  takes  in  saying  to  everybody,  'I 
have  my  people  here/  It  has  always  been  a  conservative  prin- 
ciple of  mine  that  my  times  of  exercise  should  coincide  with 
those  of  my  wife,  and  for  two  years  I  have  proved  to  her  that 
I  take  an  ever  fresh  pleasure  in  giving  her  my  arm.  If  the 
weather  is  not  suitable  for  walking,  I  try  to  teach  her  how  to 
drive  with  success  a  frisky  horse;  but  I  swear  to  you  that  I 
undertake  this  in  such  a  manner  that  she  does  not  learn  very 
quickly! — If  either  by  chance,  or  prompted  by  a  deliberate 
wish,  she  takes  measures  to  escape  without  a  passport,  that  is 
to  say,  alone  in  the  carriage,  have  I  not  a  driver,  a  footman,  a 
groom?  My  wife,  therefore,  go  where  she  will,  takes  with 
her  a  complete  Santa  Hermandad,  and  I  am  perfectly  easy 
in  mind. — But,  my  dear  sir,  there  is  abundance  of  means 
by  which  to  annul  the  charter  of  marriage  by  our  manner 
of  fulfilling  it!  I  have  remarked  that  the  manners  of  high 
society  induce  a  habit  of  idleness  which  absorbs  half  of  the 
life  of  a  woman  without  permitting  her  to  feel  that  she  is 
alive.  For  my  part,  I  have  formed  the  project  of  dexterously 
leading  my  wife  along,  up  to  her  fortieth  }rear,  without  letting 
her  think  of  adultery,  just  as  poor  Musson  used  to  amuse  him- 
self in  leading  some  simple  fellow  from  the  Rue  Saint-Denis 
to  Pierrefitte  without  letting  him  think  that  he  had  left  the 
shadows  of  St.  Lew's  tower." 

"How  is  it,"  I  said,  interrupting  him,  "that  you  have  hit 
upon  those  admirable  methods  of  deception  which  I  was  in- 


168  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

tending  to  describe  in  a  Meditation  entitled  The  Act  of  Put- 
ting Death  into  Life!  Alas !  I  thought  I  was  the  first  man  to 
discover  that  science.  The  epigrammatic  title  was  suggested 
to  me  by  an  account  which  a  young  doctor  gave  me  of  an 
excellent  composition  of  Crabbe,  as  yet  unpublished.  In 
this  work,  the  English  poet  has  introduced  a  fantastic  being 
called  Life  in  Death.  This  personage  crosses  the  oceans  of 
the  world  in  pursuit  of  a  living  skeleton  called  Death  in  Life — 
I  recollect  at  the  time  very  few  people,  among  the  guests  of 
a  certain  elegant  translator  of  English  poetry,  understood  the 
mystic  meaning  of  a  fable  as  true  as  it  was  fanciful.  Myself 
alone,  perhaps,  as  I  sat  buried  in  silence,  thought  of  the  whole 
generations  which  as  they  were  hurried  along  by  life,  passed  on 
their  way  without  living.  Before  my  eyes  rose  faces  of  women 
by  the  million,  by  the  myriad,  all  dead,  all  disappointed  and 
shedding  tears  of  despair,  as  they  looked  back  upon  the  lost 
moments  of  their  ignorant  youth.  In  the  distance  I  saw  a 
playful  Meditation  rise  to  birth,  I  heard  the  satanic  laughter 
which  ran  through  it,  and  now  you  doubtless  are  about  to 
kill  it. — But  come,  tell  me  in  confidence  what  means  you 
have  discovered  by  which  to  assist  a  woman  to  squander  the 
swift  moments  during  which  her  beauty  is  at  its  full  flower 
and  her  desires  at  their  full  strength. — Perhaps  you  have  some 
stratagems,  some  clever  devices,  to  describe  to  me — " 

The  viscount  began  to  laugh  at  this  literary  disappointment 
of  mine,  and  he  said  to  me,  with  a  self-satisfied  air : 

"My  wife,  like  all  the  young  people  of  our  happy  century, 
has  been  accustomed,  for  three  or  four  consecutive  years,  to 
press  her  fingers  on  the  keys  of  a  piano,  a  long-suffering 
instrument.  She  has  hammered  out  Beethoven,  warbled  the 
airs  of  Kossini  and  run  through  the  exercises  of  Crammer. 
I  had  already  taken  pains  to  convince  her  of  the  excellence 
of  music;  to  attain  this  end,  I  have  applauded  her,  I  have 
listened  without  yawning  to  the  most  tiresome  sonatas  in  the 
world,  and  I  have  at  last  consented  to  give  her  a  box  at  the 
Bouffons.  I  have  thus  gained  three  quiet  evenings  out  of 
the  seven  which  God  has  created  in  the  week.  I  am  the  main- 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  169 

stay  of  the  music  shops.  At  Paris  there  are  drawing-rooms 
which  exactly  resemble  the  musical  snuff-boxes  of  Germany. 
They  are  a  sort  of  continuous  orchestra  to  which  I  regularly 
go  in  search  of  that  surfeit  of  harmony  which  my  wife  calls 
a  concert.  But  most  part  of  the  time  my  wife  keeps  herself 
buried  in  her  music-books — " 

"But,  my  dear  sir,  do  you  not  recognize  the  danger  that 
lies  in  cultivating  in  a  woman  a  taste  for  singing,  and  allow- 
ing her  to  yield  to  all  the  excitements  of  a  sedentary  life  ?  It 
is  only  less  dangerous  to  make  her  feed  on  mutton  and  drink 
cold  water." 

"My  wife  never  eats  anything  but  the  white  meat  of  poultry, 
and  I  always  take  care  that  a  ball  shall  come  after  the  concert 
and  a  reception  after  an  Opera !  I  have  also  succeeded  in 
making  her  lie  down  between  one  and  two  in  the  day.  Ah! 
my  dear  sir,  the  benefits  of  this  nap  are  incalculable !  In  the 
first  place  each  necessary  pleasure  is  accorded  as  a  favor,  and 
I  am  considered  to  be  constantly  carrying  out  my  wife's 
wishes.  And  then  I  lead  her  to  imagine,  without  saying  a 
single  word,  that  she  is  being  constantly  amused  every  day 
from  six  o'clock  in  the  evening,  the  time  of  our  dinner  and 
of  her  toilet,  until  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  time 
when  we  get  up." 

"Ah !  sir,  how  grateful  you  ought  to  be  for  a  life  which  is 
so  completely  filled  up !" 

"I  have  scarcely  more  than  three  dangerous  hours  a  day  to 
pass ;  but  she  has,  of  course,  sonatas  to  practice  and  airs  to  go 
over,  and  there  are  always  rides  in  the  Bois  de  Boulogne, 
carriages  to  try,  visits  to  pay,  etc.  But  this  is  not  all.  The 
fairest  ornament  of  a  woman  is  the  most  exquisite  cleanliness. 
A  woman  cannot  be  too  particular  in  this  respect,  and  no 
pains  she  takes  can  be  laughed  at.  Now  her  toilet  has  also 
suggested  to  me  a  method  of  thus  consuming  the  best  hours 
of  the  day  in  bathing." 

"How  lucky  I  am  in  finding  a  listener  like  you !"  I  cried ; 
"truly,  sir,  you  could  waste  for  her  four  hours  a  day,  if  only 
you  were  willing  to  teach  her  an  art  quite  unknown  to  the 


170  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

most  fastidious  of  our  modern  fine  ladies.  Why  don't  you 
enumerate  to  the  viscountess  the  astonishing  precautions 
manifest  in  the  Oriental  luxury  of  the  Roman  dames?  Give 
her  the  names  of  the  slaves  merely  employed  for  the  bath  in 
Poppea's  palace:  the  unctores,  the  fricatores,  the  alipilarili, 
the  dropacistce,  the  paratiltrice,  the  picatrices,  the  tracatrices, 
the  swan  whiteners,  and  all  the  rest. — Talk  to  her  about  this 
multitude  of  slaves  whose  names  are  given  by  Mirabeau  in 
his  ErotiJca  Billion.  If  she  tries  to  secure  the  services  of 
all  these  people  you  will  have  fine  times  of  quietness,  not  to 
speak  of  the  personal  satisfaction  which  will  redound  to  you 
yourself  from  the  introduction  into  your  house  of  the  system 
invented  by  these  illustrious  Romans,  whose  hair,  artistically 
arranged,  was  deluged  with  perfumes,  whose  smallest  vein 
seemed  to  have  acquired  fresh  blood  from  the  myrrh,  the  lint, 
the  perfume,  the  douches,  the  flowers  of  the  bath,  all  of  which 
were  enjoyed  to  the  strains  of  voluptuous  music." 

"Ah!  sir/'  continued  the  husband,  who  was  warming  to 
his  subject,  "can  I  not  find  also  admirable  pretexts  in  my 
solicitude  for  her  health?  Her  health,  so  dear  and  precious 
to  me,  forces  me  to  forbid  her  going  out  in  bad  weather,  and 
thus  I  gain  a  quarter  of  the  year.  And  I  have  also  introduced 
the  charming  custom  of  kissing  when  either  of  us  goes  out,  this 
parting  kiss  being  accompanied  with  the  words,  'My  sweet 
angel,  I  am  going  out/  Finally,  I  have  taken  measures  for  the 
future  to  make  my  wife  as  truly  a  prisoner  in  the  house  as 
the  conscript  in  his  sentry  box !  For  I  have  inspired  her  with 
an  incredible  enthusiasm  for  the  sacred  duties  of  maternity." 

"You  do  it  by  opposing  her  ?"  I  asked. 

"You  have  guessed  it,"  he  answered,  laughing.  "I  have 
maintained  to  her  that  it  is  impossible  for  a  woman  of  the 
world  to  discharge  her  duties  towards  society,  to  manage  her 
household,  to  devote  herself  to  fashion,  as  well  as  to  the 
wishes  of  her  husband,  whom  she  loves,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
to  rear  children.  She  then  avers  that,  after  the  example  of 
Cato,  who  wished  to  see  how  the  nurse  changed  the  swaddling 
bands  of  the  infant  Pompey,  she  would  never  leave  to  others 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  171 

the  least  of  the  services  required  in  shaping  the  susceptible 
minds  and  tender  bodies  of  these  little  creatures  whose  educa- 
tion begins  in  the  cradle.  You  understand,  sir,  that  my  con- 
jugal diplomacy  would  not  be  of  much  service  to  me  unless, 
after  having  put  my  wife  in  solitary  confinement,  I  did  not 
also  employ  a  certain  harmless  machiavelism,  which  consists 
in  begging  her  to  do  whatever  she  likes,  and  asking  her  advice 
in  every  circumstance  and  on  every  contingency.  As  this 
delusive  liberty  has  entirely  deceived  a  creature  so  high- 
minded  as  she  is,  I  have  taken  pains  to  stop  at  no  sacrifice 

which  would  convince  Madame  de  V that  she  is  the  freest 

woman  in  Paris ;  and,  in  order  to  attain  this  end,  I  take  care 
not  to  commit  those  gross  political  blunders  into  which  our 
ministers  so  often  fall." 

"I  can  see  you,"  said  I,  "when  you  wish  to  cheat  your 
Wife  out  of  some  right  granted  her  by  the  charter,  I  can  see 
you  putting  on  a  mild  and  deliberate  air,  hiding  your  dagger 
under  a  bouquet  of  roses,  and  as  you  plunge  it  cautiously 
into  her  heart,  saying  to  her  with  a  friendly  voice,  'My  dar- 
ling,  does  it  hurt  ?'  and  she,  like  those  on  whose  toes  you  tread 
hm  a  crowd,  will  probably  reply,  'Not  in  the  least/  " 

He  could  not  restrain  a  laugh  and  said : 

"Won't  my  wife  be  astonished  at  the  Last  Judgment  ?" 

"I  scarcely  know,"  I  replied,  "whether  you  or  she  will  be 
most  astonished." 

The  jealous  man  frowned,  but  his  face  resumed  its  calm- 
ness as  I  added : 

"I  am  truly  grateful,  sir,  to  the  chance  which  has  given 
me  the  pleasure  of  your  acquaintance.  Without  the  assistance 
of  your  remarks  I  should  have  been  less  successful  than  you 
have  been  in  developing  certain  ideas  which  we  possess  in  com- 
mon. I  beg  of  you  that  you  will  give  me  leave  to  publish  this 
conversation.  Statements  which  you  and  I  find  pregnant 
with  high  political  conceptions,  others  perhaps  will  think 
characterized  by  more  or  less  cutting  irony,  and  I  shall  pass 
for  a  clever  fellow  in  the  eyes  of  both  parties." 

While  I  thus  tried  to  express  my  thanks  to  the  viscount 


172  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

(the  first  husband  after  my  heart  that  I  had  met  with),  he 
took  me  once  more  through  his  apartments,  where  everything 
seemed  to  be  beyond  criticism.  • 

I  was  about  to  take  leave  of  him,  when  opening  the  door  of 
a  little  boudoir  he  showed  me  a  room  with  an  air  which  seemed 
to  say,  "Is  there  any  way  by  which  the  least  irregularity  should 
occur  without  my  seeing  it  ?" 

I  replied  to  this  silent  interrogation  by  an  inclination  of  the 
head,  such  as  guests  make  to  their  Amphytrion  when  they 
taste  some  exceptionally  choice  dish. 

"My  whole  system,"  he  said  to  me  in  a  whisper,  "was  sug- 
gested to  me  by  three  words  which  my  father  heard  Napoleon 
pronounce  at  a  crowded  council  of  state,  when  divorce  was 
the  subject  of  conversation.  'Adultery/  he  exclaimed,  'is 
merely  a  matter  of  opportunity!'  See,  then,  I  have  changed 
these  accessories  of  crime,  so  that  they  become  spies,"  added 
the  councillor,  pointing  out  to  me  a  divan  covered  with  tea- 
colored  cashmere,  the  cushions  of  which  were  slightly  pressed. 
Notice  that  impession, — I  learn  from  it  that  my  wife  has  had 
a  headache,  and  has  been  reclining  there." 

We  stepped  toward  the  divan,  and  saw  the  word  FOOL 
lightly  traced  upon  the  fatal  cushion,  by  four 

Things  that  I  know  not,  plucked  by  lover's  hand 
From  Cypris'  orchard,  where  the  fairy  band 
Are  dancing,  once  by  nobles  thought  to  be 
Worthy  an  order  of  new  chivalry, 
A  brotherhood,  wherein,  with  script  of  gold, 
More  mortal  men  than  gods  should  be  enrolled. 

"Nobody  in  my  house  has  black  hair!"  said  the  husband, 
growing  pale. 

I  hurried  away,  for  I  was  seized  with  an  irresistible  fit  of 
laughter,  which  I  could  not  easily  overcome. 

"That  man  has  met  his  judgment  day!"  I  said  to  myself; 
"all  the  barriers  by  which  he  has  surrounded  her  have  only 
been  instrumental  in  adding  to  the  intensity  of  her  pleasures !" 

This  idea  saddened  me.    The  adventure  destroyed  from 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  173 

summit  to  foundation  three  of  my  most  important  Meditations, 
and  the  catholic  infallibility  pf  my  book  was  assailed  in  its 
most  essential  point.  I  would  gladly  have  paid  to  establish 

the  fidelity  of  the  Viscountess  V a  sum  as  great  as  very 

many  people  would  have  offered  to  secure  her  surrender.  But 
alas !  my  money  will  now  be  kept  by  me. 

Three  days  afterwards  I  met  the  councillor  in  the  foyer  of 
the  Italiens.  As  soon  as  he  saw  me  he  rushed  up.  Impelled 
by  a  sort  of  modesty  I  tried  to  avoid  him,  but  grasping  my 
arm:  "Ah!  I  have  passed  three  cruel  days,"  he  whispered  in 
my  ear.  "Fortunately  my  wife  is  as  innocent  as  perhaps  a 
new-born  babe — " 

"You  have  already  told  me  that  the  viscountess  was  ex- 
tremely ingenious,"  I  said,  with  unfeeling  gaiety. 

"Oh!"  he  said,  "I  gladly  take  a  joke  this  evening;  for  this 
morning  I  had  irrefragable  proofs  of  my  wife's  fidelity.  I  had 
risen  very  early  to  finish  a  piece  of  work  for  which  I  had  been 
rushed,  and  in  looking  absently  in  my  garden,  I  suddenly  saw 
the  valet  de  chambre  of  a  general,  whose  house  is  next  to  mine, 
climbing  over  the  wall.  My  wife's  maid,  poking  her  head  from 
the  vestibule,  was  stroking  my  dog  and  covering  the  retreat  of 
the  gallant.  I  took  my  opera  glass  and  examined  the  intruder 
— his  hair  was  jet  black  ! — Ah !  never  have  I  seen  a  Christian 
face  that  gave  me  more  delight !  And  you  may  well  believe 
that  during  the  day  all  my  perplexities  vanished.  So,  my  dear 
sir,"  he  continued,  "if  you  marry,  let  your  dog  loose  and  put 
broken  bottles  over  the  top  of  your  walls." 

"And  did  the  viscountess  perceive  your  distress  during  these 
three  days?" 

"Do  you  take  me  for  a  child?"  he  said,  shrugging  his 
shoulders.  "I  have  never  been  so  merry  in  all  my  life  as  I 
have  been  since  we  met." 

"You  are  a  great  man  unrecognized,"  I  cried,  "and  you  are 
not—" 

He  did  not  permit  me  to  conclude ;  for  he  had  disappeared 
on  seeing  one  of  his  friends  who  approached  as  if  to  greet  the 
viscountess. 


174  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

Now  what  can  we  add  that  would  not  be  a  tedious  para- 
phrase of  the  lessons  suggested. by  this  conversation?  All  is 
included  in  it,  either  as  seed  or  fruit.  Nevertheless,  you  see, 
0  husband !  that  your  happiness  hangs  on  a  hair. 


MEDITATION  XVII. 

THE  THEORY  OF  THE  BED. 

It  was  about  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening.  They  were 
seated  upon  the  academic  armchairs,  which  made  a  semi- 
circle round  a  huge  hearth,  on  which  a  coal  fire  was  burning 
fitfully — symbol  of  the  burning  subject  of  their  important 
deliberations.  It  was  easy  to  guess,  on  seeing  the  grave  but 
earnest  faces  of  all  the  members  of  this  assembly,  that  they 
were  called  upon  to  pronounce  sentence  upon  the  life,  the 
fortunes  and  the  happiness  of  people  like  themselves.  They 
held  no  commission  excepting  that  of  their  conscience,  and 
they  gathered  there  as  the  assessors  of  an  ancient  and  myste- 
rious tribunal ;  but  they  represented  interests  much  more  im- 
portant than  those  of  kings  or  of  peoples;  they  spoke  in  the 
name  of  the  passions  and  on  behalf  of  the  happiness  of  the 
numberless  generations  which  should  succeed  them. 

The  grandson  of  the  celebrated  Boulle  was  seated  before 
a  round  table  on  which  were  placed  the  criminal  exhibits 
which  had  been  collected  with  remarkable  intelligence.  I, 
the  insignificant  secretary  of  the  meeting,  occupied  a  place 
at  this  desk,  where  it  was  my  office  to  take  down  a  report  of 
the  meeting. 

"Gentlemen,"  said  an  old  man,  "the  first  question  upon 
which  we  have  to  deliberate  is  found  clearly  stated  in  the 
following  passage  of  a  letter.  The  letter  was  written  to  the 
Princess  of  Wales,  Caroline  of  Anspach,  by  the  widow  of 
the  Duke  of  Orleans,  brother  of  Louis  XIV.,  mother  of  the 
Regent:  'The  Queen  of  Spain  has  a  method  of  making  her 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  175 

husband  say  exactly  what  she  wishes.  The  king  is  a  religious 
man;  he  believes  that  he  would  be  damned  if  he  touched  any 
woman  but  his  wife,  and  still  this  excellent  prince  is  of  a 
very  amorous  temperament.  Thus  the  queen  obtains  her 
every  wish.  She  has  placed  castors  on  her  husband's  bed. 
If  he  refuses  her  anything,  she  pushes  the  bed  away.  If  he 
grants  her  request,  the  beds  stand  side  by  side,  and  she  admits 
him  into  hers.  And  so  the  king  is  highly  delighted,  since  he 

likes  I  will  not  go  any  further,  gentlemen,  for  the 

virtuous  frankness  of  the  German  princess  might  in  this 
assembly  be  charged  with  immorality." 

Should  wise  husbands  adopt  these  beds  on  castors?  This 
is  the  problem  which  we  have  to  solve. 

The  unanimity  of  the  vote  left  no  doubt  about  the  opinion 
of  the  assembly.  I  was  ordered  to  inscribe  in  the  records, 
that  if  two  married  people  slept  on  two  separate  beds  in  the 
same  room  the  beds  ought  not  to  be  set  on  castors. 

"With  this  proviso,"  put  in  one  of  the  members,  "that  the 
present  decision  shall  have  no  bearing  on  any  subsequent 
ruling  upon  the  best  arrangement  of  the  beds  of  married 
people." 

The  president  passed  to  me  a  choicely  bound  volume,  in 
which  was  contained  the  original  edition,  published  in  1788, 
of  the  letters  of  Charlotte  Elizabeth  de  Baviere,  widow  of  the 
Duke  of  Orleans,  the  only  brother  of  Louis  XIV.,  and,  while 
I  was  transcribing  the  passage  already  quoted,  he  said: 

"But,  gentlemen,  you  must  all  have  received  at  your  houses 
the  notification  in  which  the  second  question  is  stated." 

"I  rise  to  make  an  observation,"  exclaimed  the  youngest 
of  the  jealous  husbands  there  assembled. 

The  president  took  his  seat  with  a  gesture  of  assent. 

"Gentlemen,"  said  the  young  husband,  "are  we  quite  pre- 
pared to  deliberate  upon  so  grave  a  question  as  that  which 
is  presented  by  the  universally  bad  arrangement  of  the  beds? 
Is  there  not  here  a  much  wider  question  than  that  of  mere 
cabinet-making  to  decide?  For  my  own  part  I  see  in  it  a 
question  which  concerns  that  of  universal  human  intellect. 


178  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

The  mysteries  of  conception,  gentlemen,  are  still  enveloped 
in  a  darkness  which  modern  science  has  but  partially  dissi- 
pated. We  do  not  know  how  far  external  circumstances  in- 
fluence the  microscopic  beings  whose  discovery  is  due  to  the 
unwearied  patience  of  Hill,  Baker,  Joblot,  Eichorn,  Gleichen, 
Spallanzani,  and  especially  of  Miiller,  and  last  of  all  of 
M.  Bory  de  Saint  Vincent.  The  imperfections  of  the  bed  opens 
up  a  musical  question  of  the  highest  importance,  and  for  my 
part  I  declare  I  shall  write  to  Italy  to  obtain  clear  informa- 
tion as  to  the  manner  in  which  beds  are  generally  arranged, 
We  do  not  know  whether  there  are  in  the  Italian  bed  numerous 
curtain  rods,  screws  and  castors,  or  whether  the  construction 
of  beds  is  in  this  country  more  faulty  than  everywhere  else, 
or  whether  the  dryness  of  timber  in  Italy,  due  to  the  influence 
of  the  sun,  does  not  ab  ovo  produce  the  harmony,  the  sense  of 
which  is  to  so  large  an  extent  innate  in  Italians.  For  these 
reasons  I  move  that  we  adjourn." 

"What!"  cried  a  gentleman  from  the  West,  impatiently 
rising  to  his  feet,  "are  we  here  to  dilate  upon  the  advance- 
ment of  music?  What  we  have  to  consider  first  of  all  is 
manners,  and  the  moral  question  is  paramount  in  this  dis- 
cussion." 

"Nevertheless,"  remarked  one  of  the  most  influential  mem- 
bers of  the  council,  "the  suggestion  of  the  former  speaker  is 
not  in  my  opinion  to  be  passed  by.  In  the  last  century,  gen- 
tlemen, Sterne,  one  of  the  writers  most  philosophically  de- 
lightful and  most  delightfully  philosophic,  complained  of  the 
carelessness  with  which  human  beings  were  procreated ; 
'Shame !'  he  cried,  'that  he  who  copies  the  divine  physiognomy 
of  man  receives  crowns  and  applause,  but  he  who  achieves 
the  masterpiece,  the  prototype  of  mimic  art,  feels  that  like 
virtue  he  must  be  his  own  reward/ 

"Ought  we  not  to  feel  more  interest  in  the  improvement 
of  the  human  race  than  in  that  of  horses?  Gentlemen,  I 
passed  through  a  little  town  of  Orleanais  where  the  Avhole 
population  consisted  of  hunchbacks,  of  glum  and  gloomy 
people,  veritable  children  of  sorrow,  and  the  remark  of  the 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  177 

former  speaker  caused  me  to  recollect  that  all  the  beds  were 
in  a  very  bad  condition  and  the  bedchambers  presented  noth- 
ing to  the  eyes  of  the  married  couple  but  what  was  hideous 
and  revolting.  Ah !  gentlemen,  how  is  it  possible  that  our 
minds  should  be  in  an  ideal  state,  when  instead  of  the  music 
of  angels  flying  here  and  there  in  the  bosom  of  that  heaven 
to  which  we  have  attained,  our  ears  are  assailed  by  the  most 
detestable,  the  most  angry,  the  most  piercing  of  human  cries 
and  lamentations?  We  are  perhaps  indebted  for  the  fine 
geniuses  who  have  honored  humanity  to  beds  which  are  solidly 
constructed;  and  the  turbulent  population  which  caused  the 
French  Eevolution  were  conceived  perhaps  upon  a  multitude 
of  tottering  couches,  with  twisted  and  unstable  legs;  while 
the  Orientals,  who  are  such  a  beautiful  race,  have  a  unique 
method  of  making  their  beds.  I  vote  for  the  adjournment." 

And  the  gentleman  sat  down. 

A  man  belonging  to  the  sect  of  Methodists  arose.  <rWhy 
should  we  change  the  subject  of  debate?  We  are  not  dealing 
here  with  the  improvement  of  the  race  nor  with  the  perfecting 
of  the  work.  We  must  not  lose  sight  of  the  interests  of  the 
jealeus  husband  and  the  principles  on  which  moral  sound- 
ness is  based.  Don't  you  know  that  the  noise  of  which  you 
complain  seems  more  terrible  to  the  wife  uncertain  of  her 
crime,  than  the  trumpet  of  the  Last  Judgment  ?  Can  you  for- 
get that  a  suit  for  infidelity  could  never  be  won  by  a  husband 
excepting  through  this  conjugal  noise?  I  will  undertake, 
gentlemen,  to  refer  to  the  divorces  of  Lord  Abergavenny,  of 
Viscount  Bolingbroke,  of  the  late  Queen  Caroline,  of  Eliza 
Draper,  of  Madame  Harris,  in  fact,  of  all  those  who  are 
mentioned  in  the  twenty  volumes  published  by — ."(The  secre- 
tary did  not  distinctly  hear  the  name  of  the  English  publisher.) 

The  motion  to  adjourn  was  carried.  The  youngest  member 
proposed  to  make  up  a  purse  for  the  author  producing  the  best 
dissertation  addressed  to  the  society  upon  a  subject  which 
Sterne  considered  of  such  importance;  but  at  the  end  of  the 
seance  eighteen  shillings  was  the  total  sum  found  in  the  hat 
of  the  president. 


178  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

The  above  debate  of  the  society,  which  had  recently  been 
formed  in  London  for  the  improvement  of  manners  and  of 
marriage  and  which  Lord  Byron  scoffed  at,  was  transmitted  to 
ITS  by  the  kindness  of  W.  Hawkins,  Esq.,  cousin-german  of  the 
famous  Captain  Clutterbuck.  The  extract  may  serve  to  solve 
any  difficulties  which  may  occur  in  the  theory  of  bed  construc- 
tion. 

But  the  author  of  this  book  considers  that  the  English 
society  has  given  too  much  importance  to  this  preliminary 
question.  There  exists  in  fact  quite  as  many  reasons  for  being 
a  Rossinist  as  for  being  a  Solidist  in  the  matter  of  beds,  and 
the  author  acknowledges  that  it  is  either  beneath  or  above  him 
to  solve  this  difficulty.  He  thinks  with  Laurence  Sterne  that 
it  is  a  disgrace  to  European  civilization  that  there  exist  so  few 
physiological  observations  on  callipedy,  and  he  refuses  to  state 
the  results  of  his  Meditations  on  this  subject,  because  it  would 
be  difficult  to  formulate  them  in  terms  of  prudery,  and  they 
would  be  but  little  understood,  and  misinterpreted.  Such  re- 
serve produces  an  hiatus  in  this  part  of  the  book ;  but  the  au- 
thor has  the  pleasant  satisfaction  of  leaving  a  fourth  work  to 
be  accomplished  by  the  next  century,  to  which  he  bequeaths  the 
legacy  of  all  that  he  has  not  accomplished,  a  negative  munifi- 
cence which  may  well  be  followed  by  all  those  who  may  be 
troubled  by  an  overplus  of  ideas. 

The  theory  of  the  bed  presents  questions  much  more  impor- 
tant than  those  put  forth  by  our  neighbors  with  regard  to 
castors  and  the  murmurs  of  criminal  conversation. 

We  know  only  three  ways  in  which  a  bed  (in  the  general 
sense  of  this  term)  may  be  arranged  among  civilized  nations, 
and  particularly  among  the  privileged  classes  to  whom  thia 
book  is  addressed.  These  three  ways  are  as  follows : 

1.  TWIN  BEDS. 

2.  SEPARATE  EOOMS. 

3.  ONE  BED  FOR  BOTH. 

Before  applying  ourselves  to  the  examination  of  these  three 
methods  of  living  together,  which  must  necessarily  have  differ- 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  179 

'But  influences  upon  the  happiness  of  husbands  and  wives,  we 
:must  take  a  rapid  survey  of  the  practical  object  served  by  the 
bed  and  the  part  it  plays  in  the  political  economy  of  human 
existence. 

The  most  incontrovertible  principle  which  can  be  laid  down 
in  this  matter  is,  that  the  bed  was  made  to  sleep  upon. 

It  would  be  easy  to  prove  that  the  practice  of  sleeping  to- 
gether was  established  between  married  people  but  recently,  in 
comparison  with  the  antiquity  of  marriage. 

By  what  reasonings  has  man  arrived  at  that  point  in  which 
he  brought  in  vogue  a  practice  so  fatal  to  happiness,  to  health, 
even  to  amour-propre  ?  Here  we  have  a  subject  which  it  would 
be  curious  to  investigate. 

If  you  knew  one  of  your  rivals  who  ha  J  discovered  a  method 
•of  placing  you  in  a  position  of  extreme  absurdity  before  the 
eyes  of  those  who  were  dearest  to  you — for  instance,  while  you 
had  your  mouth  crooked  like  that  of  a  theatrical  mask,  or 
while  your  eloquent  lips,  like  the  copper  faucet  of  a  scanty 
fountain,  dripped  pure  water — you  would  probably  stab  him. 
This  rival  is  sleep.  Is  there  a  man  in  the  world  who  knows 
how  he  appears  to  others,  and  what  he  does  when  he  is  asleep  ? 

In  sleep  we  are  living  corpses,  we  are  the  prey  of  an  un- 
known power  which  seizes  us  in  spite  of  ourselves,  and  shows 
itself  in  the  oddest  shapes ;  some  have  a  sleep  which  is  intellec- 
tual, while  the  sleep  of  others  is  mere  stupor. 

There  are  some  people  who  slumber  with  their  mouths  open 
in  the  silliest  fashion. 

There  are  others  who  snore  loud  enough  to  make  the  timbers 
shake. 

Most  people  look  like  the  impish  devils  that  Michael  Angelo 
sculptured,  putting  out  their  tongues  in  silent  mockery  of  the 
passers-by. 

The  only  person  I  know  of  in  the  world  who  sleeps  with  a. 
noble  air  is  Agamemnon,  whom  Guerin  has  represented  lying 
on  his  bed  at  the  moment  when  Clytemnestra,  urged  by  Egis^ 
thus,  advances  to  slay  him.  Moreover,  I  have  always  had  an 
ambition  to  hold  myself  on  my  pillow  as  the  king  of  kings 


180  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

Agamemnon  holds  himself,  from  the  day  that  I  was  seized 
with  dread  of  being  seen  during  sleep  by  any  other  eyes  than 
those  of  Providence.  In  the  same  way,  too,  from  the  day  I 
heard  my  old  nurse  snorting  in  her  sleep  "like  a  whale,"  to 
use  a  slang  expression,  I  have  added  a  petition  to  the  special 
litany  which  I  address  to  Saint-Honore,  my  patron  saint,  to 
the  effect  that  he  would  save  me  from  indulging  in  this  sort 
of  eloquence. 

When  a  man  wakes  up  in  the  morning,  his  drowsy  face 
grotesquely  surmounted  by  the  folds  of  a  silk  handkerchief 
which  falls  over  his  left  temple  like  a  police  cap,  he  is 
certainly  a  laughable  object,  and  it  is  difficult  to  recognize 
in  him  the  glorious  spouse,  celebrated  in  the  strophes  of  Rous- 
seau; but,  nevertheless,  there  is  a  certain  gleam  of  life  to 
illume  the  stupidity  of  a  countenance  half  dead — and  if  you 
artists  wish  to  make  fine  sketches,  you  should  travel  on  the 
stage-coach  and,  when  the  postilion  wakes  up  the  postmaster, 
just  examine  the  physiognomies  of  the  departmental  clerks! 
But,  were  you  a  hundred  times  as  pleasant  to  look  upon  as 
are  these  bureaucratic  physiognomies,  at  least,  while  you  have 
your  mouth  shut,  your  eyes  are  open,  and  you  have  some  ex- 
pression in  your  countenance.  Do  you  know  how  you  looked 
an  hour  before  you  awoke,  or  during  the  first  hour  of  your 
sleep,  when  you  were  neither  a  man  nor  an  animal,  but  merely 
a  thing,  subject  to  the  dominion  of  those  dreams  which  issue 
from  the  gate  of  horn?  But  this  is  a  secret  between  your 
wife  and  God. 

Is  it  for  the  purpose  of  insinuating  the  imbecility  of  slum- 
ber that  the  Romans  decorated  the  heads  of  their  beds  with  the 
head  of  an  ass?  We  leave  to  the  gentlemen  who  form  the 
academy  of  inscriptions  the  elucidation  of  this  point. 

Assuredly,  the  first  man  who  took  it  into  his  head,  at  the 
inspiration  of  the  devil,  not  to  leave  his  wife,  even  while  she 
was  asleep,  should  know  how  to  sleep  in  the  very  best  style; 
but  do  not  forget  to  reckon  among  the  sciences  necessary  to  a 
man  on  setting  up  an  establishment,  the  art  of  sleeping  with 
elegance.  Moreover,  we  will  place  here  as  a  corollary  to 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  18! 

Axiom  XXV  of  our  Marriage  Catechism  the  two  following 
aphorisms : 

A  husband  should  sleep  as  lightly  as  a  watch-dog,  so  as 
never  to  be  caught  with  his  eyes  shut. 

A  man  should  accustom  himself  from  childhood  to  go  to 
bed  bareheaded. 

Certain  poets  discern  in  modesty,  in  the  alleged  mysteries 
of  love,  some  reason  why  the  married  couple  should  share 
the  same  bed;  but  the  fact  must  be  recognized  that  if  primi- 
tive men  sought  the  shade  of  caverns,  the  mossy  couch  of  deep 
ravines,  the  flinty  roof  of  grottoes  to  protect  his  pleasures,  it 
was  because  the  delight  of  love  left  him  without  defence 
against  his  enemies.  No,  it  is  not  more  natural  to  lay  two 
heads  upon  the  same  pillow,  than  it  is  reasonable  to  tie  a 
strip  of  muslin  round  the  neck.  Civilization  is  come.  It 
has  shut  up  a  million  of  men  within  an  area  of  four  square 
leagues;  it  has  stalled  them  in  streets,  houses,  apartments, 
rooms  and  chambers  eight  feet  square;  after  a  time  it  will 
make  them  shut  up  one  upon  another  like  the  tubes  of  a 
telescope. 

From  this  cause  and  from  many  others,  such  as  thrift, 
fear,  and  ill-concealed  jealousy,  has  sprung  the  custom  of  the 
sleeping  together  of  the  married  couple;  and  this  custom  has 
given  rise  to  punctuality  and  simultaneity  in  rising  and  re- 
tiring. 

And  here  you  find  the  most  capricious  thing  in  the  world, 
the  feeling  most  pre-eminently  fickle,  the  thing  which  is 
worthless  without  its  own  spontaneous  inspiration,  which 
takes  all  its  charm  from  the  suddenness  of  its  desires,  which 
owes  its  attractions  to  the  genuineness  of  its  outbursts — this 
thing  we  call  love,  subjugated  to  a  monastic  rule,  to  that  law 
of  geometry  which  belongs  to  the  Board  of  Longitude! 

Tf  I  were  a  father  I  should  hate  the  child,  who,  punctual  as 
the  clock,  had  every  morning  and  evening  an  explosion  of  ten- 


182  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

derness  and  wished  me  good-day  and  good-evening,  because 
he  was  ordered  to  do  so.  It  is  in  this  way  that  all  that  is 
generous  and  spontaneous  in  human  sentiment  becomes  stran- 
gled at  its  birth.  You  may  judge  from  this  what  love  means 
when  it  is  bound  to  a  fixed  hour  ! 

Only  the  Author  of  everything  can  make  the  sun  rise  and 
set,  morn  and  eve,  with  a  pomp  invariably  brilliant  and  always 
new,  and  no  one  here  below,  if  we  may  be  permitted  to  use  the 
hyperbole  of  Jean-Baptiste  Kousseau,  can  play  the  role  of  the 
sun. 

From  these  preliminary  observations,  we  conclude  that  it 
is  not  natural  for  two  to  lie  under  the  canopy  in  the  same  bed  ; 

That  a  man  is  almost  always  ridiculous  when  he  is  asleep; 

And  that  this  constant  living  together  threatens  the  hus- 
band with  inevitable  dangers. 

We  are  going  to  try,  therefore,  to  find  out  a  method  which 
will  bring  our  customs  in  harmony  with  the  laws  of  nature, 
andj  to  combine  custom  and  nature  in  a  way  that  witl  enable 
a  husband  to  find  in  the  mahogany  of  his  bed  a  useful  ally, 
and  an  aid  in  defending  himself. 


If  the  most  brilliant,  the  best  looking,  the  cleverest  of  hus- 
bands wishes  to  find  himself  minotaurized  just  as  the  first 
year  of  his  married  life  ends,  he  will  infallibly  attain  that 
end  if  he  is  unwise  enough  to  place  two  beds  side  by  side, 
under  the  voluptuous  dome  of  the  same  alcove. 

The  argument  in  support  of  this  may  be  briefly  stated.  The 
following  are  its  main  lines  : 

The  first  husband  who  invented  the  twin  beds  was  doubt- 
less an  obstetrician,  who  feared  that  in  the  involuntary  strug- 
gles of  some  dream  he  might  kick  the  child  borne  by  his  wife. 

But  no,  he  was  rather  some  predestined  one  who  distrusted 
his  power  of  checking  a  snore. 

Perhaps  it  was  some  young  man  who,  fearing  the  excess  of 
his  own  tenderness,  found  himself  always  lying  at  the  edge  of 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  183 

the  bed  and  in  danger  of  tumbling  off,  or  so  near  to  a  charming 
wife  that  he  disturbed  her  slumber. 

But  may  it  not  have  been  some  Maintenon  who  received  the 
suggestion  from  her  confessor,  or,  more  probably,  some 
ambitious  woman  who  wished  to  rule  her  husband  ?  Or,  more 
undoubtedly,  some  pretty  little  Pompadour  overcome  by  that 
Parisian  infirmity  so  pleasantly  described  by  M.  de  Maurepas 
in  that  quatrain  which  cost  him  his  protracted  disgrace  and 
certainly  contributed  to  the  disasters  of  Louis  XVL's  reign : 

"  Iris,  we  love  those  features  sweet, 
Your  graces  all  are  fresh  and  free ; 
And  flowerets  spring  beneath  your  feet, 
Where  naught,  alas!  but  flowers  are  seen." 

But  why  should  it  not  have  been  some  philosopher  who 
dreaded  the  disenchantment  which  a  woman  would  experience 
at  the  sight  of  a  man  asleep  ?  And  such  a  one  would  always 
roll  himself  up  in  a  coverlet  and  keep  his  head  bare. 

Unknown  author  of  this  Jesuitical  method,  whoever  thou 
art,  in  the  devil's  name,  we  hail  thee  as  a  brother !  Thou  hast 
been  the  cause  of  many  disasters.  Thy  work  has  the  character 
of  all  half  measures;  it  is  satisfactory  in  no  respect,  and  shares 
the  bad  points  of  the  two  other  methods  without  yielding  the 
advantages  of  either.  How  can  the  man  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, how  can  this  creature  so  supremely  intelligent,  who  has 
displayed  a  power  well-nigh  supernatural,  who  has  employed 
the  resources  of  his  genius  in  concealing  the  machinery  of  his 
life,  in  deifying  his  necessary  cravings  in  order  that  he  might 
not  despise  them,  going  so  far  as  to  wrest  from  Chinese  leaves, 
from  Egyptian  beans,  from  seeds  of  Mexico,  their  perfume, 
their  treasure,  their  soul ;  going  so  far  as  to  chisel  the  diamond, 
chase  the  silver,  melt  the  gold  ore,  paint  the  clay  and  woo  every 
art  that  may  serve  to  decorate  and  to  dignify  the  bowl  from 
which  he  feeds ! — how  can  this  king,  after  halving  hidden  under 
folds  of  muslin  covered  with  diamonds,  studded  with  rubies,  and 
buried  under  linen,  under  folds  of  cotton,  under  the  rich  hues 
of  silk,  under  the  fairy  patterns  of  lace,  the  partner  of  his 


184  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

wretchedness,  how  can  he  induce  her  to  make  shipwreck  in  the 
midst  of  all  this  luxury  on  the  decks  of  two  beds  What 
advantage  is  it  that  we  have  made  the  whole  universe  sub- 
serve our  existence,  our  delusions,  the  poesy  of  our  life? 
What  good  is  it  to  have  instituted  law,  morals  and  religion,  if 
the  invention  of  an  upholsterer  [for  probably  it  was  an  up- 
holsterer who  invented  the  twin  beds]  robs  our  love  of  all  its 
illusions,  strips  it  bare  of  the  majestic  company  of  its  delights 
and  give  it  in  their  stead  nothing  but  what  is  ugliest  and 
most  odious?  For  this  is  the  whole  history  of  the  two  bed 
system. 

LXIII. 

That  it  shall  appear  either  sublime  or  grotesque  are  the 
alternatives  to  which  we  have  reduced  a  desire. 

If  it  be  shared,  our  love  is  sublime;  but  should  you  sleep 
in  twin  beds,  your  love  will  always  be  grotesque.  The  absurd- 
ities which  this  half  separation  occasions  may  be  comprised  in 
either  one  of  two  situations,  which  will  give  us  occasion  to 
reveal  the  causes  of  very  many  marital  misfortunes. 

Midnight  is  approaching  as  a  young  woman  is  putting 
on  her  curl  papers  and  yawning  as  she  did  so.  I  do  not  know 
whether  her  melancholy  proceeded  from  a  headache,  seated  in 
the  right  or  left  lobe  of  her  brain,  or  whether  she  was  passing 
through  one  of  those  seasons  of  weariness  during  which  all 
things  appear  black  to  us;  but  to  see  her  negligently  putting 
up  her  hair  for  the  night,  to  see  her  languidly  raising  her  leg 
to  take  off  her  garter,  it  seemed  to  me  that  she  would  prefer 
to  be  drowned  rather  than  to  be  denied  the  relief  of  plunging 
her  draggled  life  into  the  slumber  that  might  restore  it.  At 
this  instant,  I  know  not  to  what  degree  from  the  North  Pole 
she  stands,  whether  at  Spitzberg  or  in  Greenland.  Cold  and 
indifferent  she  goes  to  bed  thinking,  as  Mistress  Walter 
Shandy  might  have  thought,  that  the  morrow  would  be  a 
day  of  sickness,  that  her  husband  is  coming  home  very  late, 
that  the  beaten  eggs  which  she  has  just  eaten  were  not  suffi- 
ciently sweetened,  that  she  owes  more  than  five  hundred 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  185 

francs  to  her  dressmaker;  in  fine,  thinking  about  every- 
thing which  you  may  suppose  would  occupy  the  mind  of 
a  tired  woman.  In  the  meanwhile  arrives  her  great  lout 
of  a  husband,  who,  after  some  business  meeting,  has  drunk 
punch,  with  a  consequent  elation.  He  takes  off  his  boots, 
leaves  his  stockings  on  a  lounge,  his  bootjack  lies  before  the 
fireplace;  and  wrapping  his  head  up  in  a  red  silk  handker- 
chief, without  giving  himself  the  trouble  to  tuck  in  the  cor- 
ners, he  fires  off  at  his  wife  certain  interjectory  phrases,  those 
little  marital  endearments,  which  form  almost  the  whole  con- 
versation at  those  twilight  hours,  where  drowsy  reason  is  no 
longer  shining  in  this  mechanism  of  ours.  "What,  in  bed 
already !  It  was  devilish  cold  this  evening !  Why  don't  you 
speak,  my  pet?  You've  already  rolled  yourself  up  in  bed, 
then !  Ah !  you  are  in  the  dumps  and  pretend  to  be  asleep  !" 
These  exclamations  are  mingled  with  yawns;  and  after  num- 
berless little  incidents  which  according  to  the  usage  of  each 
home  vary  this  preface  of  the  night,  our  friend  flings  himself 
into  his  own  be4  with  a  heavy  thud. 

Alas !  before  a  woman  who  is  cold,  how  mad  a  man  must 
appear  when  desire  renders  him  alternately  angry  and  tender, 
insolent  and  abject,  biting  as  an  epigram  and  soothing  as  a 
madrigal;  when  he  enacts  with  more  or  less  sprightliness  the 
scene  where,  in  Venice  Preserved,  the  genius  of  Orway  has 
represented  the  senator  Antonio,  repeating  a  hundred  times 
over  at  the  feet  of  Aquilina :  "Aquilina,  Quilina,  Lina,  Aqui, 
Nacki !"  without  winning  from  her  aught  save  the  stroke  of 
her  whip,  inasmuch  as  he  has  undertaken  to  fawn  upon  her 
like  a  dog.  In  the  eyes  of  every  woman,  even  of  a  lawful 
wife,  the  more  a  man  shows  eager  passion  under  these  circum- 
stances, the  more  silly  he  appears.  He  is  odious  when  he 
commands,  he  is  minotaurized  if  he  abuses  his  power.  On 
this  point  I  would  remind  you  of  certain  aphorisms  in  the 
marriage  catechism  from  which  you  will  see  that  you  are 
violating  its  most  sacred  precepts.  Whether  a  woman  yields, 
or  does  not  yield,  this  institution  of  twin  beds  gives  to  mar- 
riage such  an  element  of  roughness  and  nakedness  that  the 


186  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

most  chaste  wife  and  the  most  intelligent  husband  are  led  to 
immodesty. 

This  scene,  which  is  enacted  in  a  thousand  ways  and  which 
may  originate  in  a  thousand  different  incidents,  has  a  sequel 
in  that  other  situation  which,  while  it  is  less  pleasant,  is  far 
more  terrible. 

One  evening  when  I  was  talking  about  these  serious  mat- 
ters with  the  late  Comte  de  Noce,  of  whom  I  have  already  had 
occasion  to  speak,  a  tall  white-haired  old  man,  his  intimate 
friend,  whose  name  I  will  not  give,  because  he  is  still  alive, 
looked  at  us  with  a  somewhat  melancholy  air.  We  guessed 
that  he  was  about  to  relate  some  tale  of  scandal,  and  we  ac- 
cordingly watched  him,  somewhat  as  the  stenographer  of  the 
Moniteur  might  watch,  as  he  mounted  the  tribune,  a  minis- 
ter whose  speech  had  already  been  written  out  for  the  re- 
porter. The  story-teller  on  this  occasion  was  an  old  marquis, 
whose  fortune,  together  with  his  wife  and  children,  had  per- 
ished in  the  disasters  of  the  Revolution.  The  marchioness 
had  been  one  of  the  most  inconsistent  women  of  the  past  gen- 
eration ;  the  marquis  accordingly  was  not  wanting  in  observa- 
tions on  feminine  human  nature.  Having  reached  an  age  in 
which  he  saw  nothing  before  him  but  the  gulf  of  the  grave, 
he  spoke  about  himself  as  if  the  subject  of  his  talk  were  Mark 
Antony  or  Cleopatra. 

"My  young  friend" — he  did  me  the  honor  to  address  me, 
for  it  was  I  who  made  the  last  remark  in  this  discussion — 
"your  reflections  make  me  think  of  a  certain  evening,  in  the 
course  of  which  one  of  my  friends  conducted  himself  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  lose  forever  the  respect  of  his  wife.  Now,  in 
those  days  a  woman  could  take  vengeance  with  marvelous 
facility — for  it  was  always  a  -word  and  a  blow.  The  married 
couple  I  speak  of  were  particular  in  sleeping  on  separate 
beds,  with  their  head  under  the  arch  of  the  same  alcove.  They 
came  home  one  night  from  a  brilliant  ball  given  by  the  Comte 
de  Mercy,  ambassador  of  the  emperor.  The  husband  had 
lost  a  considerable  sum  at  play,  so  he  was  completely  absorbed 
in  thought.  He  had  to  pay  a  debt,  the  next  day,  of  six  thou- 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  187 

sand  crowns! — and  you  will  recollect,  Noce,  that  a  hundred 
crowns  couldn't  be  made  up  from  scraping  together  the  re- 
sources of  ten  such  musketeers.  The  young  woman,  as  gen- 
erally happens  under  such  circumstances,  was  in  a  gale  of  high 
spirits.  'Give  to  the  marquis/  she  said  to  a  valet  de  chambre, 
'all  that  he  requires  for  his  toilet.'  In  those  days  people 
dressed  for  the  night.  These  extraordinary  words  did  not 
rouse  the  husband  from  his  mood  of  abstraction,  and  then 
madame,  assisted  by  her  maid,  began  to  indulge  in  a  thousand 
coquetries.  'Was  my  appearance  to  your  taste  this  evening?' 
'You  are  always  to  my  taste/  answered  the  marquis,  continu- 
ing to  stride  up  and  down  the  room.  'You  are  very  gloomy ! 
Come  and  talk  to  me,  you  frowning  lover/  said  she,  placing 
herself  before  him  in  the  most  seductive  negligee.  But  you 
can  have  no  idea  of  the  enchantments  of  the  marchioness 
unless  you  had  known  her.  Ah!  you  have  seen  her,  Noce!" 
he  said  with  a  mocking  smile.  "Finally,  in  spite  of  all  her 
allurements  and  beauty,  the  marchioness  was  lost  sight  of 
amid  thoughts  of  the  six  thousand  crowns  which  this  fool  of 
a  husband  could  not  get  out  of  his  head,  and  she  went  to  bed 
all  alone.  But  women  always  have  one  resource  left ;  so  that 
the  moment  that  the  good  husband  made  as  though  he  would 
get  into  his  bed,  the  marchioness  cried,  'Oh,  how  cold  I  am !' 
'So  am  I/  he  replied.  'How  is.  it  that  the  servants  have  not 
warmed  our  beds?' — And  then  I  rang." 

The  Comte  de  Noce  could  not  help  laughing,  and  the  old 
marquis,  quite  put  out  of  countenance,  stopped  short. 

Not  to  divine  the  desire  of  a  wife,  to  snore  while  she 
lies  awake,  to  be  in  Siberia  when  she  is  in  the  tropics,  these 
arc  the  slighter  disadvantages  of  twin  beds.  What  risks  will 
not  a  passionate  woman  run  when  she  becomes  aware  that 
her  husband  is  a  heavy  sleeper  ? 

I  am  indebted  to  Beyle  for  an  Italian  anecdote,  to  which 
his  dry  and  sarcastic  manner  lent  an  infinite  charm,  as  he  told 
me  this  tale  of  feminine  hardihood. 

Ludovico  had  his  palace  at  one  end  of  the  town  of  Milan ;  at 
the  other  was  that  of  the  Countess  of  Pernetti.  At  midnight, 


188  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

on  a  certain  occasion,  Ludovico  resolved,  at  the  peril  of  his 
life,  to  make  a  rash  expedition  for  the  sake  of  gazing  for  one 
second  on  the  face  he  adored,  and  accordingly  appeared  as  if 
by  magic  in  the  palace  of  his  well-beloved.  He  reached  the 
nuptial  chamber.  Elisa  Pernetti,  whose  heart  most  probably 
shared  the  desire  of  her  lover,  heard  the  sound  of  his  foot- 
steps and  divined  his  intention.  She  saw  through  the  walls 
of  her  chamber  a  countenance  glowing  with  love.  She  rose 
from  her  marriage  bed,  light  as  a  shadow  she  glided  to  the 
threshold  of  her  door,  with  a  look  she  embraced  him,  she 
seized  his  hand,  she  made  a  sign  to  him,  she  drew  him  in. 

"But  he  will  kill  you  !"  said  he. 

"Perhaps  so." 

But  all  this  amounts  to  nothing.  Let  us  grant  that  most 
husbands  sleep  lightly.  Let  us  grant  that  they  sleep  without 
snoring,  and  that  they  always  discern  the  degree  of  latitude  at 
which  their  wives  are  to  be  found.  Moreover,  all  the  reasons 
which  we  have  given  why  twin  beds  should  be  condemned, 
let  us  consider  but  dust  in  the  balance.  But,  after  all,  a  final 
consideration  would  make  us  also  proscribe  the  use  of  beds 
ranged  within  the  limits  of  the  same  alcove. 

To  a  man  placed  in  the  position  of  a  husband,  there  are 
circumstances  which  have  led  us  to  consider  the  nuptial  couch 
as  an  actual  means  of  defence.  For  it  is  only  in  bed  that  a 
man  can  tell  whether  his  wife's  love  is  increasing  or  decreas- 
ing. It  is  the  conjugal  barometer.  Now  to  sleep  in  twin  beds 
is  to  wish  for  ignorance.  You  will  understand,  when  we  come 
to  treat  of  civil  war  (see  Part  Third)  of  what  extreme  useful- 
ness a  bed  is  and  how  many  secrets  a  wife  reveals  in  bed,  with- 
out knowing  it. 

Do  not  therefore  allow  yourself  to  be  led  astray  by  the 
specious  good  nature  of  such  an  institution  as  that  of  twin 
beds. 

It  is  the  silliest,  the  most  treacherous,  the  most  dangerous 
in  the  world.  Shame  and  anathema  to  him  who  conceived  it ! 

But  in  proportion  as  this  method  is  pernicious  in  the  case 
of  young  married  people,  it  is  salutary  and  advantageous  for 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  189 

those  who  have  reached  the  twentieth  year  of  married  life. 
Husband  and  wife  can  then  most  conveniently  indulge  their 
duets  of  snoring.  It  will,  moreover,  be  more  convenient  for 
their  various  maladies,  whether  rheumatism,  obstinate  gout,  or 
even  the  taking  of  a  pinch  of  snuff;  and  the  cough  or  the 
snore  will  not  in  any  respect  prove  a  greater  hindrance  than  it 
is  found  to  be  in  any  other  arrangement. 

We  have  not  thought  it  necessary  to  mention  the  exceptional 
cases  which  authorize  a  husband  to  resort  to  twin  beds.  How- 
ever, the  opinion  of  Bonaparte  was  that  when  once  there  had 
taken  place  an  interchange  of  life  and  breath  (such  are  his 
words),  nothing,  not  even  sickness,  should  separate  married 
people.  This  point  is  so  delicate  that  it  is  not  possible  here  to 
treat  it  methodically. 

Certain  narrow  minds  will  object  that  there  are  certain 
patriarchal  families  whose  legislation  of  love  is  inflexible  in 
the  matter  of  two  beds  and  an  alcove,  and  that,  by  this  arrange- 
ment, they  have  been  happy  from  generation  to  generation. 
But,  the  only  answer  that  the  author  vouchsafes  to  this  is  that 
he  knows  a  great  many  respectable  people  who  pass  their  lives 
in  watching  games  of  billiards. 

This  method  of  sleeping,  therefore,  must  be  considered  once 
for  all  as  proscribed  for  all  intelligent  people,  and  we  proceed 
to  discuss  the  second  way  in  which  the  nuptial  couch  may  be 
organized. 

2.  SEPARATE  BOOMS. 

There  cannot  be  found  in  Europe  a  hundred  husbands  of 
each  nation  sufficiently  versed  in  the  science  of  marriage,  or  if 
you  like,  of  life,  to  be  able  to  dwell  in  an  apartment  separate 
from  that  of  their  wives. 

The  power  of  putting  this  system  into  practice  shows  the 
highest  degree  of  intellectual  and  masculine  force. 

The  married  couple  who  dwell  in  separate  apartments  have 
become  either  divorced,  or  have  attained  to  the  discovery  of 
happiness.  They  either  abominate  or  adore  each  other.  We  will 
not  undertake  to  detail  here  the  admirable  precepts  which 


190  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

may  be  deduced  from  this  theory  whose  end  is  to  make  con- 
stancy and  fidelity  easy  and  delightful.  It  may  be  sufficient 
to  declare  that  by  this  system  alone  two  married  people  can 
realize  the  dream  of  many  noble  souls.  This  will  be  under- 
stood by  all  the  faithful. 

As  for  the  profane,  their  curious  questionings  will  be  suffi- 
ciently answered  by  the  remark  that  the  object  of  this  institu- 
tion is  to  give  happiness  to  one  woman.  Which  among  them 
will  be  willing  to  deprive  general  society  of  any  share  in  the 
talents  with  which  they  think  themselves  endowed,  to  the 
advantage  of  one  woman?  Nevertheless,  the  rendering  of 
his  mistress  happy  gives  any  one  the  fairest  title  to  glory 
which  can  be  earned  in  this  valley  of  Jehosaphat,  since,  ac- 
cording to  Genesis,  Eve  was  not  satisfied  even  with  a  terres- 
trial Paradise.  She  desired  to  taste  the  forbidden  fruit,  the 
eternal  emblem  of  adultery. 

But  there  is  an  insurmountable  reason  why  we  should 
refrain  from  developing  this  brilliant  theory.  It  would  cause 
a  digression  from  the  main  theme  of  our  work.  In  the  situa- 
tion which  we  have  supposed  to  be  that  of  a  married  estab- 
lishment, a  man  who  is  sufficiently  unwise  to  sleep  apart  from 
his  wife  deserves  no  pity  for  the  disaster  which  he  himself 
invites. 

Let  us  then  resume  our  subject.  Every  man  is  not  strong 
enough  to  undertake  to  occupy  an  apartment  separate  from 
that  of  his  wife;  although  any  man  might  derive  as  much 
good  as  evil  from  the  difficulties  which  exist  in  using  but 
one  bed. 

We  now  proceed  to  solve  the  difficulties  which  superficial 
minds  may  detect  in  this  method,  for  which  our  predilection 
is  manifest. 

But  this  paragraph,  which  is  in  some  sort  a  silent  one,  inas- 
much as  we  leave  it  to  the  commentaries  which  will  be  made 
in  more  than  one  home,  may  serve  as  a  pedestal  for  the  impos- 
ing figure  of  Lycurgus,  that  ancient  legislator,  to  whom  the 
Greeks  are  indebted  for  their  profoundest  thoughts  on  the 
subject  of  marriage.  May  his  system  be  understood  by  future 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  191 

generations !  And  if  modern  manners  are  too  much  given  to 
softness  to  adopt  his  system  in  its  entirety,  they  may  at  least 
be  imbued  with  the  robust  spirit  of  this  admirable  code. 

3.  ONE  BED  FOE  BOTH. 

On  a  night  in  December,  Frederick  the  Great  looked  up  at 
the  sky,  whose  stars  were  twinkling  with  that  clear  and  living 
light  which  presages  heavy  frost,  and  he  exclaimed,  "This 
weather  will  result  in  a  great  many  soldiers  to  Prussia." 

The  king  expressed  here,  by  a  single  phrase,  the  principal 
disadvantage  which  results  from  the  constant  living  together 
of  married  people.  Although  it  may  be  permitted  to  Napo- 
leon and  to  Frederick  to  estimate  the  value  of  a  woman  more 
or  less  according  to  the  number  of  her  children,  yet  a  husband 
of  talent  ought,  according  to  the  maxims  of  the  thirteenth 
Meditation,  to  consider  child-begetting  merely  as  a  means  of 
defence,  and  it  is  for  him  to  know  to  what  extent  it  may  take 
place. 

The  observation  leads  into  mysteries  from  which  the 
physiological  Muse  recoils.  She  has  been  quite  willing  to 
enter  the  nuptial  chambers  while  they  are  occupied,  but  she  is 
a  virgin  and  a  prude,  and  there  are  occasions  on  which  she 
retires.  For,  since  it  is  at  this  passage  in  my  book  that  the 
Muse  is  inclined  to  put  her  white  hands  before  her  eyes  so  as 
to  see  nothing,  like  the  young  girl  looking  through  the  inter- 
stices of  her  tapering  fingers,  she  will  take  advantage  of  this 
attack  of  modesty,  to  administer  a  reprimand  to  our  manners. 
In  England  the  nuptial  chamber  is  a  sacred  place.  The  mar- 
ried couple  alone  have  the  privilege  of  entering  it,  and  more 
than  one  lady,  we  are  told,  makes  her  bed  herself.  Of  all  the 
crazes  which  reign  beyond  the  sea,  why  should  the  only  one 
which  we  despise  be  precisely  that,  whose  grace  and  mystery 
ought  undoubtedly  to  meet  the  approval  of  all  tender  souls 
on  this  continent?  Refined  women  condemn  the  immodesty 
with  which  strangers  are  introduced  into  the  sanctuary  of 
marriage.  As  for  us,  who  have  energetically  anathematized 


192  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

worsen  who  walk  abroad  at  the  time  when  they  expect  soon  to 
be  confined,  our  opinion  cannot  be  doubted.  If  we  wish  the 
celibate  to  respect  marriage,  married  people  ought  to  have 
some  regard  for  the  inflammability  of  bachelors. 

To  sleep  every  night  with  one's  wife  may  seem,  we  con- 
fess, an  act  of  the  most  insolent  folly. 

Many  husbands  are  inclined  to  ask  how  a  man,  who  desires 
to  bring  marriage  to  perfection,  dare  prescribe  to  a  husband 
a  rule  of  conduct  which  would  be  fatal  in  a  lover. 

Nevertheless,  such  is  the  decision  of  a  doctor  of  arts  and 
sciences  conjugal. 

In  the  first  place,  without  making  a  resolution  never  to 
sleep  by  himself,  this  is  the  only  course  left  to  a  husband, 
since  we  have  demonstrated  the  dangers  of  the  preceding  sys- 
tems. We  must  now  try  to  prove  that  this  last  method  yields 
more  advantage  and  less  disadvantage  than  the  two  preced- 
ing methods,  that  is,  so  far  as  relates  to  the  critical  posi- 
tion in  which  a  conjugal  establishment  stands. 

Our  observations  on  the  twin  beds  ought  to  have  taught 
husbands  that  they  should  always  be  strung  into  the  same 
degree  of  fervor  as  that  which  prevails  in  the  harmonious 
organization  of  their  wives.  Now  it  seems  to  us  that  this 
perfect  equality  in  feelings  would  naturally  be  created  under 
the  white  -<Egis,  which  spreads  over  both  of  them  its  protect- 
ing sheet;  this  at  the  outset  is  an  immense  advantage,  and 
really  nothing  is  easier  to  verify  at  any  moment  than  the 
degree  of  love  and  expansion  which  a  woman  reaches  when 
the  same  pillow  receives  the  heads  of  both  spouses. 

Man  [we  speak  now  of  the  species]  walks  about  with  a 
memorandum  always  totalized,  which  shows  distinctly  and 
without  error  the  amount  of  passion  which  he  carries  within 
him.  This  mysterious  gynometer  is  traced  in  the  hollow  of 
the  hand,  for  the  hand  is  really  that  one  of  our  members 
which  bears  the  impress  most  plainly  of  our  characters. 
Chirology  is  a  fifth  work  which  I  bequeath  to  my  successors, 
for  I  am  contented  here  to  make  known  but  the  elements  of 
this  interesting  science. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  193 

The  hand  is  the  essential  organ  of  touch.  Touch  is  the 
sense  which  very,  nearly  takes  the  place  of  all  the  others,  and 
which  alone  is  indispensable.  Since  the  hand  alone  can  carry 
out  all  that  a  man  desires,  it  is  to  an  extent  action  itself.  The 
sum  total  of  our  vitality  passes  through  it ;  and  men  of  power- 
ful intellects  are  usually  remarkable  for  their  shapely  hands, 
perfection  in  that  respect  being  a  distinguishing  trait  of  their 
high  calling. 

Jesus  Christ  performed  all  His  miracles  by  the  imposition  of 
hands.  The  hand  is  the  channel  through  which  life  passes.  It 
reveals  to  the  physician  all  the  mysteries  of  our  organism.  It 
exhales  more  than  any  other  part  of  our  bodies  the  nervous 
fluid,  or  that  unknown  substance,  which  for  want  of  another 
term  we  style  will.  The  eye  can  discover  the  mood  of  our  soul, 
but  the  hand  betrays  at  the  same  time  the  secrets  of  the  body 
and  those  of  the  soul.  We  can  acquire  the  faculty  of  imposing 
silence  on  our  eyes,  on  our  lips,  on  our  brows,  and  on  our  fore- 
head; but  the  hand  never  dissembles  and  nothing  in  our  fea- 
tures can  be  compared  to  the  richness  of  its  expression.  The 
heat  and  cold  which  it  feels  in  such  delicate  degrees  often 
escape  the  notice  of  other  senses  in  thoughtless  people;  but  a 
man  knows  how  to  distinguish  them,  however  little  time  he 
may  have  bestowed  in  studying  the  anatomy  of  sentiments  and 
the  affairs  of  human  life.  Thus  the  hand  has  a  thousand  ways 
of  becoming  dry,  moist,  hot,  cold,  soft,  rough,  unctuous.  The 
hand  palpitates,  becomes  supple,  grows  hard  and  again  is  soft- 
ened. In  fine  it  presents  a  phenomenon  which  is  inexplicable 
so  that  one  is  tempted  to  call  it  the  incarnation  of  thought.  It 
causes  the  despair  of  the  sculptor  and  the  painter  when  they 
wish  to  express  the  changing  labyrinth  of  its  mysterious  linea- 
ments. To  stretch  out  your  hand  to  a  man  is  to  save  him,  it 
serves  as  a  ratification  of  the  sentiments  we  express.  The 
sorcerers  of  every  age  have  tried  to  read  our  future  destinies  in 
those  lines  which  have  nothing  fanciful  in  them,  but  absolutely 
correspond  with  the  principles  of  each  one's  life  and  character. 
When  she  charges  a  man  with  want  of  tact,  which  is  merely 
touch,  a  woman  condemns  him  without  hope.  We  use  the  ex- 


194  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

pressions,  the  "Hand  of  Justice/'  the  "Hand  of  God;"  and  a 
coup  de  main  means  a  bold  undertaking. 

To  understand  and  recognize  the  hidden  feelings  by  the 
atmospheric  variations  of  the  hand,  which  a  woman  almost 
always  yields  without  distrust,  is  a  study  less  unfruitful  and 
surer  than  that  of  physiognomy. 

In  this  way  you  will  be  able,  if  you  acquire  this  science,  to 
wield  vast  power,  and  to  find  a  clue  which  will  guide  you 
through  the  labyrinth  of  the  most  impenetrable  heart.  This 
will  render  your  living  together  free  from  very  many  mis- 
takes, and,  at  the  same  time,  rich  in  the  acquisition  of  many  a 
treasure. 

Buffon  and  certain  physiologists  affirm  that  our  members 
are  more  completely  exhausted  by  desire  than  by  the  most  keen 
enjoyments.  And  really,  does  not  desire  constitute  of  itself  a 
sort  of  intuitive  possession?  Does  it  not  stand  in  the  same 
relation  to  visible  action,  as  those  incidents  in  our  mental  life, 
in  which  we  take  part  in  a  dream,  stand  to  the  incidents  of  our 
actual  life  ?  This  energetic  apprehension  of  things,  does  it  not 
call  into  being  an  internal  emotion  more  powerful  than  that 
of  the  external  action?  If  our  gestures  are  only  the  accom- 
plishment of  things  already  enacted  by  our  thought,  you  may 
easily  calculate  how  desires  frequently  entertained  must  neces- 
sarily consume  the  vital  fluids.  But  the  passions  which  are 
no  more  than  the  aggregation  of  desires,  do  they  not  furrow 
with  the  wrinkle  of  their  lightning  the  faces  of  the  ambitious, 
of  gamblers,  for  instance,  and  do  they  not  wear  out  their  bodies 
with  marvelous  swiftness? 

These  observations,  therefore,  necessarily  contain  the  germs 
of  a  mysterious  system  equally  favored  by  Plato  and  by  Epi- 
curus; we  will  leave  it  for  you  to  meditate  upon,  enveloped 
as  it  is  in  the  veil  which  enshrouds  Egyptian  statues. 

But  the  greatest  mistake  that  a  man  commits  is  to  believe 
that  love  can  belong  only  to  those  fugitive  moments  which, 
according  to  the  magnificent  expression  of  Bossuet,  are  like 
to  the  nails  scattered  over  a  wall :  to  the  eye  they  appear 
numerous;  but  when  they  are  collected  they  make  but  a 
handful. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  195 

Love  consists  almost  always  in  conversation.  •  There  are 
few  things  inexhaustible  in  a  lover:  goodness,  gracefulness 
and  delicacy.  To  feel  everything,  to  divine  everything,  to 
anticipate  everything;  to  reproach  without  bringing  affliction 
upon  a  tender  heart;  to  make  a  present  without  pride;  to 
double  the  value  of  a  certain  action  by  the  way  in  which  it  is 
done;  to  flatter  rather  by  actions  than  by  words;  to  make 
oneself  understood  rather  than  to  produce  a  vivid  impression ; 
to  touch  without  striking;  to  make  a  look  and  the  sound  of 
the  voice  produce  the  effect  of  a  caress;  never  to  produce  em- 
barrassment; to  amuse  without  offending  good  taste;  always 
to  touch  the  heart;  to  speak  to  the  soul — this  is  all  that 
women  ask.  They  will  abandon  all  the  delights  of  all  the 
nights  of  Messalina,  if  only  they  may  live  with  a  being  who 
will  yield  them  those  caresses  of  the  soul,  for  which  they  are 
so  eager,  and  which  cost  nothing  to  men  if  only  they  have  a 
little  consideration. 

This  outline  comprises  a  great  portion  of  such  secrets  as 
belong  to  the  nuptial  couch.  There  are  perhaps  some  witty 
people  who  may  take  this  long  definition  of  politeness  for  a 
description  of  love,  while  in  any  case  it  is  no  more  than  a 
recommendation  to  treat  your  wife  as  you  would  treat  the 
minister  on  whose  good-will  depends  your  promotion  to  the 
post  you  covet. 

I  hear  numberless  voices  crying  out  that  this  book  is  a 
special  advocate  for  women  and  neglects  the  cause  of  men ; 

That  the  majority  of  women  are  unworthy  of  these  delicate 
attentions  and  would  abuse  them ; 

That  there  are  women  given  to  licentiousness  who  would 
not  lend  themselves  to  very  much  of  what  they  would  call 
mystification ; 

:     That  women  are  nothing  but  vanity  and  think  of  nothing 
but  dress; 

That  they  have  notions  which  are  truly  unreasonable ; 

That  they  are  very  often  annoyed  by  an  attention ; 

That  they  are  fools,  they  understand  nothing,  are  worth 
nothing,  etc. 


196  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

In  answer  to  all  these  clamors  we  will  write  here  the*  fol- 
lowing phrase,  which,  placed  between  two  spaces,  will  per- 
haps have  the  air  of  a  thought,  to  quote  an  expression  of  Beau- 
marchais. 

LXIV. 

A  wife  is  to  her  husband  just  what  her  husband  has  made 
her. 

The  reasons  why  the  single  bed  must  triumph  over  the 
other  two  methods  of  organizing  the  nuptial  couch  are  as 
follows:  In  the  single  couch  we  have  a  faithful  interpreter 
to  translate  with  profound  truthfulness  the  sentiments  of  a 
woman,  to  render  her  a  spy  over  herself,  to  keep  her  at  the 
height  of  her  amorous  temperature,  never  to  leave  her,  to 
have  the  power  of  hearing  her  breathe  in  slumber,  and  thus 
to  avoid  all  the  nonsense  which  is  the  ruin  of  so  many  mar- 
riages. 

As  it  is  impossible  to  receive  benefits  without  paying  for 
them,  you  are  bound  to  learn  how  to  sleep  gracefully,  to  pre- 
serve your  dignity  under  the  silk  handkerchief  that  wraps 
your  head,  to  be  polite,  to  see  that  your  slumber  is  light,  not 
to  cough  too  much,  and  to  imitate  those  modern  authors  who 
write  more  prefaces  than  books. 


MEDITATION  XVIII. 

OF  MARITAL  KEVOLUTIONS. 

The  time  always  comes  in  which  nations  and  women  even 
the  most  stupid  perceive  that  their  innocence  is  being  abused. 
The  cleverest  policy  may  for  a  long  time  proceed  in  a  course 
of  deceit;  but  it  would  be  very  happy  for  men  if  they  could 
carry  on  their  deceit  to  an  infinite  period;  a  vast  amount  of 
bloodshed  would  then  be  avoided,  both  in  nations  and  in 
families. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  197 

Nevertheless,  we  hope  that  the  means  of  defence  put  forth 
in  the  preceding  Meditations  will  be  sufficient  to  deliver  a  cer- 
tain number  of  husbands  from  the  clutches  of  the  Minotaur ! 
You  must  agree  with  the  doctor  that  many  a  love  blindly 
entered  upon  perishes  under  the  treatment  of  hygiene  or 
dies  away,  thanks  to  marital  policy.  Yes  [what  a  consoling 
mistake !]  many  a  lover  will  be  driven  away  by  personal 
efforts,  many  a  husband  will  learn  how  to  conceal  under  an 
impenetrable  veil  the  machinery  of  his  machiavelism,  and 
many  a  man  will  have  better  success  than  the  old  philoso- 
pher who  cried:  Nolo  coronari! 

But  we  are  here  compelled  to  acknowledge  a  mournful 
truth.  Despotism  has  its  moments  of  secure  tranquillity.  Her 
reign  seems  like  the  hour  which  precedes  the  tempest,  and 
whose  silence  enables  the  traveler,  stretched  upon  the  faded 
grass,  to  hear  at  a  mile's  distance,  the  song  of  the  cicada.  Some 
fine  morning  an  honest  woman,  who  will  be  imitated  by  a 
great  portion  of  our  own  women,  discerns  with  an  eagle  eye 
the  clever  manoeuvres  which  have  rendered  her  the  victim  of 
an  infernal  policy.  She  is  at  first  quite  furious  at  having 
for  so  long  a  time  preserved  her  virtue.  At  what  age,  in  what 
day,  does  this  terrible  revolution  occur?  This  question  of 
chronology  depends  entirely  upon  the  genius  of  each  hus- 
band; for  it  is  not  the  vocation  of  all  to  put  in  practice  with 
the  same  talent  the  precepts  of  our  conjugal  gospel. 

"A  man  must  have  very*  little  love,"  the  mystified  wife  will 
exclaim,  "to  enter  upon  such  calculations  as  these !  What ! 
From  the  first  day  I  have  been  to  him  perpetually  an  object 
of  suspicion !  It  is  monstrous,  even  a  woman  would  be  incapa- 
ble of  such  artful  and  cruel  treachery !" 

This  is  the  question.  Each  husband  will  be  able  to  under- 
stand the  variations  of  this  complaint  which  will  be  made 
in  accordance  with  the  character  of  the  young  Fury,  of  whom 
he  has  made  a  companion. 

A  woman  by  no  means  loses  her  head  under  these  circum- 
stances; she  holds  her  tongue  and  dissembles.  Her  venge- 
ance will  be  concealed.  Only  you  will  have  some  symptoms 


198  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

of  hesitation  to  contend  with  on  the  arrival  of  the  crisis, 
which  we  presume  you  to  have  reached  on  the  expiration  of 
the  honeymoon;  but  you  will  also  have  to  contend  against  a 
resolution.  She  has  determined  to  revenge  herself.  From 
that  day,  so  far  as  regards  you,  her  mask,  like  her  heart,  has 
turned  to  bronze.  Formerly  you  were  an  object  of  indiffer- 
ence to  her;  you  are  becoming  by  degrees  absolutely  insup- 
portable. The  Civil  War  commences  only  at  the  moment 
in  which,  like  the  drop  of  water  which  makes  the  full  glass 
overflow,  some  incident,  whose  more  or  less  importance  we 
find  difficulty  in  determining,  has  rendered,  you  odious. 
The  lapse  of  time  which  intervenes  between  this  last  hour, 
the  limit  of  your  good  understanding,  and  the  day  when 
your  wife  becomes  cognizant  of  your  artifices,  is  nevertheless 
quite  sufficient  to  permit  you  to  institute  a  series  of  defensive 
operations,  which  we  will  now  explain. 

Up  to  this  time  you  have  protected  your  honor  solely  by  the 
exertion  of  a  power  entirely  occult.  Hereafter  the  wheels 
of  your  conjugal  machinery  must  be  set  going  in  sight  of 
every  one.  In  this  case,  if  you  would  prevent  a  crime  you 
must  strike  a  blow.  You  have  begun  by  negotiating,  you 
must  end  by  mounting  your  horse,  sabre  in  hand,  like  a 
Parisian  gendarme.  You  must  make  your  horse  prance,  you 
must  brandish  your  sabre,  you  must  shout  strenuously,  and 
you  must  endeavor  to  calm  the  revolt  without  wounding  any- 
body. 

Just  as  the  author  has  found  a  means  of  passing  from 
occult  methods  to  methods  that  are  patent,  so  it  is  necessary 
for  the  husband  to  justify  the  sudden  change  in  his  tactics; 
for  in  marriage,  as  in  literature,  art  consists  entirely  in  the 
gracefulness  of  the  transitions.  This  is  of  the  highest  impor- 
tance for  you.  What  a  frightful  position  you  will  occupy  if 
your  wife  has  reason  to  complain  of  your  conduct  at  this 
moment,  which  is,  perhaps,  the  most  critical  of  your  whole 
married  life ! 

You  must  therefore  find  some  means  or  other  to  justify 
the  secret  tyranny  of  your  initial  policy;  some  means  which 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MAKRIAGE  199 

will  prepare  the  mind  of  your  wife  for  the  severe  measures 
which  you  are  about  to  take;  some  means  which  so  far  from 
forfeiting  her  esteem  will  conciliate  her;  some  means  which 
will  gain  her  pardon,  which  will  restore  some  little  of  that 
charm  of  yours,  by  which  you  won  her  love  before  your  mar- 
riage. 

"But  what  policy  is  it  that  demands  this  course  of  action? 
Is  there  such  a  policy?" 

Certainly  there  is. 

But  what  address,  what  tact,  what  histrionic  art  must  a 
husband  possess  in  order  to  display  the  mimic  wealth  of  that 
treasure  which  we  are  about  to  reveal  to  him!  In  order  to 
counterfeit  the  passion  whose  fire  is  to  make  you  a  new  man  in 
the  presence  of  your  wife,  you  will  require  all  the  cunning  of 
Talma. 

This  passion  is  JEALOUSY. 

"My  husband  is  jealous.  He  has  been  so  from  the  begin- 
ning of  our  marriage.  He  has  concealed  this  feeling  from 
me  by  his  usual  refined  delicacy.  Does  he  love  me  still?  I 
am  going  to  do  as  I  like  with  him !" 

Such  are  the  discoveries  which  a  woman  is  bound  to  make, 
one  after  another,  in  accordance  with  the  charming  scenes  of 
the  comedy  which  you  are  enacting  for  your  amusement ;  and 
a  man  of  the  world  must  be  an  actual  fool,  if  he  fails  in  mak- 
ing a  woman  believe  that  which  flatters  her. 

With  what  perfection  of  hypocrisy  must  you  arrange,  step 
by  step,  your  hypocritical  behavior  so  as  to  rouse  the  curi- 
osity of  your  wife,  to  engage  her  in  a  new  study,  and  to  lead 
her  astray  among  the  labyrinths  of  your  thought ! 

Ye  sublime  actors !  Do  ye  divine  the  diplomatic  reticence, 
the  gestures  of  artifice,  the  veiled  words,  the  looks  of  double 
moaning  which  some  evening  may  induce  your  wife  to  attempt 
the  capture  of  your  secret  thoughts? 

Ah!  to  laugh  in  your  sleeve  while  you  are  exhibiting  the 
fierceness  of  a  tiger;  neither  to  lie  nor  to  tell  the  truth; 
to  comprehend  the  capricious  mood  of  a  woman,  and  yet  to 
make  her  believe  that  she  controls  you,  while  you  intend  to 


200  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

bind  her  with  a  collar  of  iron !  0  comedy  that  has  no  audi- 
ence, which  yet  is  played  by  one  heart  before  another  heart  and 
where  both  of  you  applaud  because  both  of  you  think  that  you 
have  obtained  success! 

She  it  is  who  will  tell  you  that  you  are  jealous,  who  will 
point  out  to  you  that  she  knows  you  better  than  you  know 
yourself,  who  will  prove  to  you  the  uselessness  of  your  arti- 
fices and  who  perhaps  will  defy  you.  She  triumphs  in  the 
excited  consciousness  of  the  superiority  which  she  thinks  she 
possesses  over  you;  you  of  course  are  ennobled  in  her  eyes; 
for  she  finds  your  conduct  quite  'natural.  The  only  thing 
she  feels  is  that  your  want  of  confidence  was  useless;  if  she 
wished  to  betray,  who  could  hinder  her  ? 

Then,  some  evening,  you  will  burst  into  a  passion,  and,  as 
some  trifle  affords  you  a  pretext,  you  will  make  a  scene,  in  the 
course  of  which  your  anger  will  make  you  divulge  the  secret 
of  your  distress.  And  here  comes  in  the  promulgation  of  our 
new  code. 

Have  no  fear  that  a  woman  is  going  to  trouble  herself 
about  this.  She  needs  your  jealousy,  she  rather  likes  your 
severity.  This  comes  from  the  fact  that  in  the  first  place  she 
finds  there  a  justification  for  her  own  conduct ;  and  then  she 
finds  immense  satisfaction  in  playing  before  other  people  the 
part  of  a  victim.  What  delightful  expressions  of  sympathy 
will  she  receive!  Afterwards  she  will  use  this  as  a  weapon 
against  you,  in  the  expectation  thereby  of  leading  you  into  a 
pitfall. 

She  sees  in  your  conduct  the  source  of  a  thousand  more 
pleasures  in  her  future  treachery,  and  her  imagination  smiles 
at  all  the  barricades  with  which  you  surround  her,  for  will 
she  not  have  the  delight  of  surmounting  them  all  ? 

Women  understand  better  than  we  do  the  art  of  analyzing 
the  two  human  feelings,  which  alternately  form  their  weapons 
of  attack,  or  the  weapons  of  which  they  are  victims.  They 
have  the  instinct  of  love,  because  it  is  their  whole  life,  and  of 
jealousy,  because  it  is  almost  the  only  means  by  which  they 
can  control  us.  Within  them  jealousy  is  a  genuine  sentiment 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  201 

and  springs  from  the  instinct  of  self-preservation;  it  is  vital 
to  their  life  or  death.  But  with  men  this  feeling  is  absolutely 
absurd  when  it  does  not  subserve  some  further  end. 

To  entertain  feelings  of  jealousy  towards  the  woman  you 
love,  is  to  start  from  a  position  founded  on  vicious  reasoning. 
We  are  loved,  or  we  are  not  loved ;  if  a  man  entertains  jealousy 
under  either  of  these  circumstances,  it  is  a  feeling  absolutely 
unprofitable  to  him ;  jealousy  may  be  explained  as  fear,  fear  in 
love.  But  to  doubt  one's  wife  is  to  doubt  one's  self. 

To  be  jealous  is  to  exhibit,  at  once,  the  height  of  egotism, 
the  error  of  amour-propre,  the  vexation  of  morbid  vanity. 
Women  rather  encourage  this  ridiculous  feeling,  because  by 
means  of  it  they  can  obtain  cashmere  shawls,  silver  toilet  sets, 
diamonds,  which  for  them  mark  the  high  thermometer  mark 
of  their  power.  Moreover,  unless  you  appear  blinded  by  jeal- 
ousy, your  wife  will  not  keep  on  her  guard ;  for  there  is  no  pit- 
fall which  she  does  not  distrust,  excepting  that  which  she 
makes  for  herself. 

Thus  the  wife  becomes  the  easy  dupe  of  a  husband  who  is 
clever  enough  to  give  to  the  inevitable  revolution,  which  comes 
sooner  or  later,  the  advantageous  results  we  have  indicated. 

You  must  import  into  your  establishment  that  remarkable 
phenomenon  whose  existence  is  demonstrated  in  the  asymptotes 
of  geometry.  Your  wife  will  always  try  to  minotaurize  you 
without  being  successful.  Like  those  knots  which  are  never 
so  tight  as  when  one  tries  to  loosen  them,  she  will  struggle  to 
the  advantage  of  your  power  over  her,  while  she  believes  that 
she  is  struggling  for  her  independence. 

The  highest  degree  of  good  play  on  the  part  of  a  prince  lies 
in  persuading  his  people  that  he  goes  to  war  for  them,  while 
all  the  time  he  is  causing  them  to  be  killed  for  his  throne. 

But  many  husbands  will  find  a  preliminary  difficulty  in  ex- 
ecuting this  plan  of  campaign.  If  your  wife  is  a  woman  of 
profound  dissimulation,  the  question  is,  what  signs  will  indir 
cate  to  her  the  motives  of  your  long  mystification? 

It  will  be  seen  that  our  Meditation  on  the  Custom  House,  as 
well  as  that  on  the  Bed,  has  already  revealed  certain  means  of 


202  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

discerning  the  thought  of  a  woman ;  but  we  make  no  pretence 
in  this  book  of  exhaustively  stating  the  resources  of  human 
wit,  which  are  immeasurable.  Now  here  is  a  proof  of  this.  On 
the  day  of  the  Saturnalia  the  Eomans  discovered  more  features 
in  the  character  of  their  slaves,  in  ten  minutes,  than  they 
would  have  found  out  during  the  rest  of  the  year !  You  ought 
therefore  to  ordain  Saturnalia  in  your  establishment,  and  to 
imitate  Gessler,  who,  when  he  saw  William  Tell  shoot  the 
apple  off  his  son's  head,  was  forced  to  remark,  "Here  is  a  man 
whom  I  must  get  rid  of,  for  he  could  not  miss  his  aim  if  he 
wished  to  kill  me." 

You  understand,  then,  that  if  your  wife  wishes  to  drink 
Eoussillon  wine,  to  eat  mutton  chops,  to  go  out  at  all  hours  and 
to  read  the  encyclopaedia,  you  are  bound  to  take  her  very  seri- 
ously. In  the  first  place,  she  will  begin  to  distrust  you  against 
her  own  wish,  on  seeing  that  your  behavior  towards  her  is 
quite  contrary  to  your  previous  proceedings.  She  will  suppose 
that  you  have  some  ulterior  motive  in  this  change  of  policy, 
and  therefore  all  the  liberty  that  you  give  her  will  make  her 
so  anxious  that  she  cannot  enjoy  it.  As  regards  the  misfor- 
tunes that  this  change  may  bring,  the  future  will  provide  for 
them.  In  a  revolution  the  primary  principle  is  to  exercise  a 
control  over  the  evil  which  cannot  be  prevented  and  to  attract 
the  lightning  by  rods  which  shall  lead  it  to  the  earth. 

And  now  the  last  act  of  the  comedy  is  in  preparation. 

The  lover  who,  from  the  day  when  the  feeblest  of  all  first 
symptoms  shows  itself  in  your  wife  until  the  moment  when  the 
marital  revolution  takes  place,  has  jumped  upon  the  stage, 
either  as  a  material  creature  or  as  a  being  of  the  imagination — 
the  LOVER,  summoned  by  a  sign  from  her,  now  declares :  "Here 
I  am  1" 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  203 

MEDITATION  XIX. 
OP  THE  LOVER. 

We  offer  the  following  maxims  for  your  consideration : 
We  should  despair  of  the  human  race  if  these  maxims  had 
been  made  before  1830 ;  but  they  set  forth  in  so  clear  a  man- 
ner the  agreements  and  difficulties  which  distinguish  you, 
your  wife  and  a  lover;  they  so  brilliantly  describe  what  your 
policy  should  be,  and  demonstrate  to  you  so  accurately  the 
strength  of  the  enemy,  that  the  teacher  has  put  his  amour- 
propre  aside,  and  if  by  chance  you  find  here  a  single  new 
thought,  send  it  to  the  devil,  who  suggested  this  work. 

LXV. 

To  speak  of  love  is  to  make  love. 

LXVI. 

In  a  lover  the  coarsest  desire  always  shows  itself  as  a  burst 
of  honest  admiration. 

LXVIL 

A  lover  has  all  the  good  points  and  all  the  bad  points  which 
are  lacking  in  a  husband. 

LXVIII. 

A  lover  not  only  gives  life  to  everything,  he  makes  one  for- 
get life;  the  husband  does  not  give  life  to  anything. 

LXIX. 

All  the  affected  airs  of  sensibility  which  a  woman  puts  on 
invariably  deceive  a  lover;  and  on  occasions  when  a  husband 
shrugs  his  shoulders,  a  lover  is  in  ecstasies. 

LXX. 

A  lover  betrays  by  his  manner  alone  the  degree  of  intimacy 
in  which  he  stands  to  a  married  woman. 


204  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

LXXI. 

A  woman  does  not  always  know  why  she  is  in  love.  It  is 
rarely  that  a  man  falls  in  love  without  some  selfish  purpose. 
A  husband  should  discover  this  secret  motive  of  egotism,  for 
it  will  be  to  him  the  lever  of  Archimedes. 

LXXII. 

A  clever  husband  never  betrays  his  supposition  that  his 
wife  has  a  lover. 

LXXIIL 

A  lover  submits  to  all  the  caprices  of  a  woman;  and  as  a 
man  is  never  vile  while  he  lies  in  the  arms  of  his  mistress,  he 
will  take  means  to  please  her  that  a  husband  would  recoil 
from. 

LXXIV. 

A  lover  teaches  a  wife  all  that  her  husband  has  concealed 
from  her. 

LXXV. 

All  the  sensations  which  a  woman  yields  to  her  lover,  she 
gives  in  exchange;  they  return  to  her  always  intensified; 
they  are  as  rich  in  what  they  give  as  in  what  they  receive. 
This  is  the  kind  of  commerce  in  which  almost  all  husb.ands 
end  by  being  bankrupt. 

LXXVI. 

A  lover  speaks  of  nothing  to  a  woman  but  that  which  exalts 
her;  while  a  husband,  although  he  may  be  a  loving  one,  can 
never  refrain  from  giving  advice  which  always  has  the  ap- 
pearance of  reprimand. 

LXXVII. 

A  lover  always  starts  from  his  mistress  to  himself;  with  a 
husband  the  contrary  is  the  case. 

LXXVIII. 

A  lover  aiways  has  a  desire  to  appear  amiable.  There  is 
in  this  sentiment  an  element  of  exaggeration  which  leads  to 
ridicule;  study  how  to  take  advantage  of  this. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  205 

LXXIX. 

When  a  crime  has  been  committed  the  magistrate  who  inves- 
tigates the  case  knows  [excepting  in  the  case  of  a  released 
convict  who  commits  murder  in  the  jail]  that  there  are  not 
more  than  five  persons  to  whom  he  can  attribute  the  act.  He 
starts  from  this  premise  a  series  of  conjectures.  The  husband 
should  reason  like  the  judge;  there  are  only  three  people  in 
society  whom  he  can  suspect  when  seeking  the  lover  of  his 
wife. 

LXXX. 

A  lover  is  never  in  the  wrong. 

LXXXI. 

The  lover  of  a  married  woman  says  to  her :  "Madame,  you 
have  need  of  rest.  You  have  to  give  an  example  of  virtue  to 
your  children.  You  have  sworn  to  make  your  husband  happy, 
and  although  he  has  some  faults — he  has  fewer  than  I  have — 
he  is  worthy  of  your  esteem.  Nevertheless  you  have  sacri- 
ficed everything  for  me.  Do  not  let  a  single  murmur  escape 
you ;  for  regret  is  an  offence  which  I  think  worthy  of  a  severer 
penalty  than  the  law  decrees  against  infidelity.  As  a  reward 
for  these  sacrifices,  I  will  bring  you  as  much  pleasure  as  pain." 
And  the  incredible  part  about  it  is,  that  the  lover  triumphs. 
The  form  which  his  speech  takes  carries  it.  He  says  but  one 
phrase:  "I  love  you."  A  lover  is  a  herald  who  proclaims 
either  the  merit,  the  beauty,  or  the  wit  of  a  woman.  What 
does  a  husband  proclaim? 

To  sum  up  all,  the  love  which  a  married  woman  inspires, 
or  that  which  she  gives  back,  is  the  least  creditable  sentiment 
in  the  world ;  in  her  it  is  boundless  vanity ;  in  her  lover  it  ia 
selfish  egotism.  The  lover  of  a  married  woman  contracts  so 
many  obligations,  that  scarcely  three  men  in  a  century  are 
met  with  who  are  capable  of  discharging  them.  He  ought  to 
dedicate  his  whole  life  to  his  mistress,  but  he  always  ends  by 
deserting  her;  both  parties  are  aware  of  this,  and,  from  the 
beginning  of  social  life,  the  one  has  always  been  sublime  in 


206  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

self-sacrifice,  the  other  an  ingrate.  The  infatuation  of  love 
always  rouses  the  pity  of  the  judges  who  pass  sentence  on  it. 
But  where  do  you  find  such  love  genuine  and  constant  ?  What 
power  must  a  husband  possess  to  struggle  successfully  against 
a  man  who  casts  over  a  woman  a  spell  strong  enough  to  make 
her  submit  to  such  misfortunes ! 

We  think,  then,  as  a  general  rule,  a  husband,  if  he  knows 
how  to  use  the  means  of  defence  which  we  have  outlined,  can 
lead  his  wife  up  to  her  twenty-seventh  year,  not  without  her 
having  chosen  a  lover,  but  without  her  having  committed  the 
great  crime.  Here  and  there  we  meet  with  men  endowed  with 
deep  marital  genius,  who  can  keep  their  wives  body  and  soul 
to  themselves  alone  up  to  their  thirtieth  or  thirty-fifth  year; 
but  these  exceptions  cause  a  sort  of  scandal  and  alarm.  The 
phenomenon  scarcely  ever  is  met  with  excepting  in  the  coun- 
try, where  life  is  transparent  and  people  live  in  glass  houses 
and  the  husband  wields  immense  power.  The  miraculous 
assistance  which  men  and  things  thus  give  to  a  husband 
always  vanishes  in  the  midst  of  a  city  whose  population 
reaches  to  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand. 

It  would  therefore  almost  appear  to  be  demonstrated  that 
thirty  is  the  age  of  virtue.  At  that  critical  period,  a  woman 
becomes  so  difficult  to  guard,  that  in  order  successfully  to 
enchain  her  within  the  conjugal  Paradise,  resort  must  be  had 
to  those  last  means  of  defence  which  remain  to  be  described, 
and  which  we  will  reveal  in  the  Essay  on  Police,  the  Art  of 
Returning  Home,  and  Catastrophes. 


MEDITATION  XX. 
ESSAY  ON  POLICE. 

The  police  of  marriage  consist  of  all  those  means  which  are 
given  you  by  law.  manners,  force,  and  stratagem  for  prevent- 
ing your  wife  in  her  attempt  to  accomplish  those  three  acts 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  207 

which  in  some  sort  make  up  the  life  of  love:  writing,  seeiiig 
and  speaking. 

The  police  combine  in  greater  or  less  proportion  the  means 
of  defence  put  forth  in  the  preceding  Meditations.  Instinct 
alone  can  teach  in  what  proportions  and  on  what  occasions 
these  compounded  elements  are  to  be  employed.  The  whole 
system  is  elastic;  a  clever  husband  will  easily  discern  how 
it  must  be  bent,  stretched  or  retrenched.  By  the  aid  of  the 
police  a  man  can  guide  his  wife  to  her  fortieth  year  pure  from 
any  fault. 

We  will  divide  this  treatise  on  Police  into  five  captions : 

1.  OF  MOUSE-TRAPS. 

2.  OF  CORRESPONDENCE. 

3.  OF  SPIES. 

4.  THE  INDEX. 

5.  OF  THE  BUDGET. 

1.  OF  MOUSE-TRAPS. 

In  spite  of  the  grave  crisis  which  the  husband  has  reached, 
we  do  not  suppose  that  the  lover  has  completely  acquired  the 
freedom  of  the  city  in  the  marital  establishment.  Many  hus- 
bands often  suspect  that  their  wives  have  a  lover,  and  yet 
they  do  not  know  upon  which  of  the  five  or  six  chosen  ones 
of  whom  we  have  spoken  their  suspicions  ought  to  fall.  This 
hesitation  doubtless  springs  from  some  moral  infirmity,  to 
whose  assistance  the  professor  must  come. 

Fouche  had  in  Paris  three  or  four  houses  resorted  to  by 
people  of  the  highest  distinction ;  the  mistresses  of  these  dwell- 
ings were  devoted  to  him.  This  devotion  cost  a  great  deal 
of  money  to  the  state.  The  minister  used  to  call  these  gath- 
erings, of  which  nobody  at  the  time  had  any  suspicion,  his 
mouse-traps.  More  than  one  arrest  was  made  at  the  end  of  a 
ball  at  which  the  most  brilliant  people  of  Paris  had  been  made 
accomplices  of  this  oratorian. 

The  act  of  offering  some  fragments  of  roasted  nuts,  in  order 
to  see  your  wife  put  her  white  hand  in  the  trap,  is  certainly 


208  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

exceedingly  delicate,  for  a  woman  is  certain  to  be  on  her 
guard;  nevertheless,  we  reckon  upon  at  least  three  kinds  of 
mouse-traps :  The  Irresistible,  The  Fallacious,  and  that  which 
is  Touch  and  Go. 

The  Irresistible. 

Suppose  two  husbands,  we  will  call  them  A.  and  B.,  wish 
to  discover  who  are  the  lovers  of  their  wives.  We  will  put 
the  husband  A.  at  the  centre  of  a  table  loaded  with  the  finest 
pyramids  of  fruit,  of  crystals,  of  candies  and  of  liqueurs, 
and  the  husband  B.  shall  be  at  whatever  point  of  this  bril- 
liant circle  you  may  please  to  suppose.  The  champagne  has 
gone  round,  every  eye  is  sparkling  and  every  tongue  is  wag- 
ging- 

HUSBAND  A.  (peeling  a  chestnut}. — Well,  as  for  me,  I 
admire  literar}r  people,  but  from  a  distance.  I  find  them  in- 
tolerable; in  conversation  they  are  despotic;  I  do  not  know 
what  displeases  me  more,  their  faults  or  their  good  qualities. 
In  short  (he  swallows  his  chestnut),  people  of  genius  are  like 
tonics — you  like,  but  you  must  use  them  temperately. 

WIFE  B.  (who  has  listened  attentively). — But,  M.  A.,  you 
are  very  exacting  (with  an  arch  smile)  ;  it  seems  to  me  that 
dull  people  have  as  many  faults  as  people  of  talent,  with 
this  difference  perhaps,  that  the  former  have  nothing  to  atone 
for  them ! 

HUSBAND  A.  (irritably). — You  will  agree  at  least,  madame, 
that  they  are  not  very  amiable  to  you. 

WIFE  B.  (with  vivacity). — Who  told  you  so? 

HUSBAND  A.  (smiling). — Don't  they  overwhelm  you  all 
the  time  with  their  superiority?  Vanity  so  dominates  their 
souls  that  between  you  and  them  the  effort  is  reciprocal — 

THE  MISTRESS  OF  THE  HOUSE  (aside  to  Wife  A.). — You 
well  deserved  it,  my  dear.  (Wife  A.  shrugs  her  shoulders.) 

HUSBAND  A.  (still  continuing). — Then  the  habit  they  have 
of  combining  ideas  which  reveal  to  them  the  mechanism  of 
feeling!  For  them  love  is  purely  physical  and  every  one 
knows  that  they  do  not  shine. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  209 

WIFE  B.  (biting  her  lips,  interrupting  him). — It  seems 
to  me,  sir,  that  we  are  the  sole  judges  in  this  matter.  I  can 
well  understand  why  men  of  the  world  do  not  like  men  of 
letters !  But  it  is  easier  to  criticise  than  to  imitate  them. 

HUSBAND  A.  (disdainfully). — Oh,  madame,  men  of  the 
world  can  assail  the  authors  of  the  present  time  without  being 
accused  of  envy.  There  is  many  a  gentleman  of  the  drawing- 
room,  who  if  he  undertook  to  write — 

WIFE  B.  (with  warmth). — Unfortunately  for  you,  sir,  cer- 
tain friends  of  yours  in  the  Chamber  have  written  romances; 
have  you  been  able  to  read  them? — But  really,  in  these  days, 
in  order  to  attain  the  least  originality,  you  must  undertake 
historic  research,  you  must — 

HUSBAND  B.    (making  no  answer  to  the  lady  next  him  and 

speaking  aside}. — Oh  !  Oh !    Can  it  be  that  it  is  M.  de  L , 

author  of  the  Dreams  of  a  Young  Girl,  whom  my  wife  is  in 
love  with? — That  is  singular;  I  thought  that  it  was  Doctor 

M .     But  stay!     (Aloud.}     Do  you  know,  my  dear,  that 

you  are  right  in  what  you  say?  (All  laugh.}  Really,  I 
should  prefer  to  have  always  artists  and  men  of  letters  in  my 
drawing-room — (aside}  when  we  begin  to  receive! — rather 
than  to  see  there  other  professional  men.  In  any  case  artists 
speak  of  things  about  which  every  one  is  enthusiastic,  for  who 
is  there  who  does  not  believe  in  good  taste?  But  judges, 
lawyers,  and,  above  all,  doctors — Heavens !  I  confess  that 
to  hear  them  constantly  speaking  about  lawsuits  and  dis- 
eases, those  two  human  ills — 

WIFE  B.  (dropping  the  conversation  with  her  neighbor  in 
order  to  answer  her  husband}. — Ah!  Yes-,  the  doctors  are  in- 
sufferable ! — 

WIFE  A.  (sitting  next  to  Husband  B.,  speaking  at  the 
same  time). — WThat  is  that  you  are  saying,  my  friend?  You 
are  quite  mistaken.  In  these  days  nobody  wishes  to  wear  a 
professional  manner;  doctors,  since  you  have  mentioned  doc-' 
tors,  try  to  avoid  speaking  of  professional  matters.  They 
talk  politics,  discuss  the  fashions  and  the  theatres,  they  tell 
anecdotes,  they  write  books  better  than  professional  authors 


210  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

do;  there  is  a  vast  difference  between  the  doctors  of  to-day 
and  those  of  Moliere — 

HUSBAND  A.  (aside). — Whew!  Is  it  possible  my  wife  is 

in  love  with  Dr.  M ?  That  would  be  odd.  (Aloud.) 

That  is  quite  possible,  my  dear,  but  I  would  not  give  a  sick 
dog  in  charge  of  a  physician  who  writes. 

WIFE  A.  (interrupting  her  husband). — I  know  people  who 
have  five  or  six  offices,  yet  the  government  has  the  greatest  con- 
fidence in  them ;  anyway,  it  is  odd  that  you  should  speak  in  this 
way,  you  who  were  one  of  Dr.  M 's  great  cases — 

HUSBAND  A.    (aside) . — There  can  be  no  doubt  of  it ! 

The  Fallacious. 

A  HUSBAND  (as  he  reaches  home). — My  dear,  we  are  invited 
by  Madame  de  Fischtaminel  to  a  concert  which  she  is  giving 
next  Tuesday.  I  reckoned  on  going  there,  as  I  wanted  to  speak 
with  a  young  cousin  of  the  minister  who  was  among  the  sing- 
ers ;  but  he  is  gone  to  Frouville  to  see  his  aunt.  What  do  you 
propose  doing? 

His  WIFE. — These  concerts  tire  me  to  death  ! — You  have  to 
sit  nailed  to  your  chair  whole  hours  without  saying  a  word. — 
Besides,  you  know  quite  well  that  we  dine  with  my  mother  on 
that  day,  and  it  is  impossible  to  miss  paying  her  a  visit. 

HER  HUSBAND  (carelessly). — Ah!  that  is  true. 
(Three  days  afterwards.) 

THE  HUSBAND  (as  he  goes  to  bed). — What  do  you  think, 
my  darling  ?  To-morrow  I  will  leave  you  at  your  mother's,  for 
the  count  has  returned  from  Frouville  and  will  be  at  Madame 
de  Fischtaminel's  concert. 

His  WIFE  (vivaciously). — But  why  should  you  go  alone? 
You  know  how  I  adore  music ! 

( 
The  Touch  and  Go  Mouse-Trap. 

THE  WIFE. — Why  did  you  go  away  so  early  this  evening  ? 
THE  HUSBAND  (mysteriously). — Ah!  It  is  a  sad  business, 
and  all  the  more  so  because  I  don't  know  how  I  can  settle  it. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  21! 

THE  WIFE. — What  is  it  all  about,  Adolph?  You  are  i 
wretch  if  you  do  not  tell  me  what  you  are  going  to  do ! 

THE  HUSBAND. — My  dear,  that  ass  of  a  Prosper  Magnan  ia 
fighting  a  duel  with  M.  de  Fontanges,  on  account  of  an  Opera 
singer. — But  what  is  the  matter  with  you? 

THE  WIFE. — Nothing.— It  is  very  warm  in  this  room  and  I 
don't  know  what  ails  me,  for  the  whole  day  I  have  been  suffer- 
ing from  sudden  flushing  of  the  face. 

THE  HUSBAND  (aside). — She  is  in  love  with  M.  de  Fon- 
tanges.  (Aloud.)  Celestine!  (He  shouts  out  still  louder.) 
Celestine  !  come  quick,  madame  is  ill ! 

You  will  understand  that  a  clever  husband  will  discover  a 
thousand  ways  of  setting  these  three  kinds  of  trap. 

2.    OF    CORRESPONDENCE. 

To  write  a  letter,  and  to  have  it  posted;  to  get  an  answer, 
to  read  it  and  burn  it ;  there  we  have  correspondence  stated  in 
the  simplest  terms. 

Yet  consider  what  immense  resources  are  given  by  civiliza- 
tion, by  our  manners  and  by  our  love  to  the  women  who  wish 
to  conceal  these  material  actions  from  the  scrutiny  of  a  hus- 
band. 

The  inexorable  box  which  keeps  its  mouth  open  to  all  comers 
receives  its  epistolary  provender  from  all  hands. 

There  is  also  the  fatal  invention  of  the  General  Delivery.  A 
lover  finds  in  the  world  a  hundred  charitable  persons,  male 
and  female,  who,  for  a  slight  consideration,  will  slip  the  bil- 
lets-doux into  the  amorous  and  intelligent  hand  of  his  fair  mis- 
tress. 

A  correspondence  is  as  variable  as  Proteus.  There  are  sym- 
pathetic inks.  A  young  celibate  has  told  us  in  confidence 
that  he  has  written  a  letter  on  the  fly-leaf  of  a  new  book,  which, 
when  the  husband  asked  for  it  of  the  bookseller,  reached  the 
hands  of  his  mistress,  who  had  been  prepared  the  evening 
before  for  this  charming  article. 

A  woman  in  love,  who  fears  her  husband's  jealousy,  wiif 


212  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

write  and  read  billets-doux  during  the  time  consecrated  to 
those  mysterious  occupations  during  which  the  most  tyran- 
nical husband  must  leave  her  alone. 

Moreover,  all  lovers  have  the  art  of  arranging  a  special  code 
of  signals,  whose  arbitrary  import  it  is  difficult  to  understand. 
At  a  ball,  a  flower  placed  in  some  odd  way  in  the  hair;  at  the 
theatre,  a  pocket  handkerchief  unfolded  on  the  front  of  the 
box;  rubbing  the  nose,  wearing  a  belt  of  a  particular  color, 
putting  the  hat  on  one  side,  wearing  one  dress  oftener  than 
another,  singing  a  certain  song  in  a  concert  or  touching  certain 
notes  on  the  piano ;  fixing  the  eyes  on  a  point  agreed ;  every- 
thing, in  fact,  from  the  hurdy-gurdy  which  passes  your  win- 
dows and  goes  away  if  you  open  the  shutter,  to  the  newspaper 
announcement  of  a  horse  for  sale — all  may  be  reckoned  as 
correspondence. 

How  many  times,  in  short,  will  a  wife  craftily  ask  her 
husband  to  do  such  and  such  commission  for  her,  to  go  to 
such  and  such  a  shop  or  house,  having  previously  informed  her 
lover  that  your  presence  at  such  or  such  a  place  means  yes  or 
no? 

On  this  point  the  professor  acknowledges  with  shame  that 
there  is  no  possible  means  of  preventing  correspondence  be- 
tween lovers.  But  a  little  machiavelism  on  the  part  of  the 
husband  will  be  much  more  likely  to  remedy  the  difficulty  than 
any  coercive  measures. 

An  agreement,  which  should  be  kept  sacred  between  mar- 
ried people,  is  their  solemn  oath  that  they  will  respect  each 
other's  sealed  letters.  Clever  is  the  husband  who  makes  this 
pledge  on  his  wedding-day  and  is  able  to  keep  it  conscien- 
tiously. 

In  giving  your  wife  unrestrained  liberty  to  write  and  to  re- 
ceive letters,  you  will  be  enabled  to  discern  the  moment  she 
begins  to  correspond  with  a  lover. 

But  suppose  your  wife  distrusts  you  and  covers  with  impene- 
trable clouds  the  means  she  takes  to  conceal  from  you  her  cor- 
respondence. Is  it  not  then  time  to  display  that  intellectual 
power  with  which  we  armed  you  in  our  Meditation  entitled 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  213 

Of  the  Custom  House?  The  man  who  does  not  see  when  his 
wife  writes  to  her  lover,  and  when  she  receives  an  answer,  is  a 
failure  as  a  husband. 

The  proposed  study  which  you  ought  to  bestow  upon  the 
movements,  the  actions,  the  gestures,  the  looks  of  your  wife, 
will  be  perhaps  troublesome  and  wearying,  but  it  will  not  last 
long;  the  only  point  is  to  discover  when  your  wife  and  her 
lover  correspond  and  in  what  way. 

We  cannot  believe  that  a  husband,  even  of  moderate  intelli- 
gence, will  fail  to  see  through  this  feminine  manoeuvre,  when 
once  he  suspects  its  existence. 

Meanwhile,  you  can  judge  from  a  single  incident  what 
means  of  police  and  of  restraint  remain  to  you  in  the  event  of 
such  a  correspondence. 

A  young  lawyer,  whose  ardent  passion  exemplified  certain 
of  the  principles  dwelt  upon  in  this  important  part  of  our 
work,  had  married  a  young  person  whose  love  for  him  was  but 
slight ;  yet  this  circumstance  he  looked  upon  as  an  exceedingly 
happy  one ;  but  at  the  end  of  his  first  year  of  marriage  he  per- 
ceived that  his  dear  Anna  [for  Anna  was  her  name]  had 
fallen  in  love  with  the  head  clerk  of  a  stock-broker. 

Adolph  was  a  young  man  of  about  twenty-five,  handsome 
in  face  and  as  fond  of  amusement  as  any  other  celibate.  He 
was  frugal,  discreet,  possessed  of  an  excellent  heart,  rode  well, 
talked  well,  had  fine  black  hair  always  curled,  and  dressed 
with  taste.  In  short,  he  would  have  done  honor  and  credit  to 
a  duchess.  The  advocate  was  ugly,  short,  stumpy,  square- 
shouldered,  mean-looking,  and,  moreover,  a  husband.  Anna, 
tall  and  pretty,  had  almond  eyes,  white  skin  and  refined  fea- 
tures. She  was  all  love;  and  passion  lighted  up  her  glance 
with  a  bewitching  expression.  While  her  family  was  poor, 
Maitre  Lebrun  had  an  income  of  twelve  thousand  francs. 
That  explains  all. 

One  evening  Lebrun  got  home  looking  extremely  chop- 
fallen.  He  went  into  his  study  to  work;  but  he  soon  came 
back  shivering  to  his  wife,  for  he  had  caught  a  fever  and 
hurriedly  went  to  bed.  There  he  lay  groaning  and  lamenting 


214 

for  his  clients  and  especially  for  a  poor  widow  whose  fortune 
he  was  to  save  the  very  next  day  by  effecting  a  compromise. 
An  appointment  had  been  made  with  certain  business  men 
and  he  was  quite  incapable  of  keeping  it.  After  having  slept 
for  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  he  begged  his  wife  in  a  feeble  voice 
to  write  to  one  of  his  intimate  friends,  asking  him  to  take  his 
(Lebrun's)  place  next  day  at  the  conference.  He  dictated 
a  long  letter  and  followed  with  his  eye  the  space  taken  up  on 
the  paper  by  his  phrases.  When  he  came  to  begin  the  second 
page  of  the  last  sheet,  the  advocate  set  out  to  describe  to  his 
confrere  the  joy  which  his  client  would  feel  on  the  signing 
of  the  compromise,  and  the  fatal  page  began  with  these  words : 

"My  good  friend,  go  for  Heaven's  sake  to  Madame  Vernon's 
at  once;  you  are  expected  with  impatience  there;  she  lives  at 
No.  7  Rue  de  Sentier.  Pardon  my  brevity;  but  I  count  on 
your  admirable  good  sense  to  guess  what  I  am  unable  to 
explain. 

"Tout  a  vous," 

"Give  me  the  letter,"  said  the  lawyer,  "that  I  may  see 
whether  it  is  correct  before  signing  it." 

The  unfortunate  wife,  who  had  been  taken  off  her  guard  by 
this  letter,  which  bristled  with  the  most  barbarous  terms  of 
legal  science,  gave  up  the  letter.  As  soon  as  Lebrun  got  pos- 
session of  the  wily  script  he  began  to  complain,  to  twist  him- 
self about,  as  if  in  pain,  and  to  demand  one  little  attention 
after  another  of  his  wife.  Madame  left  the  room  for  two 
minutes  during  which  the  advocate  leaped  from  his  bed,  folded 
a  piece  of  paper  in  the  form  of  a  letter  and  hid  the  missive 
written  by  his  wife.  When  Anna  returned,  the  clever  husband 
seized  the  blank  paper,  made  her  address  it  to  the  friend  of 
his,  to  whom  the  letter  which  he  had  taken  out  was  written, 
and  the  poor  creature  handed  the  blank  letter  to  his  servant. 
Lebrun  seemed  to  grow  gradually  calmer;  he  slept  or  pre- 
tended to  do  so,  and  the  next  morning  he  still  affected  to 
feel  strange  pains.  Two  days  afterwards  he  tore  off  the  first 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  215 

leaf  of  the  letter  and  put  an  "e"  to  the  word  tout  in  the 
phrase  "tout  a  vous."*  He  folded  mysteriously  the  paper 
which  contained  the  innocent  forgery,  sealed  it,  left  his  bed- 
room and  called  the  maid,  saying  to  her: 

"Madame  begs  that  you  will  take  this  to  the  house  of  M. 
Adolph;  now  be  quick  about  it." 

He  saw  the  chambermaid  leave  the  house  and  soon  after- 
wards he,  on  a  plea  of  business,  went  out,  hurried  to  Rue 
'de  Sentier,  to  the  address  indicated,  and  awaited  the  arrival  of 
his  rival  at  the  house  of  a  friend  who  was  in  the  secret  of 
his  stratagem.  The  lover,  intoxicated  with  happiness,  rushed 
to  the  place  and  inquired  for  Madame  de  Vernon;  he  was 
admitted  and  found  himself  face  to  face  with  Maitre  Lebrun, 
who  showed  a  countenance  pale  but  chill,  and  gazed  at  him 
with  tranquil  but  implacable  glance. 

"Sir,"  he  said  in  a  tone  of  emotion  to  the  young  clerk,  whose 
heart  palpitated  with  terror,  "you  are  in  love  with  my  wife, 
and  you  are  trying  to  please  her ;  I  scarcely  know  how  to  treat 
you  in  return  for  this,  because  in  your  place  and  at  your  age 
I  should  have  done  exactly  the  same.  But  Anna  is  in  despair ; 
you  have  disturbed  her  happiness,  and  her  heart  is  filled  with 
the  torments  of  hell.  Moreover,  she  has  told  me  all,  a  quarrel 
soon  followed  by  a  reconciliation  forced  her  to  write  the  letter 
which  you  have  received,  and  she  has  sent  me  here  in  her 
place.  I  will  not  tell  you,  sir,  that  by  persisting  in  your  plan 
of  seduction  you  will  cause  the  misery  of  her  you  love,  that 
you  will  forfeit  her  my  esteem,  and  eventually  your  own ;  that 
your  crime  will  be  stamped  on  the  future  by  causing  perhaps 
sorrow  to  my  children.  I  will  not  even  speak  to  you  of  the 
bitterness  you  will  infuse  into  my  life; — unfortunately  these 
are  commonplaces !  But  I  declare  to  you,  sir,  that  the  first 
step  you  take  in  this  direction  will  be  the  signal  for  a  crime ; 
for  I  will  not  trust  the  risk  of  a  duel  in  order  to  stab  you  to 
the  heart!" 

And  the  eyes  of  the  lawyer  flashed  ominously. 

*Thus  giving  a  feminine  ending  to  the  signature,  and  lending  the  impression  that 
the  note  emanated  from  the  wife  personally.— J.  W.  M. 


216  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

"Now,  sir,"  he  went  on  in  a  gentler  voice,  "you  are  young, 
you  have  a  generous  heart.  Make  a  sacrifice  for  the  future 
happiness  of  her  you  love;  leave  her  and  never  see  her  again. 
And  if  you  must  needs  be  a  member  of  my  family,  I  have  a 
young  aunt  who  is  yet  unsettled  in  life;  she  is  charming, 
clever  and  rich.  Make  her  acquaintance,  and  leave  a  virtuous 
woman  undisturbed." 

This  mixture  of  raillery  and  intimidation,  together  with 
the  unwavering  glance  and  deep  voice  of  the  husband,  pro- 
duced a  remarkable  impression  on  the  lover.  He  remained  for 
a  moment  utterly  confused,  like  people  overcome  with  passion 
and  deprived  of  all  presence  of  mind  by  a  sudden  shock.  If 
Anna  has  since  then  had  any  lovers  [which  is  a  pure  hypothe- 
sis] Adolph'  certainly  is  not  one  of  them. 

This  occurrence  may  help  you  to  understand  that  corre- 
spondence is  a  double-edged  weapon  which  is  of  as  much 
advantage  for  the  defence  of  the  husband  as  for  the  incon- 
sistency of  the  wife.  You  should  therefore  encourage  corre- 
spondence for  the  same  reason  that  the  prefect  of  police  takes 
special  care  that  the  street  lamps  of  Paris  are  kept  lighted. 

3.  OP  SPIES. 

To  come  so  low  as  to  beg  servants  to  reveal  secrets  to  you, 
and  to  fall  lower  still  by  paying  for  a  revelation,  is  not  a 
crime ;  it  is  perhaps  not  even  a  dastardly  act,  but  it  is  certainly 
a  piece  of  folly;  for  nothing  will  ever  guarantee  to  you  the 
honesty  of  a  servant  who  betrays  her  mistress,  and  you  can 
never  feel  certain  whether  she  is  operating  in  your  interest 
or  in  that  of  your  wife.  This  point  therefore  may  be  looked 
upon  as  beyond  controversy. 

Nature,  that  good  and  tender  parent,  has  set  round  about 
the  mother  of  a  family  the  most  reliable  and  the  most  saga- 
cious of  spies,  the  most  truthful  and  at  the  same  time  the 
most  discreet  in  the  world.  They  are  silent  and  yet  they  speak, 
they  see  everything  and  appear  to  see  nothing. 

One  day  I  met  a  friend  of  mine  on  the  boulevard.     He 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  217 

invited  me  to  dinner,  and  we  went  to  his  house.  Dinner  had 
been  already  served,  and  the  mistress  of  the  house  was  help- 
ing her  two  daughters  to  plates  of  soup. 

"I  see  here  my  first  symptoms,"  I  said  to  myself. 

We  sat  down.  The  first  word  of  the  husband,  who  spoke 
without  thinking,  and  for  the  sake  of  talking,  was  the  ques- 
tion: 

"Has  any  one  been  here  to-day?" 

"Not  a  soul,"  replied  his  wife,  without  lifting  her  eyes. 

I  shall  never  forget  the  quickness  with  which  the  two 
daughters  looked  up  to  their  mother.  The  elder  girl,  aged  eight, 
had  something  especially  peculiar  in  her  glance.  There  was 
at  the  same  time  revelation  and  mystery,  curiosity  and  silence, 
astonishment  and  apathy  in  that  look.  If  there  was  anything 
that  could  be  compared  to  the  speed  with  which  the  light  of 
candor  flashed  from  their  eyes,  it  was  the  prudent  reserve 
with  which  both  of  them  closed  down,  like  shutters,  the  folds 
of  their  white  eyelids. 

Ye  sweet  and  charming  creatures,  who  from  the  age  of  nine 
even  to  the  age  of  marriage  too  often  are  the  torment  of  a 
mother  even  when  she  is  not  a  coquette,  is  it  by  the  privilege 
of  your  years  or  the  instinct  of  your  nature  that  your  young 
ears  catch  the  faint  sound  of  a  man's  voice  through  walls  and 
doors,  that  your  eyes  are  awake  to  everything,  that  your  young 
spirit  busies  itself  in  divining  all,  even  the  meaning  of  a  word 
spoken  in  the  air,  even  the  meaning  of  your  mother's  slightest 
gesture  ? 

There  is  something  of  gratitude,  something  in  fact  instinc- 
tive, in  the  predilection  of  fathers  for  their  daughters  and 
mothers  for  their  sons. 

But  the  act  of  setting  spies  which  are  in  some  way  inani- 
mate is  mere  dotage,  and  nothing  is  easier  than  to  find  a 
better  plan  than  that  of  the  beadle,  who  took  it  into  his  head 
to  put  egg-shells  in  his  bed,  and  who  obtained  no  other  sym- 
pathy from  his  confederate  than  the  words,  "You  are  not  very 
successful  in  breaking  them." 

The  Marshal  de  Saxe  did  not  give  much  consolation  to  his 


218  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

Popeliniere  when  they  discovered  in  company  that  famous 
revolving  chimney,  invented  by  the  Due  de  Eichelieu. 

"That  is  the  finest  piece  of  horn  work  that  I  have  ever 
seen !"  cried  the  victor  of  Fontenoy. 

Let  us  hope  that  your  espionage  will  not  give  you  so  trouble- 
some a  lesson.  Such  misfortunes  are  the  fruits  of  the  civil 
war  and  we  do  not  live  in  that  age. 

4.    THE   INDEX. 

The  Pope  put  books  only  on  the  Index ;  you  will  mark  with 
a  stigma  of  reprobation  men  and  things. 

It  is  forbidden  to  madame  to  go  into  a  bath  except  in 
her  own  house. 

It  is  forbidden  to  madame  to  receive  into  her  house  him 
whom  you  suspect  of  being  her  lover,  and  all  those  who  are 
the  accomplices  of  their  love. 

It  is  forbidden  to  madame  to  take  a  walk  without  you. 

But  the  peculiarities  which  in  each  household  originate 
from  the  diversity  of  characters,  the  numberless  incidents 
of  passion,  and  the  habits  of  the  married  people  give  to  this 
black  book  so  many  variations,  the  lines  in  it  are  multiplied 
or  erased  with  such  rapidity  that  a  friend  of  the  author  has 
called  this  Index  The  History  of  Changes  in  the  Marital 
Church. 

There  are  only  two  things  which  can  be  controlled  or  pre- 
scribed in  accordance  with  definite  rules;  the  first  is  the 
country,  the  second  is  the  promenade. 

A  husband  ought  never  to  take  his  wife  to  the  country  nor 
permit  her  to  go  there.  Have  a  country  home  if  you  like, 
live  there,  entertain  there  nobody  excepting  ladies  or  old  men, 
but  never  leave  your  wife  alone  there.  But  to  take  her, 
for  even  half  a  day,  to  the  house  of  another  man  is  to  show 
yourself  as  stupid  as  an  ostrich. 

To  keep'  guard  over  a  wife  in  the  country  is  a  task  most 
difficult  of  accomplishment.  Do  you  think  that  you  will  be 
able  to  be  in  the  thickets,  to  climb  the  trees,  to  follow  the 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  219 

tracks  of  a  lover  over  the  grass  trodden  down  at  night,  but 
straightened  by  the  dew  in  the  morning  and  refreshed  by  the 
rays  of  the  sun  ?  Can  you  keep  your  eye  on  every  opening  in 
the  fence  of  the  park?  Oh',  the  country  and  the  Spring! 
These  are  the  two  right  arms  of  the  celibate. 

When  a  woman  reaches  the  crisis  at  which  we  suppose  her 
to  be,  a  husband  ought  to  remain  in  town  till  the  declaration 
of  war,  or  to  resolve  on  devoting  himself  to  all  the  delights 
of  a  cruel  espionage. 

With  regard  to  the  promenade:  Does  madame  wish  to  go 
to  parties,  to  the  theatre,  to  the  Bois  de  Boulogne,  to  purchase 
her  dresses,  to  find  out  what  is  the  fashion  ?  Madame  shall  go, 
shall  see  everything  in  the  respectable  company  of  her  lord 
and  master. 

If  she  take  advantage  of  the  moment  when  a  business  ap- 
pointment, which  you  cannot  fail  to  keep,  detains  you,  in 
order  to  obtain  your  tacit  permission  to  some  meditated  expe- 
dition; if  in  order  to  obtain  that  permission  she  displays 
all  the  witcheries  of  those  cajoleries  in  which  women  excel  and 
whose  powerful  influence  you  ought  already  to  have  known, 
well,  well,  the  professor  implores  you  to  allow  her  to  win  you 
over,  while  at  the  same  time  you  sell  dear  the  boon  she  asks ; 
and  above  all  convince  this  creature,  whose  soul  is  at  once  as 
changeable  as  water  and  as  firm  as  steel,  that  it  is  impossible 
for  you  from  the  importance  of  your  work  to  leave  your  study. 

But  as  soon  as  your  wife  has  set  foot  upon  the  street,  if  she 
goes  on  foot,  don't  give  her  time  to  make  fifty  steps;  follow 
and  track  her  in  such  a  way  that  you  will  not  be  noticed. 

It  is  possible  that  there  exist  certain  Werthers  whose  re- 
fined and  delicate  souls  recoil  from  this  inquisition.  But  this 
is  not  more  blamable  than  that  of  a  landed  proprietor  who 
rises  at  night  and  looks  through  the  windows  for  the  pur- 
pose of  keeping  watch  over  the  peaches  on  his  espaliers.  You 
will  probably  by  this  course  of  action  obtain,  before  the  crime 
is  committed,  exact  information  with  regard  to  the  apart- 
ments which  so  many  lovers  rent  in  the  city  under  fictitious 
names.  If  it  happens  [which  God  forbid!]  that  your  wife 


220  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

enters  a  house  suspected  by  you,  try  to  find  out  if  the  place 
has  several  exits. 

Should  your  wife  take  a  hack,  what  have  you  to  fear?  Is 
there  not  a  prefect  of  police,  to  whom  all  husbands  ought  to 
decree  a  crown  of  solid  gold,  and  has  he  not  set  up  a  little 
shed  or  bench  where  there  is  a  register,  an  incorruptible 
guardian  of  public  morality?  And  does  he  not  know  all  the 
comings  and  goings  of  these  Parisian  gondolas  ? 

One  of  the  vital  principles  of  our  police  will  consist  in 
always  following  your  wife  to  the  furnishers  of  your  house, 
if  she  is  accustomed  to  visit  them.  You  will  carefully  find  out 
whether  there  is  any  intimacy  between  her  and  her  draper, 
her  dressmaker  or  her  milliner,  etc.  In  this  case  you  will 
apply  the  rules  of  the  conjugal  Custom  House,  and  draw  your 
own  conclusions. 

If  in  your  absence  your  wife,  having  gone  out  against  your 
will,  tells  you  that  she  has  been  to  such  a  place,  to  such  a 
shop,  go  there  yourself  the  next  day  and  try  to  find  out 
whether  she  has  spoken  the  truth. 

But  passion  will  dictate  to  you,  even  better  than  this 
Meditation,  the  various  resources  of  conjugal  tyranny,  and 
we  will  here  cut  short  these  tiresome  instructions. 

5.    OF   THE   BUDGET. 

In  outlining  the  portrait  of  a  sane  and  sound  husband 
(See  Meditation  on  the  Predestined),  we  urgently  advise  that 
he  should  conceal  from  his  wife  the  real  amount  of  his  income. 

In  relying  upon  this  as  the  foundation  stone  of  our  financial 
system  we  hope  to  do  something  towards  discounting  the 
opinion,  so  very  generally  held,  that  a  man  ought  not  to  give 
the  handling  of  his  income  to  his  wife.  This  principle  is  one 
of  the  many  popular  errors  and  is  one  of  the  chief  causes  of 
misunderstanding  in  the  domestic  establishment. 

But  let  us,  in  the  first  place,  deal  with  the  question  of  heart, 
before  we  proceed  to  that  of  money. 

To  draw  up  a  little  civil  list  for  your  wife  and  for  the 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  221 

requirements  of  the  house  and  to  pay  her  money  as  if  it  were 
a  contribution,  in  twelve  equal  portions  month  by  month,  has 
something  in  it  that  is  a  little  mean  and  close,  and  cannot 
be  agreeable  to  any  but  sordid  and  mistrustful  souls.  By 
acting  in  this  way  you  prepare  for  yourself  innumerable 
annoyances. 

I  could  wish  that  during  the  first  year  of  your  mellifluoue 
union,  scenes  more  or  less  delightful,  pleasantries  uttered  in 
good  taste,  pretty  purses  and  caresses  might  accompany  and 
might  decorate  the  handing  over  of  this  monthly  gift ;  but  the 
time  will  come  when  the  self-will  of  your  wife  or  some  unfore- 
seen expenditure  will  compel  her  to  ask  a  loan  of  the  Chamber : 
I  presume  that  you  will  always  grant  her  the  bill  of  indem- 
nity, as  our  unfaithful  deputies  never  fail  to  'do.  They  pay, 
but  they  grumble;  you  must  pay  and  at  the  same  time  com- 
pliment her.  I  hope  it  will  be  so. 

But  in  the  crisis  which  we  have  reached,  the  provisions  of 
the  annual  budget  can  never  prove  sufficient.  There  must  be 
an  increase  of  fichus,  of  bonnets,  of  frocks ;  there  is  an  expense 
which  cannot  be  calculated  beforehand  demanded  by  the  meet- 
ings, by  the  diplomatic  messengers,  by  the  ways  and  means  of 
love,  even  while  the  receipts  remain  the  same  as  usual.  Then 
must  commence  in  your  establishment  a  course  of  education 
the  most  odious,  and  the  most  dreadful  which  a  woman  can 
undergo.  I  know  but  few  noble  and  generous  souls  who 
value,  more  than  millions,  purity  of  heart,  frankness  of  soul, 
and  who  would  a  thousand  times  more  readily  pardon  a  pas- 
sion than  a  lie,  whose  instinctive  delicacy  has  divined  the 
existence  of  this  plague  of  the  soul,  the  lowest  step  in  human 
degradation. 

Under  these  circumstances  there  occur  in  the  domestic  es- 
tablishment the  most  delightful  scenes  of  love.  It  is  then  that 
a  woman  becomes  utterly  pliant  and  like  to  the  most  brilliant 
of  all  the  strings  of  a  harp,  when  thrown  before  the  fire;  she 
rolls  round  you,  she  clasps  you,  she  holds  you  tight;  she 
defers  to  all  your  caprices ;  never  was  her  conversation  so  full 
of  tenderness;  she  lavishes  her  endearments  upon  you,  or 


222  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

rather  she  sells  them  to  you;  she  at  last  becomes  lower 
than  a  chorus  girl,  for  she  prostitutes  herself  to  her  hus- 
band. In  her  sweetest  kisses  there  is  money;  in  all  her 
words  there  is  money.  In  playing  this  part  her  heart 
becomes  like  lead  towards  you.  The  most  polished,  the  most 
treacherous  usurer  never  weighs  so  completely  with  a  single 
glance  the  future  value  in  bullion  of  a  son  of  a  family  who 
may  sign  a  note  to  him,  than  your  wife  appraises  one  of  your 
desires  as  she  leaps  from  branch  to  branch  like  an  escaping 
squirrel,  in  order  to  increase  the  sum  of  money  she  may  de- 
mand by  increasing  the  appetite  which  she  rouses  in  you. 
You  must  not  expect  to  get  scot-free  from  such  seductions. 
Nature  has  given  boundless  gifts  of  coquetry  to  a  woman,  the 
usages  of  society  have  increased  them  tenfold  by  its  fashions, 
its  dresses,  its  embroideries  and  its  tippets. 

"If  I  ever  marry,"  one  of  the  most  honorable  generals  of 
our  ancient  army  used  to  say,  "I  won't  put  a  sou  among  the 
wedding  presents — " 

"What  will  you  put  there  then,  general?"  asked  a  young 
girl. 

"The  key  of  my  safe." 

The  young  girl  made  a  curtsey  of  approbation.  She  moved 
her  little  head  with  a  quiver  like  that  of  the  magnetic  needle ; 
raised  her  chin  slightly  as  if  she  would  have  said : 

"I  would  gladly  marry  the  general  in  spite  of  his  forty- 
five  years." 

But  with  regard  to  money,  what  interest  can  you  expect 
your  wife  to  take  in  a  machine  in  which  she  is  looked  upon  as 
a  mere  bookkeeper? 

Now  look  at  the  other  system. 

In  surrendering  to  your  wife,  with  an  avowal  of  absolute 
confidence  in  her,  two-thirds  of  your  fortune  and  letting  her 
as  mistress  control  the  conjugal  administration,  you  win 
from  her  an  esteem  which  nothing  can  destroy,  for  confidence 
and  high-mindedness  find  powerful  echoes  in  the  heart  of  a 
woman.  Madame  will  be  loaded  with  a  responsibility  which 
will  often  raise  a  barrier  against  extravagances,  all  the  stronger 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  223 

because  it  is  she  herself  who  has  created  it  in  her  heart.  You 
yourself  have  made  a  portion  of  the  work,  and  you  may  be  sure 
that  from  henceforth  your  wife  will  never  perhaps  dishonor 
herself. 

Moreover,  by  seeking  in  this  way  a  method  of  defence,  con- 
sider what  admirable  aids  are  offered  to  you  by  this  plan  of 
finances. 

You  will  have  in  your  house  an  exact  estimate  of  the  mor- 
ality of  your  wife,  just  as  the  quotations  of  the  Bourse  give 
you  a  just  estimate  of  the  degree  of  confidence  possessed  by 
the  government. 

And  doubtless,  during  the  first  years  of  your  married  life, 
your  wife  will  take  pride  in  giving  you  every  luxury  and  satis- 
faction which  your  money  can  afford. 

She  will  keep  a  good  table,  she  will  renew  the  furniture, 
and  the  carriages ;  she  will  always  keep  in  her  drawer  a  sum  of 
money  sacred  to  her  well-beloved  and  ready  for  his  needs. 
But  of  course,  in  the  actual  circumstances  of  life,  the  drawer 
will  be  very  often  empty  and  monsieur  will  spend  a  great  deal 
too  much.  The  economies  ordered  by  the  Chamber  never 
weigh  heavily  upon  the  clerks  whose  income  is  twelve  hun- 
dred francs;  and  you  will  be  the  clerk  at  twelve  hundred 
francs  in  your  own  house.  You  will  laugh  in  your  sleeve, 
because  you  will  have  saved,  capitalized,  invested  one-third 
of  your  income  during  a  long  time,  like  Louis  XV.,  who  kept 
for  himself  a  little  separate  treasury,  "against  a  rainy  day," 
he  used  to  say. 

Thus,  if  your  wife  speaks  of  economy,  her  discourse  will  be 
equal  to  the  varying  quotations  of  the  money-market.  You 
will  be  able  to  divine  the  whole  progress  of  the  lover  by  these 
financial  fluctuations,  and  you  will  have  avoided  all  difficul- 
ties. E  sempre  bene. 

If  your  wife  fails  to  appreciate  this  excessive  confidence, 
and  dissipates  in  one  day  a  large  proportion  of  your  fortune, 
in  the  first  place  it  is  not  probable  that  this  prodigality 
will  amount  to  one-third  of  the  revenue  which  you  have  been 
saving  for  ten  years ;  moreover  you  will  learn,  from  the  Medi- 


224 

iation  on  Catastrophes,  that  in  the  very  crisis  produced  by 
the  follies  of  your  wife,  you  will  have  brilliant  opportunities 
of  slaying  the  Minotaur. 

But  the  secret  of  the  treasure  which  has  been  amassed  by 
your  thoughtfulness  need  never  be  known  till  after  your 
death ;  and  if  you  have  found  it  necessary  to  draw  upon  it,  in 
order  to  assist  your  wife,  you  must  always  let  it  be  thought 
that  you  have  won  at  play,  or  made  a  loan  from  a  friend. 

These  are  the  true  principles  which  should  govern  the  con- 
jugal budget. 

The  police  of  marriage  has  its  martyrology.  We  will  cite 
but  one  instance  which  will  make  plain  how  necessary  it  is 
for  husbands  who  resort  to  severe  measures  to  keep  watch 
over  themselves  as  well  as  over  their  wives. 

An  old  miser  who  lived  at  T ,  a  pleasure  resort  if  there 

ever  was  one,  had  married  a  young  and  pretty  woman,  and 
he  was  so  wrapped  up  in  her  and  so  jealous  that  love  tri- 
umphed over  avarice;  he  actually  gave  up  trade  in  order  to 
guard  his  wife  more  closely,  but  his  only  real  change  was  that 
his  covetousness  took  another  form.  I  acknowledge  that  I  owe 
the  greater  portion  of  the  observations  contained  in  this  essay, 
which  still  is  doubtless  incomplete,  to  the  person  who  made  a 
study  of  this  remarkable  marital  phenomenon,  to  portray 
which,  one  single  detail  will  be  amply  sufficient.  When  he  used 
to  go  to  the  country,  this  husband  never  went  to  bed  without 
secretly  raking  over  the  pathways  of  his  park,  and  he  had  a 
special  rake  for  the  sand  of  his  terraces.  He  had  made  a  close 
study  of  the  footprints  made  by  the  different  members  of  his 
household ;  and  early  in  the  morning  he  used  to  go  and  identify 
the  tracks  that  had  been  made  there. 

"All  this  is  old  forest  land,"  he  used  to  say  to  the  person 
I  have  referred  to,  as  he  showed  him  over  the  park ;  "for  noth- 
ing can  be  seen  through  the  brushwood/' 

His  wife  fell  in  love  with  one  of  the  most  charming  young 
men  of  the  town.  This  passion  had  continued  for  nine  years 
bright  and  fresh  in  the  hearts  of  the  two  lovers,  whose  sole 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  225 

avowal  had  been  a  look  exchanged  in  a  crowded  ball-room; 
and  while  they  danced  together  their  trembling  hands  revealed 
through  the  scented  gloves  the  depth  of  their  love.  From  that 
day  they  had  both  of  them  taken  great  delight  in  those  trifles 
which  happy  lovers  never  disdain.  One  day  the  young  man 
led  his  only  confidant,  with  a  mysterious  air,  into  a  chamber 
where  he  kept  under  glass  globes  upon  his  table,  with  more 
care  than  he  would  have  bestowed  upon  the  finest  jewels  in  the 
world,  the  flowers  that,  in  the  excitement  of  the  dance,  had 
fallen  from  the  hair  of  his  mistress,  and  the  finery  which  had 
been  caught  in  the  trees  which  she  had  brushed  through  in  the 
park.  He  also  preserved  there  the  narrow  footprint  left  upon 
the  clay  soil  by  the  lady's  step. 

"I  could  hear,"  said  this  confidant  to  me  afterwards,  "the 
violent  and  repressed  palpitations  of  his  heart  sounding  in 
the  silence  which  we  preserved  before  the  treasures  of  this 
museum  of  love.  I  raised  my  eyes  to  the  ceiling,  as  if  to 
breathe  to  heaven  the  sentiment  which  I  dared  not  utter. 

'Poor  humanity !'  I  thought.  'Madame  de told  me  that 

one  evening  at  a  ball  you  had  been  found  nearly  fainting 
in  her  card-room?'  I  remarked  to  him. 

"  'I  can  well  believe  it,'  said  he  casting  down  his  flashing 
glance,  'I  had  kissed  her  arm ! — But,'  he  added  as  he  pressed 
my  hand  and  shot  at  me  a  glance  that  pierced  my  heart,  Tier 
husband  at  that  time  had  the  gout  which  threatened  to  attack 
his  stomach.' " 

Some  time  afterwards,  the  old  man  recovered  and  seemed 
to  take  a  new  lease  of  life;  but  in  the  midst  of  his  convales- 
cence he  took  to  his  bed  one  morning  and  died  suddenly. 
There  were  such  evident  symptoms  of  poisoning  in  the  condi- 
tion of  the  dead  man  that  the  officers  of  justice  were  appealed 
to,  and  the  two  lovers  were  arrested.  Then  was  enacted  at 
the  court  of  assizes  the  most  heartrending  scene  that  ever 
stirred  the  emotions  of  a  jury.  At  the  preliminary  examina- 
tion, each  of  the  two  lovers  without  hesitation  confessed  to  the 
crime,  and  with  one  thought  each  of  them  was  solely  bent  on 
saving,  the  one  her  lover,  the  other  his  mistress.  There  were 


226  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

two  found  guilty,  where  justice  was  looking  for  but  a  single 
culprit.  The  trial  was  entirely  taken  up  with  the  flat  contra- 
dictions which  each  of  them,  carried  away  by  the  fury  of 
devoted  love,  gave  to  the  admissions  of  the  other.  There 
they  were  united  for  the  first  time,  but  on  the  criminals' 
bench  with  a  gendarme  seated  between  them.  They  were 
found  guilty  by  the  unanimous  verdict  of  a  weeping  jury. 
No  one  among  those  who  had  the  barbarous  courage  to  wit- 
ness their  conveyance  to  the  scaffold  can  mention  them  to-day 
without  a  shudder.  Religion  had  won  for  them  repentance 
for  their  crime,  but  could  not  induce  them  to  abjure  their  love. 
The  scaffold  was  their  nuptial  bed,  and  there  they  slept 
together  in  the  long  night  of  death. 


MEDITATION  XXL 
THE  ART  OF  RETURNING  HOME. 

Finding  himself  incapable  of  controlling  the  boiling  trans- 
ports of  his  anxiety,  many  a  husband  makes  the  mistake  of 
coming  home  and  rushing  into  the  presence  of  his  wife,  with 
the  object  of  triumphing  over  her  weakness,  like  those  bulls 
of  Spain,  which,  stung  by  the  red  banderillo,  disembowel  with 
furious  horns  horses,  matadors,  picadors,  toreadors  and  their 
attendants. 

But  oh !  to  enter  with  a  tender  gentle  mien,  like  Mascarillo, 
who  expects  a  beating  and  becomes  merry  as  a  lark  when  he 
finds  his  master  in  a  good  humor!  Well — that  is  the  mark 
of  a  wise  man ! — 

"Yes,  my  darling,  I  know  that  in  my  absence  you  could 
have  behaved  badly !  Another  in  your  place  would  have 
turned  the  house  topsy-turvy,  but  you  have  only  broken  a 
pane  of  glass !  God  bless  you  for  your  considerateness.  Go 
on  in  the  same  way  and  you  will  earn  my  eternal  gratitude." 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  227 

Such  are  the  ideas  which  ought  to  be  expressed  by  your 
face  and  bearing,  but  perhaps  all  the  while  you  say  to  your- 
self: 

"Probably  he  has  been  here !" 

Always  to  bring  home  a  pleasant  face,  is  a  rule  which  admits 
of  no  exception. 

But  the  art  of  never  leaving  your  house  without  return- 
ing when  the  police  have  revealed  to  you  a  conspiracy — to 
know  how  to  return  at  the  right  time — this  is  the  lesson  which 
is  hard  to  learn.  In  this  matter  everything  depends  upon  tact 
and  penetration.  The  actual  events  of  life  always  transcend 
anything  that  is  imaginable. 

The  manner  of  coming  home  is  to  be  regulated  in  accord- 
ance with  a  number  of  circumstances.  For  example: 

Lord  Catesby  was  a  man  of  remarkable  strength.  It  hap- 
pened one  day  that  he  was  returning  from  a  fox  hunt,  to  which 
he  had  doubtless  promised  to  go,  with  some  ulterior  view, 
for  he  rode  towards  the  fence  of  his  park  at  a  point  where,  he 
said,  he  saw  an  extremely  fine  horse.  As  he  had  a  passion 
for  horses,  he  drew  near  to  examine  this  one  close  at  hand. 
There  he  caught  sight  of  Lady  Catesby,  to  whose  rescue  it  was 
certainly  time  to  go,  if  he  were  in  the  slightest  degree  jealous 
for  his  own  honor.  He  rushed  upon  the  gentleman  he  saw 
there,  and  seizing  him  by  the  belt  he  hurled  him  over  the  fence 
on  to  the  road  side. 

"Remember,  sir,"  he  said  calmly,  "it  rests  with  me  to  decide 
whether  it  will  be  necessary  to  address  you  hereafter  and  ask 
for  satisfaction  on  this  spot." 

"Very  well,  my  lord;  but  would  you  have  the  goodness  to 
throw  over  my  horse  also  ?" 

But  the  phlegmatic  nobleman  had  already  taken  the  arm  of 
his  wife  as  he  gravely  said: 

"I  blame  you  very  much,  my  dear  creature,  for  not  having 
told  me  that  I  was  to  love  you  for  two.  Hereafter  every  other 
day  I  shall  love  you  for  the  gentleman  yonder,  and  all  other 
days  for  myself." 

This  adventure  is  regarded  in  England  as  one  of  the  best 


228  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

returns  home  that  were  ever  known.  It  is  true  it  consisted 
in  uniting,  with  singular  felicity,  eloquence  of  deed  to  that 
of  word. 

But  the  art  of  re-entering  your  home,  principles  of  which 
are  nothing  else  but  natural  deductions  from  the  system  of 
politeness  and  dissimulation  which  have  been  commended  in 
preceding  Meditations,  is  after  all  merely  to  be  studied  in 
preparation  for  the  conjugal  catastrophes  which  we  will  now 
consider. 


MEDITATION  XXII. 
OF  CATASTROPHES. 

The  word  Catastrophe  is  a  term  of  literature  which  signifies 
the  final  climax  of  a  play. 

To  bring  about  a  catastrophe  in  the  drama  which  you  are 
playing  is  a  method  of  defence  which  is  as  easy  to  undertake 
as  it  is  certain  to  succeed.  In  advising  to  employ  it,  we  would 
not  conceal  from  you  its  perils. 

The  conjugal  catastrophe  may  be  compared  to  one  of  those 
high  fevers  which  either  carry  off  a  predisposed  subject  or 
completely  restore  his  health.  Thus,  when  the  catastrophe 
succeeds,  it  keeps  a  woman  for  years  in  the  prudent  realms  of 
virtue. 

Moreover,  this  method  is  the  last  of  all  those  which  science 
has  been  able  to  discover  up  to  this  present  moment. 

The  massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew,  the  Sicilian  Vespers,  the 
death  of  Lucretia,  the  two  embarkations  of  Napoleon  at  Frejus 
are  examples  of  political  catastrophe.  It  will  not  be  in  your 
power  to  act  on  such  a  large  scale;  nevertheless,  within  their 
own  area,  your  dramatic  climaxes  in  conjugal  life  will  not  be 
less  effective  than  these. 

But  since  the  art  of  creating  a  situation  and  of  transform- 
ing it,  by  the  introduction  of  natural  incidents,  constitutes 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  229 

genius;  since  the  return  to  virtue  of  a  woman,  whose  foot  has 
already  left  some  tracks  upon  the  sweet  and  gilded  sand 
which  mark  the  pathway  of  vice,  is  the  most  difficult  to  bring 
about  of  all  denouements,  and  since  genius  neither  knows  it 
nor  teaches  it,  the  practitioner  in  conjugal  laws  feels  compelled 
to  confess  at  the  outset  that  he  is  incapable  of  reducing  to 
definite  principles  a  science  which  is  as  changeable  as  circum- 
stances, as  delusive  as  opportunity,  and  as  indefinable  as 
instinct. 

If  we  may  use  an  expression  which  neither  Diderot,  d'Alem- 
bert  nor  Voltaire,  in  spite  of  every  effort,  have  been  able  to 
engraft  on  our  language,  a  conjugal  catastrophe  se  sub  odor  e  is 
scented  from  afar;  so  that  our  only  course  will  be  to  sketch 
out  imperfectly  certain  conjugal  situations  of  an  analogous 
kind,  thus  imitating  the  philosopher  of  ancient  time  who, 
seeking  in  vain  to  explain  motion,  walked  forward  in  his 
attempt  to  comprehend  laws  which  were  incomprehensible. 

A  husband,  in  accordance  with  the  principles  comprised  in 
our  Meditation  on  Police,  will  expressly  forbid  his  wife  to 
receive  the  visits  of  a  celibate  whom  he  suspects  of  being  her 
lover,  and  whom  she  has  promised  never  again  to  see.  Some 
minor  scenes  of  the  domestic  interior  we  leave  for  matrimonial 
imaginations  to  conjure  up;  a  husband  can  delineate  them 
much  better  than  we  can;  he  will  betake  himself  in  thought 
back  to  those  days  when  delightful  longings  invited  sincere 
confidences  and  when  the  workings  of  his  policy  put  into 
motion  certain  adroitly  handled  machinery. 

Let  us  suppose,  in  order  to  make  more  interesting  the 
natural  scene  to  which  I  refer,  that  you  who  read  arc  a  hus- 
band, whose  carefully  organized  police  has  made  the  discovery 
that  your  wife,  profiting  by  the  hours  devoted  by  you  to  a 
ministerial  banquet,  to  which  she  probably  procured  you  an 
invitation,  received  at  your  house  M.  A z. 

Here  we  find  all  the  conditions  necessary  to  bring  about  the 
finest  possible  of  conjugal  catastrophes. 

You  return  home  just  in  time  to  find  your  arrival  has  coin- 
cided with  that  of  M.  A z,  for  we  would  not  advise  you  to 


230  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MAREIAGE 

have  the  interval  between  the  acts  too  long.  But  in  what  mood 
should  you  enter  ?  Certainly  not  in  accordance  with  the  rules 
of  the  previous  Meditation.  In  a  rage  then  ?  Still  less  should 
you  do  that.  You  should  come  in  with  good-natured  careless- 
ness,, like  an  absent-minded  man  who  has  forgotten  his  purse, 
the  statement  which  he  has  drawn  up  for  the  minister,  his 
pocket-handkerchief  or  his  snuff-box. 

In  that  case  you  will  either  catch  two  lovers  together,  or 
your  wife,  forewarned  by  the  maid,  will  have  hidden  the 
celibate. 

Now  let  us  consider  these  two  unique  situations. 

But  first  of  all  we  will  observe  that  husbands  ought  always 
to  be  in  a  position  to  strike  terror  in  their  homes  and  ought 
long  before  to  make  preparations  for  the  matrimonial  second 
of  September. 

Thus  a  husband,  from  the  moment  that  his  wife  has  caused 
him  to  perceive  certain  -first  symptoms,  should  never  fail  to 
give,  time  after  time,  his  personal  opinion  on  the  course  of 
conduct  to  be  pursued  by  a  husband  in  a  great  matrimonial 
crisis. 

"As  for  me/*  you  should  say,  "I  should  have  no  hesitation 
in  killing  the  man  I  caught  at  my  wife's  feet." 

With  regard  to  the  discussion  that  you  will  thus  give  rise 
to,  you  will  be  led  on  to  aver  that  the  law  ought  to  have  given 
to  the  husband,  as  it  did  in  ancient  Eome,  the  right  of  life 
and  death  over  his  children,  so  that  he  could  slay  those  who 
frere  spurious. 

These  ferocious  opinions,  which  really  do  not  bind  you 
to  anything,  will  impress  your  wife  with  salutary  terror;  you 
will  enumerate  them  lightly,  even  laughingly — and  say  to  her, 
"Certainly,  my  dear,  I  would  kill  you  right  gladly.  Would 
you  like  to  be  murdered  by  me  ?" 

A  woman  cannot  help  fearing  that  this  pleasantry  may  some 
day  become  a  very  serious  matter,  for  in  these  crimes  of 
impulse  there  is  a  certain  proof  of  love;  and  then  women 
who  know  better  than  any  one  else  how  to  say  true  things 
laughingly  at  times  suspect  their  husbands  of  this  feminine 
trick. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  231 

When  then  a  husband  surprises  his  wife  engaged  in  even 
innocent  conversation  with  her  lover,  his  face  still  calm, 
should  produce  the  effect  mythologically  attributed  to  the 
celebrated  Gorgon. 

In  order  to  produce  a  favorable  catastrophe  at  this  junc- 
ture, you  must  act  in  accordance  with  the  character  of  your 
wife,  either  play  a  pathetic  scene  a  la  Diderot,  or  resort  to 
irony  like  Cicero,  or  rush  to  your  pistols  loaded  with  a  blank 
charge,  or  even  fire  them  off,  if  you  think  that  a  serious  row 
is  indispensable. 

A  skillful  husband  may  often  gain  a  great  advantage  from 
a  scene  of  unexaggerated  sentimentality.  He  enters,  he  sees 
the  lover  and  transfixes  him  with  a  glance.  As  soon  as  the 
celibate  retires,  he  falls  at  the  feet  of  his  wife,  he  declaims 
a  long  speech,  in  which  among  other  phrases  there  occurs  this : 

"Why,  my  dear  Caroline,  I  have  never  been  able  to  love 
you  as  I  should !" 

He  weeps,  and  she  weeps,  and  this  tearful  catastrophe  leaves 
nothing  to  be  desired. 

We  would  explain,  apropos  of  the  second  method  by  which 
the  catastrophe  may  be  brought  about,  what  should  be  the 
motives  which  lead  a  husband  to  vary  this  scene,  in  accordance 
with  the  greater  or  less  degree  of  strength  which  his  wife's 
character  possesses. 

Let  us  pursue  this  subject. 

If  by  good  luck  it  happens  that  your  wife  has  put  her  lover 
in  a  place  of  concealment,  the  catastrophe  will  be  very  much 
more  successful. 

Even  if  the  apartment  is  not  arranged  according  to  the 
principles  prescribed  in  the  Meditation,  you  will  easily  dis- 
cern the  place  into  which  the  celibate  has  vanished,  although 
he  be  not,  like  Lord  Byron's  Don  Juan,  bundled  up  under  the 
cushion  of  a  divan.  If  by  chance  your  apartment  is  in  dis- 
order, you  ought  to  have  sufficient  discernment  to  know  that 
there  is  only  one  place  in  which  a  man  could  bestow  himself. 
Finally,  if  by  some  devilish  inspiration  he  has  made  himself 
so  small  that  he  has  squeezed  into  some  unimaginable  lurking- 


232  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

place  (for  we  may  expect  anything  from  a  celibate),  well, 
either  your  wife  cannot  help  casting  a  glance  towards  this 
mysterious  spot,  or  she  will  pretend  to  look  in  an  exactly 
opposite  direction,  and  then  nothing  is  easier  for  a  husband 
than  to  set  a  mouse-trap  for  his  wife. 

The  hiding-place  being  discovered,  you  must  walk  straight 
up  to  the  lover.  You  must  meet  him  face  to  face ! 

And  now  you  must  endeavor  to  produce  a  fine  effect.  With 
your  face  turned  three-quarters  towards  him,  you  must  raise 
your  head  with  an  air  of  superiority.  This  attitude  will 
enhance  immensely  the  effect  which  you  aim  at  producing. 

The  most  essential  thing  to  do  at  this  moment,  is  to  over- 
whelm the  celibate  by  some  crushing  phrase  which  you  have 
been  manufacturing  all  the  time ;  when  you  have  thus  floored 
him,  you  will  coldly  show  him  the  door.  You  will  be  very 
polite,  but  as  relentless  as  the  executioner's  axe,  and  as  impas- 
sive as  the  law.  This  freezing  contempt  will  already  probably 
have  produced  a  revolution  in  the  mind  of  your  wife.  There 
must  be  no  shouts,  no  gesticulations,  no  excitement.  "Men  of 
high  social  rank,"  says  a  young  English  author,  "never  behave 
like  their  inferiors,  who  cannot  lose  a  fork  without  sounding 
the  alarm  throughout  the  whole  neighborhood." 

When  the  celibate  has  gone,  you  will  find  yourself  alone 
with  your  wife,  and  then  is  the  time  when  you  must  subjugate 
her  forever. 

You  should  therefore  stand  before  her,  putting  on  an  air 
whose  affected  calmness  betrays  the  profoundest  emotion; 
then  you  must  choose  from  among  the  following  topics,  which 
we  have  rhetorically  amplified,  and  which  are  most  congenial 
to  your  feelings:  "Madame,"  you  must  say,  "I  will  speak  to 
you  neither  of  your  vows,  nor  of  my  love;  for  you  have  too 
much  sense  and  I  have  too  much  pride  to  make  it  possible 
that  I  should  overwhelm  you  with  those  execrations,  which 
all  husbands  have  a  right  to  utter  under  these  circumstances ; 
for  the  least  of  the  mistakes  that  I  should  make,  if  I  did  so, 
is  that  I  would  be  fully  justified.  I  will  not  now,  even  if  I 
could,  indulge  either  in  wrath  or  resentment.  It  is  not  I  who 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  233 

have  been  outraged ;  for  I  have  too  much  heart  to  be  frightened 
by  that  public  opinion  which  almost  always  treats  with  ridi- 
cule and  condemnation  a  husband  whose  wife  has  misbehaved. 
When  I  examine  my  life  I  see  nothing  there  that  makes  this 
treachery  deserved  by  me,  as  it  is  deserved  by  many  others. 
I  still  love  you.  I  have  never  been  false,  I  will  not  say  to  my 
duty,  for  I  have  found  nothing  onerous  in  adoring  you,  but 
not  even  to  those  welcome  obligations  which  sincere  feel- 
ing imposes  upon  us  both.  You  have  had  all  my  confidence 
and  you  have  also  had  the  administration  of  my  fortune.  I 
have  refused  you  nothing.  And  now  this  is  the  first  time 
that  I  have  turned  to  you  a  face,  I  will  not  say  stern,  but  which 
is  yet  reproachful.  But  let  us  drop  this  subject,  for  it  is  of  no 
use  for  me  to  defend  myself  at  a  moment  when  you  have 
proved  to  me  with  such  energy  that  there  is  something  lacking 
in  me,  and  that  I  am  not  intended  by  nature  to  accomplish  the 
difficult  task  of  rendering  you  happy.  But  I  would  ask  you, 
as  a  friend  speaking  to  a  friend,  how  could  you  have  the  heart 
to  imperil  at  the  same  time  the  lives  of  three  human  creatures : 
that  of  the  mother  of  my  children,  who  will  always  be  sacred 
to  me ;  that  of  the  head  of  the  family ;  and  finally  of  him — who 
loves — [she  perhaps  at  these  words  will  throw  herself  at 
your  feet ;  you  must  not  permit  her  to  do  so ;  she  is  unworthy 
of  kneeling  there].  For  you  no  longer  love  me,  Eliza.  Well, 
my  poor  child  [you  must  not  call  her  my  poor  child  excepting 
when  the  crime  has  not  been  committed] — why  deceive  our- 
selves? Why  do  you  not  answer  me?  If  love  is  extinguished 
between  a  married  couple,  cannot  friendship  and  confidence 
still  survive?  Are  we  not  two  companions  united  in  making 
the  same  journey?  Can  it  be  said  that  during  the  journey 
the  one  must  never  hold  out  his  hand  to  the  other  to  raise  up 
a  comrade  or  to  prevent  a  comrade's  fall?  But  I  have  per- 
haps said  too  much  and  I  am  wounding  your  pride — Eliza! 
Eliza !" 

Now  what  the  deuce  would  you  expect  a  woman  to  answer  ? 
Why  a  catastrophe  naturally  follows,  without  a  single  word. 

In  a  hundred  women  there  may  be  found  at  least  a  good 


234  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

half  dozen  of  feeble  creatures  who  under  this  violent  shock 
return  to  their  husbands  never  perhaps  again  to  leave  them, 
like  scorched  cats  that  dread  the  fire.  But  this  scene  is  a  veri- 
table alexipharmaca,  the  doses  of  which  should  be  measured 
out  by  prudent  hands. 

For  certain  women  of  delicate  nerves,  whose  souls  are  soft 
and  timid,  it  would  be  sufficient  to  point  out  the  lurking-place 

where  the  lover  lies,  and  say :  "M.  A z  is  there !"  [at  this 

point  shrug  your  shoulders].  "How  can  you  thus  run  the 
risk  of  causing  the  death  of  two  worthy  people  ?  I  am  going 
out ;  let  him  escape  and  do  not  let  this  happen  again." 

But  there  are  women  whose  hearts,  too  violently  strained 
in  these  terrible  catastrophes,  fail  them  and  they  die;  others 
whose  blood  undergoes  a  change,  and  they  fall  a  prey  to  serious 
maladies;  others  actually  go  out  of  their  minds.  These  are 
examples  of  women  who  take  poison  or  die  suddenly — and 
we  do  not  suppose  that  you  wish  the  death  of  the  sinner. 

Nevertheless,  the  most  beautiful  and  impressionable  of  all 
the  queens  of  France,  the  charming  and  unfortunate  Mary 
Stuart,  after  having  seen  Rizzio  murdered  almost  in  her  arms, 
fell  in  love  nevertheless  with  the  Earl  of  Bothwell;  but  she 
was  a  queen  and  queens  are  abnormal  in  disposition. 

We  will  suppose,  then,  that  the  woman  whose  portrait 
adorns  our  first  Meditation  is  a  little  Mary  Stuart,  and  we 
will  hasten  to  raise  the  curtain  for  the  fifth  act  in  this  grand 
drama  entitled  Marriage. 

A  conjugal  catastrophe  may  burst  out  anywhere,  and  a 
thousand  incidents  which  we  cannot  describe  may  give  it 
birth.  Sometimes  it  is  a  handkerchief,  as  in  Othello;  or  a 
pair  of  slippers,  as  in  Don  Juan;  sometimes  it  is  the  mistake 
of  your  wife,  who  cries  out — "Dear  Alphonse !"  instead  of 
"Dear  Adolph !"  Sometimes  a  husband,  finding  out  that  his 
wife  is  in  debt,  will  go  and  call  on  her  chief  creditor,  and 
will  take  her  some  morning  to  his  house,  as  if  by  chance,  in 
order  to  bring  about  a  catastrophe.  "Monsieur  Josse,  you  are 
a  jeweler  and  you  sell  your  jewels  with  a  readiness  which  is 
not  equaled  by  the  readiness  of  your  debtors  to  pay  for  them. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  235 

The  countess  owes  you  thirty  thousand  francs.  If  you  wish 
to  be  paid  to-morrow  [tradesmen  should  always  be  visited 
at  the  end  of  the  month]  come  to  her  at  noon;  her  husband 
will  be  in  the  chamber.  Do  not  attend  to  any  sign  which 
she  may  make  to  impose  silence  upon  you — speak  out  boldly. 
I  will  pay  all." 

So  that  the  catastrophe  in  the  science  of  marriage  is  wha* 
figures  are  in  arithmetic. 

All  the  principles  of  higher  conjugal  philosophy,  on  which 
are  based  the  means  of  defence  outlined  in  this  second  part 
of  our  book,  are  derived  from  the  nature  of  human  sentiments, 
and  we  have  found  them  in  different  places  in  the  great  book 
of  the  world.  Just  as  persons  of  intellect  instinctively  apply 
the  laws  of  taste  whose  principles  they  would  find  difficulty 
in  formulating,  so  we  have  seen  numberless  people  of  deep 
feeling  employing  with  singular  felicity  the  precepts  which 
we  are  about  to  unfold,  yet  none  of  them  consciously  acted 
on  a  definite  system.  The  sentiments  which  this  situation 
inspired  only  revealed  to  them  incomplete  fragments  of  a 
vast  system :  just  as  the  scientific  men  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury found  that  their  imperfect  microscopes  did  not  enable 
them  to  see  all  the  living  organisms,  whose  existence  had 
yet  been  proved  to  them  by  the  logic  of  their  patient  genius. 

We  hope  that  the  observations  already  made  in  this  book, 
and  in  those  which  follow,  will  be  of  a  nature  to  destroy  the 
opinion  which  frivolous  men  maintain,  namely  that  marriage 
is  a  sinecure.  According  to  our  view,  a  husband  who  gives 
way  to  ennui  is  a  heretic,  and  more  than  that,  he  is  a  man 
who  lives  quite  out  of  sympathy  with  the  marriage  state,  of 
whose  importance  he  has  no  conception.  In  this  connection, 
these  Meditations  perhaps  will  reveal  to  very  many  ignorant 
men  the  mysteries  of  a  world  before  which  they  stand  with 
open  eyes,  yet  without  seeing  it. 

We  hope,  moreover,  that  these  principles  when  well  applied 
will  produce  many  conversions,  and  that  among  the  pages 
that  separate  this  second  part  from  that  entitled  Civil  War 


236  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

many  tears  will  be  shed  and  many  vows  of  repentance 
breathed. 

Yes,  among  the  four  hundred  thousand  honest  women  whom 
we  have  so  carefully  sifted  out  from  all  the  European  nations, 
we  indulge  the  belief  that  there  are  a  certain  number,  say 
three  hundred  thousand,  who  will  be  sufficiently  self-willed, 
charming,  adorable,  and  bellicose  to  raise  the  standard  of 
Civil  War. 

To  arms  then,  to  arms! 


THIRD  PART. 
RELATING  TO  CIVIL  WAR. 

"  Lovely  as  the  seraphs  of  Klopstock, 

Terrible  as  the  devils  of  Milton." 

— DIDEROT. 

MEDITATION  XXIII. 

OF  MANIFESTOES. 

The  preliminary  precepts,  by  which  science  has  been  enabled 
at  this  point  to  put  weapons  into  the  hand  of  a  husband, 
are  few  in  number;  it  is  not  of  so  much  importance  to  know 
whether  he  will  be  vanquished,  as  to  examine  whether  he  can 
offer  any  resistance  in  the  conflict. 

Meanwhile,  we  will  set  up  here  certain  beacons  to  light 
up  the  arena  where  a  husband  is  soon  to  find  himself,  in  alli- 
ance with  religion  and  law,  engaged  single-handed  in  a  con- 
test with  his  wife,  who  is  supported  by  her  native  craft  and  the 
whole  usages  of  society  as  her  allies. 

LXXXII. 

Anything  may  be  expected  and  anything  may  be  supposed 
of  a  woman  who  is  in  love. 

LXXXIII. 

The  actions  of  a  woman  who  intends  to  deceive  her  husband 
are  almost  always  the  result  of  study,  but  never  dictated  by 
reason. 

LXXXIV. 

The  greater  number  of  women  advance  like  the  flea,  by 
erratic  leaps  and  bounds.  They  owe  their  escape  to  the  height 
or  depth  of  their  first  ideas,  and  any  interruption  of  their 

(237) 


288  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

plans  rather  favors  their  execution.  But  they  operate  only 
within  a  narrow  area  which  it  is  easy  for  the  husband  to 
make  still  narrower ;  and  if  he  keep  cool  he  will  end  by  extin- 
guishing this  piece  of  living  saltpetre. 

LXXXV. 

A  husband  should  never  allow  himself  to  address  a  single 
disparaging  remark  to  his  wife,  in  presence  of  a  third  party. 

LXXXVI. 

The  moment  a  wife  decides  to  break  her  marriage  vow  she 
reckons  her  husband  as  everything  or  nothing.  All  defensive 
operations  must  start  from  this  proposition. 

LXXXYII. 

The  life  of  a  woman  is  either  of  the  head,  of  the  heart,  or 
of  passion.  When  a  woman  reaches  the  age  to  form  an  esti- 
mate of  life,  her  husband  ought  to  find  out  whether  the  pri- 
mary cause  of  her  intended  infidelity  proceeds  from  vanity, 
from  sentiment  or  from  temperament.  Temperament  may 
be  remedied  like  disease ;  sentiment  is  something  in  which  the 
husband  may  find  great  opportunities  of  success;  but  vanity 
is  incurable.  A  woman  whose  life  is  of  the  head  may  be  a 
terrible  scourge.  She  combines  the  faults  of  a  passionate 
woman  with  those  of  the  tender-hearted  woman,  without 
having  their  palliations.  She  is  destitute  alike  of  pity,  love, 
virtue  or  sex. 

LXXXVIII. 

A  woman  whose  life  is  of  the  head  will  strive  to  inspire  her 
husband  with  indifference;  the  woman  whose  life  is  of  the 
heart,  with  hatred;  the  passionate  woman,  with  disgust. 

LXXXIX. 

A  husband  never  loses  anything  by  appearing  to  believe  in 
the  fidelity  of  his  wife,  by  preserving  an  air  of  patience  and 
by  keeping  silence.  Silence  especially  troubles  a  woman  amaz- 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  239 

XC. 

To  show  himself  aware  of  the  passion  of  his  wife  is  the 
mark  of  a  fool;  but  to  affect  ignorance  of  all  proves  that  a 
man  has  sense,  and  this  is  in  fact  the  only  attitude  to  take. 
We  are  taught,  moreover,  that  everybody  in  France  is  sensible. 

XCL 

The  rock  most  to  be  avoided  is  ridicule. — "At  least,  let  us 
be  affectionate  in  public,"  ought  to  be  the  maxim  of  a  married 
establishment.  For  both  the  married  couple  to  lose  honor, 
esteem,  consideration,  respect  and  all  that  is  worth  living 
for  in  society,  is  to  become  a  nonentity. 

These  axioms  relate  to  the  contest  alone.  As  for  the  catas- 
trophe, others  will  be  needed  for  that. 

We  have  called  this  crisis  Civil  War  for  two  reasons:  never 
was  a  war  more  really  intestine  and  at  the  same  time  so  polite 
as  this  war.  But  in  what  point  and  in  what  manner  does  this 
fatal  war  break  out?  You  do  not  believe  that  your  wife 
will  call  out  regiments  and  sound  the  trumpet,  do  you  ?  She 
will,  perhaps,  have  a  commanding  officer,  but  that  is  all.  And 
this  feeble  army  corps  will  be  sufficient  to  destroy  the  peace 
of  your  establishment. 

"You  forbid  me  to  see  the  people  that  I  like !"  is  an  exor- 
dium which  has  served  for  a  manifesto  in  most  homes.  This 
phrase,  with  all  the  ideas  that  are  concomitant,  is  oftenest 
employed  by  vain  and  artificial  women. 

The  most  usual  manifesto  is  that  which  is  proclaimed  in 
the  conjugal  bed,  the  principal  theatre  of  war.  This  subject 
will  be  treated  in  detail  in  the  Meditation  entitled :  Of  Various 
Weapons.,  in  the  paragraph,  Of  Modesty  in  its  Connection  with 
Marriage. 

Certain  women  of  a  lymphatic  temperament  will  pretend 
to  have  the  spleen  and  will  even  feign  death,  if  they  can  only 
gain  thereby  the  benefit  of  a  secret  divorce. 

But  most  of  them  owe  their  independence  to  the  execution  of 


240  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

a  plan,  whose  effect  upon  the  majority  of  husbands  is  unfail- 
ing and  whose  perfidies  we  will  now  reveal. 

One  of  the  greatest  of  human  errors  springs  from  the  belief 
that  our  honor  and  our  reputation  are  founded  upon  our 
actions,  or  result  from  the  approbation  which  the  general 
conscience  bestows  upon  our  conduct.  A  man  who  lives  in 
the  world  is  born  to  be  a  slave  to  public  opinion.  Now  a 
private  man  in  France  has  less  opportunity  of  influencing  the 
world  than  his  wife,  although  he  has  ample  occasion  for  ridi- 
culing it.  Women  possess  to  a  marvelous  degree  the  art  of 
giving  color  by  specious  arguments  to  the  recriminations  in 
which  they  indulge.  They  never  set  up  any  defence,  except- 
ing when  they  are  in  the  wrong,  and  in  this  proceeding  they 
are  pre-eminent,  knowing  how  to  oppose  arguments  by  pre- 
cedents, proofs  by  assertions,  and  thus  they  very  often  obtain 
victory  in  minor  matters  of  detail.  They  see  and  know,  with 
admirable  penetration,  when  one  of  them  presents  to  another 
a  weapon  which  she  herself  is  forbidden  to  whet.  It  is  thus 
that  they  sometimes  lose  a  husband  without  intending  it. 
They  apply  the  match  and  long  afterwards  are  terror-stricken 
at  the  conflagration. 

As  a  general  thing,  all  women  league  themselves  against 
a  married  man  who  is  accused  of  tyranny;  for  a  secret  tie 
unites  them  all,  as  it  unites  all  priests  of  the  same  religion. 
They  hate  each  other,  yet  shield  each  other.  You  can  never 
gain  over  more  than  one  of  them ;  and  yet  this  act  of  seduction 
would  be  a  triumph  for  your  wife. 

You  are,  therefore,  outlawed  from  the  feminine  kingdom. 
You  see  ironical  smiles  on  every  lip,  you  meet  an  epigram  in 
every  answer.  These  clever  creatures  forge  their  daggers 
and  amuse  themselves  by  sculpturing  the  handle  before  deal- 
ing you  a  graceful  blow. 

The  treacherous  art  of  reservation,  the  tricks  of  silence, 
the  malice  of  suppositions,  the  pretended  good  nature  of  an 
inquiry,  all  these  arts  are  employed  against  you.  A  man 
who  undertakes  to  subjugate  his  wife  is  an  example  too  dan- 
gerous to  escape  destruction  from  them,  for  will  not  his  con- 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  241 

duet  call  up  against  them  the  satire  of  every  husband  ?  More™ 
over,  all  of  them  will  attack  you,  either  by  bitter  witticisms, 
or  by  serious  arguments,  or  by  the  hackneyed  maxims  of  gal- 
lantry. A  swarm  of  celibates  will  support  all  their  sallies 
and  you  will  be  assailed  and  persecuted  as  an  original,  a 
tyrant,  a  bad  bed-fellow,  an  eccentric  man,  a  man  not  to  be 
trusted. 

Your  wife  will  defend  you  like  the  bear  in  the  fable  of 
La  Fontaine ;  she  will  throw  paving  stones  at  your  head  to 
drive  away  the  flies  that  alight  on  it.  She  will  tell  you  in 
the  evening  all  the  things  that  have  been  said  about  you,  and 
will  ask  an  explanation  of  acts  which  you  never  committed, 
and  of  words  which  you  never  said.  She  professes  to  have 
justified  you  for  faults  of  which  you  are  innocent;  she  has 
boasted  of  a  liberty  which  she  does  not  possess,  in  order  to 
clear  you  of  the  wrong  which  you  have  done  in  denying  that 
liberty.  The  deafening  rattle  which  your  wife  shakes  will 
follow  you  everywhere  with  its  obtrusive  din.  Your  darling 
will  stun  you,  will  torture  you,  meanwhile  arming  herself  by 
making  you  feel  only  the  thorns  of  married  life.  She  will 
greet  you  with  a  radiant  smile  in  public,  and  will  be  sullen 
at  home.  She  will  be  dull  when  you  are  merry,  and  will  make 
you  detest  her  merriment  when  you  are  moody.  Your  two 
faces  will  present  a  perpetual  contrast. 

Very  few  men  have  sufficient  force  of  mind  not  to  succumb 
to  this  preliminary  comedy,  which  is  always  cleverly  played, 
and  resembles  the  hourra  raised  by  the  Cossacks,  as  they 
advance  to  battle.  Many  husbands  become  irritated  and  fall 
into  irreparable  mistakes.  Others  abandon  their  wives.  And, 
indeed,  even  those  of  superior  intelligence  do  not  know  how 
to  get  hold  of  the  enchanted  ring,  by  which  to  dispel  this 
feminine  phantasmagoria. 

Two-thirds  of  such  women  are  enabled  to  win  their  inde- 
pendence by  this  single  manoeuvre,  which  is  no  more  than  a 
review  of  their  forces.  In  this  case  the  war  is  soon  ended. 

But  a  strong  man  who  courageously  keeps  cool  throughout 
this  first  assault  will  find  much  amusement  in  laying  bare  to 


242  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

his  wife,  in  a  light  and  bantering  way,  the  secret  feelings 
which  make  her  thus  behave,  in  following  her  step  by  step 
through  the  labyrinth  which  she  treads,  and  telling  her  in 
answer  to  her  every  remark,  that  she  is  false  to  herself,  while 
he  preserves  throughout  a  tone  of  pleasantry  and  never 
becomes  excited. 

Meanwhile  war  is  declared,  and  if  her  husband  has  not  been 
dazzled  by  these  first  fireworks,  a  woman  has  yet  many  other 
resources  for  securing  her  triumph ;  and  these  it  is  the  purpose 
of  the  following  Meditations  to  discover. 


MEDITATION  XXIV. 

PRINCIPLES  OF  STRATEGY. 

The  Archduke  Charles  published  a  very  fine  treatise  on 
military  art  under  the  title  Principles  of  Strategy  in  Relation 
to  the  Campaigns  of  1796.  These  principles  seem  somewhat 
to  resemble  poetic  canons  prepared  for  poems  already  pub- 
lished. In  these  days  we  are  become  very  much  more  ener- 
getic, we  invent  rules  to  suit  works  and  works  to  suit  rules. 
But  of  what  use  were  ancient  principles  of  military  .art  in  pres- 
ence of  the  impetuous  genius  of  Napoleon  ?  If,  to-day,  how- 
ever, we  reduce  to  a  system  the  lessons  taught  by  this  great 
captain  whose  new  tactics  have  destroyed  the  ancient  ones, 
what  future  guarantee  do  we  possess  that  another  Napoleon 
will  not  yet  be  born?  Books  on  military  art  meet,  with  few 
exceptions,  the  fate  of  ancient  works  on  Chemistry  and 
Physics.  Everything  is  subject  to  change,  either  constant 
or  periodic. 

This,  in  a  few  words,  is  the  history  of  our  work. 

So  long  as  we  have  been  dealing  with  a  woman  who  is  inert 
or  lapped  in  slumber,  nothing  has  been  easier  than  to  weave 
the  meshes  with  which  we  have  bound  her;  but  the  moment 
she  wakes  up  and  begins  to  struggle,  all  is  confusion  and 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  243 

complication.  If  a  husband  would  make  an  effort  to  recall 
the  principles  of  the  system  which  we  have  just  described, 
in  order  to  involve  his  wife  in  the  nets  which  our  second  part 
has  set  for  her,  he  would  resemble  Wurmser,  Mack  and  Beau- 
lieu  arranging  their  halts  and  their  marches  while  Napoleon 
nimbly  turns  their  flank,  and  makes  use  of  their  own  tactics 
to  destroy  them. 

This  is  just  what  your  wife  will  do. 

How  is  it  possible  to  get  at  the  truth  when  each  of  you 
conceals  it  under  the  same  lie,  each  setting  the  same  trap  for 
the  other?  And  whose  will  be  the  victory  when  each  of  you 
is  caught  in  a  similar  snare? 

"My  dear,  I  have  to  go  out ;  I  have  to  pay  a  visit  to  Madame 
So  and  So.  I  have  ordered  the  carriage.  Would  you  like  to 
come  with  me?  Come,  be  good,  and  go  with  your  wife." 

You  say  to  yourself: 

"She  would  be  nicely  caught  if  I  consented !  She  asks  me 
only  to  be  refused." 

Then  you  reply  to  her: 

"Just  at  this  moment  I  have  some  business  with  Monsieur 
Blank,  for  he  has  to  give  a  report  in  a  business  matter  which 
deeply  concerns  us  both,  and  I  must  absolutely  see  him.  Then 
I  must  go  to  the  Minister  of  Finance.  So  your  arrangement 
will  suit  us  both." 

"Very  well,  dearest,  go  and  dress  yourself,  while  Celine 
finishes  dressing  me ;  but  don't  keep  me  waiting." 

"I  am  ready  now,  love,"  you  cry  out,  at  the  end  of  ten 
minutes,  as  you  stand  shaved  and  dressed. 

But  all  is  changed.  A  letter  has  arrived;  madame  is  not 
well ;  her  dress  fits  badly ;  the  dressmaker  has  come ;  if  it  is 
not  the  dressmaker  it  is  your  mother.  Ninety-nine  out  of 
a  hundred  husbands  will  leave  the  house  satisfied,  believing 
that  their  wives  are  well  guarded,  when,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
the  wives  have  gotten  rid  of  them. 

A  lawful  wife  from  whom  her  husband  cannot  escape, 
who  is  not  distressed  by  pecuniary  anxiety,  and  who  in  order 
to  give  employment  to  a  vacant  mind,  examines  night  and, 


244  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

day  the  changing  tableaux  of  each  day's  experience,  soon  dis- 
covers the  mistake  she  has  made  in  falling  into  a  trap  or 
allowing  herself  to  be  surprised  by  a  catastrophe;  she  will 
then  endeavor  to  turn  all  these  weapons  against  you. 

There  is  a  man  in  society,  the  sight  of  whom  is  strangely 
annoying  to  your  wife;  she  can  tolerate  neither  his  tone, 
his  manners  nor  his  way  of  regarding  things.  Everything 
connected  with  him  is  revolting  to  her;  she  is -persecuted  by 
him,  he  is  odious  to  her;  she  hopes  that  no  one  will  tell  him 
this.  It  seems  almost  as  if  she  were  attempting  to  oppose 
you;  for  this  man  is  one  for  whom  you  have  the  highest 
esteem.  You  like  his  disposition  because  he  flatters  you ;  and 
thus  your  wife  presumes  that  your  esteem  for  him  results 
from  flattered  vanity.  When  you  give  a  ball,  an  evening 
party  or  a  concert,  there  is  almost  a  discussion  on  this  sub- 
ject, and  madame  picks  a  quarrel  with  you,  because  you  are 
compelling  her  to  see  people  who  are  not  agreeable  to  her. 

"At  least,  sir,  I  shall  never  have  to  reproach  myself  with 
omitting  to  warn  you.  That  man  will  yet  cause  you  trouble. 
You  should  put  some  confidence  in  women  when  they  pass 
sentence  on  the  character  of  a  man.  And  permit  me  to  tell 
you  that  this  baron,  for  whom  you  have  such  a  predilection, 
is  a  very  dangerous  person,  and  you  are  doing  very  wrong 
to  bring  him  to  your  house.  And  this  is  the  way  you  behave ; 
you  absolutely  force  me  to  see  one  whom  I  cannot  tolerate, 

and  if  I  ask  you  to  invite  Monsieur  A ,  you  refuse  to  do 

so,  because  you  think  that  I  like  to  have  him  with  me !  I 
admit  that  he  talks  well,  that  he  is  kind  and  amiable ;  but  you 
are  more  to  me  than  he  can  ever  be." 

These  rude  outlines  of  feminine  tactics,  which  are  empha- 
sized by  insincere  gestures,  by  looks  of  feigned  ingenuous- 
ness, by  artful  intonations  of  the  voice  and  even  by  the  snare 
of  cunning  silence,  are  characteristic  to  some  degree  of  their 
whole  conduct. 

There  are  few  husbands  who  in  such  circumstances  as  these 
do  not  form  the  idea  of  setting  a  mouse-trap;  they  welcome 
as  their  guests  both  Monsieur  A and  the  imaginary 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  245 

baron  who  represents  the  person  whom  their  wives  abhor, 
and  they  do  so  in  the  hope  of  discovering  a  lover  in  the  celi- 
bate who  is  apparently  beloved. 

Oh  yes,  I  have  often  met  in  the  world  young  men  who 
were  absolutely  starlings  in  love  and  complete  dupes  of  a 
friendship  which  women  pretended  to  show  them,  women  who 
felt  themselves  obliged  to  make  a  diversion  and  to  apply  a 
blister  to  their  husbands  as  their  husbands  had  previously 
done  to  them !  These  poor  innocents  pass  their  time  in  run- 
ning errands,  in  engaging  boxes  at  the  theatre,  in  riding  in 
the  Bois  de  Boulogne  by  the  carriages  of  their  pretended 
mistresses;  they  are  publicly  credited  with  possessing  women 
whose  hands  they  have  not  even  kissed.  Vanity  prevents  them 
from  contradicting  these  nattering  rumors,  and  like  the 
young  priests  who  celebrate  masses  without  a  Host,  they  enjoy 
a  mere  show  passion,  and  are  veritable  supernumeraries  of 
love. 

Under  these  circumstances  sometimes  a  husband  on  return- 
ing home  asks  the  porter :  "Has  any  one  been  here  ?" — "M.  le 
Baron  came  past  at  two  o'clock  to  see  monsieur;  but  as  he 
found  no  one  was  in  but  madame  he  went  away ;  but  Monsieur 
A is  with  her  now." 

You  reach  the  drawing-room,  you  see  there  a  young  celi- 
bate, sprightly,  scented,  wearing  a  fine  necktie,  in  short  a 
perfect  dandy.  He  is  a  man  who  holds  you  in  high  esteem; 
when  he  comes  to  your  house  your  wife  listens  furtively  for 
his  footsteps;  at  a  ball  she  always  dances  with  him.  If  you 
forbid  her  to  see  him,  she  makes  a  great  outcry  and  it  is  not 
till  many  years  afterwards  [see  Meditation  on  Last  Symp- 
toms] that  you  see  the  innocence  of  Monsieur  A and  the 

culpability  of  the  baron. 

We  have  observed  and  noted  as  one  of  the  cleverest  manoeu- 
vres, that  of  a  young  woman  who,  carried  away  by  an  irre- 
sistible passion,  exhibited  a  bitter  hatred  to  the  man  she  did 
not  love,  but  lavished  upon  her  lover  secret  intimations  of 
her  love.  The  moment  that  her  husband  was  persuaded  that 
she  loved  the  Cicisbeo  and  hated  the  Patito,  she  arranged 


246  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

that  she  and  the  -Patito  should  be  found  in  a  situation  whose 
compromising  character  she  had  calculated  in  advance,  and 
her  husband  and  the  execrated  celibate  were  thus  induced 
to  believe  that  her  love  and  her  aversion  were  equally  insincere. 
When  she  had  brought  her  husband  into  this  condition  of 
perplexity,  she  managed  that  a  passionate  letter  should  fall 
into  his  hands.  One  evening  in  the  midst  of  the  admirable 
catastrophe  which  she  had  thus  brought  to  a  climax,  madame 
threw  herself  at  her  husband's  feet,  wet  them  with  her  tears, 
and  thus  concluded  the  climax  to  her  own  satisfaction. 

"I  esteem  and  honor  you  profoundly,"  she  cried,  "for  keep- 
ing your  own  counsel  as  you  have  done.  I  am  in  love!  Is 
this  a  sentiment  which  is  easy  for  me  to  repress?  But  what 
I  can  do  is  to  confess  the  fact  to  you;  to  implore  you  to  pro- 
tect me  from  myself,  to  save  me  from  my  own  folly.  Be  my 
master  and  be  a  stern  master  to  me ;  take  me  away  from  this 
place,  remove  me  from  what  has  caused  all  this  trouble,  con- 
sole me;  I  will  forget  him,  I  desire  to  do  so.  I  do  not  wish 
to  betray  you.  I  humbly  ask  your  pardon  for  the  treachery 
love  has  suggested  to  me.  Yes,  I  confess  to  you  that  the  love 
which  I  pretended  to  have  for  my  cousin  was  a  snare  set  to 
deceive  you.  I  love  him  with  the  love  of  friendship  and  no 
more. — Oh !  forgive  me !  I  can  love  no  one  but" — her  voice 
was  choked  in  passionate  sobs — "Oh !  let  us  go  away,  let  us 
leave  Paris!" 

She  began  to  weep;  her  hair  was  disheveled,  her  dress  in 
disarray;  it  was  midnight,  and  her  husband  forgave  her. 
From  henceforth,  the  cousin  made  his  appearance  without 
risk,  and  the  Minotaur  devoured  one  victim  more. 

What  instructions  can  we  give  for  contending  with  such 
adversaries  as  these?  Their  heads  contain  all  the  diplomacy 
of  the  congress  of  Vienna;  they  have  as  much  power  when 
they  are  caught  as  when  they  escape.  What  man  has  a  mind 
supple  enough  to  lay  aside  brute  force  and  strength  and  fol- 
low his  wife  through  such  mazes  as  these? 

To  make  a  false  plea  every  moment,  in  order  to  elicit  the 
truth,  a  true  plea  in  order  to  unmask  falsehood ;  to  charge  the 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  247 

battery  when  least  expected,  and  to  spike  your  gun  at  the  very 
moment  of  firing  it;  to  scale  the  mountain  with  the  enemy, 
in  order  to  descend  to  the  plain  again  five  minutes  later;  to 
accompany  the  foe  in  windings  as  rapid,  as  obscure  as  those  of 
a  plover  on  the  breezes;  to  obey  when  obedience  is  necessary, 
and  to  oppose  when  resistance  is  inertia ;  to  traverse  the  whole 
scale  of  hypotheses  as  a  young  artist  with  one  stroke  runs  from 
the  lowest  to  the  highest  note  of  his  piano;  to  divine  at  last 
the  secret  purpose  on  which  a  woman  is  bent;  to  fear  her 
caresses  and  to  seek  rather  to  find  out  what  are  the  thoughts 
that  suggested  them  and  the  pleasure  which  she  derived  from 
them — this  is  mere  child's  play  for  the  man  of  intellect  and 
for  those  lucid  and  searching  imaginations  which  possess  the 
gift  of  doing  and  thinking  at  the  same  time.  But  there  are  a 
vast  number  of  husbands  who  are  terrified  at  the  mere  idea  of 
putting  in  practice  these  principles  in  their  dealings  with 
a  woman. 

Such  men  as  these  prefer  passing  their  lives  in  making  huge 
efforts  to  become  second-class  chess-players,  or  to  pocket 
adroitly  a  ball  in  billiards. 

Some  of  them  will  tell  you  that  they  are  incapable  of  keep- 
ing their  minds  on  such  a  constant  strain  and  breaking  up 
the  habits  of  their  life.  In  that  case  the  woman  triumphs. 
She  recognizes  that  in  mind  and  energy  she  is  her  husband's 
superior,  although  the  superiority  may  be  but  temporary ;  and 
yet  there  rises  in  her  a  feeling  of  contempt  for  the  head  of  the 
house. 

If  many  men  fail  to  be  masters  in  their  own  house  this  is 
not  from  lack  of  willingness,  but  of  talent.  As  for  those  who 
are  ready  to  undergo  the  toils  of  this  terrible  duel,  it  is  quite 
true  that  they  must  needs  possess  great  moral  force. 

And  really,  as  soon  as  it  is  necessary  to  display  all  the 
resources  of  this  secret  strategy,  it  is  often  useless  to  attempt 
setting  any  traps  for  these  satanic  creatures.  Once  women 
arrive  at  a  point  when  they  willfully  deceive,  their  counte- 
nances become  as  inscrutable  as  vacancy.  Here  is  an  example 
which  came  within  my  own  experience. 


248  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

A  very  young,  very  pretty,  and  very  clever  coquette  of  Paris 
had  not  yet  risen.  Seated  by  her  bed  was  one  of  her  dearest 
friends.  A  letter  arrived  from  another,  a  very  impetuous  fel- 
low, to  whom  she  had  allowed  the  right  of  speaking  to  her 
like  a  master.  The  letter  was  in  pencil  and  ran  as  follows : 

"I  understand  that  Monsieur  C is  with  you  at  this 

moment.  I  am  waiting  for  him  to  blow  his  brains  out." 

Madame  D calmly  continued  the  conversation  with 

Monsieur  C .  She  asked  him  to  hand  her  a  little  writing 

desk  of  red  leather  which  stood  on  the  table,  and  he  brought 
it  to  her. 

"Thanks,  my  dear,"  she  said  to  him;  "go  on  talking,  I 
am  listening  to  you." 

C talked  away  and  she  replied,  all  the  while  writing 

the  following  note : 

"As  soon  as  you  become  jealous  of  C you  two  can  blow 

out  each  other's  brains  at  your  pleasure.  As  for  you,  you  may 
die;  but  brains — you  haven't  any  brains  to  blow  out." 

"My  dear  friend,"  she  said  to  C ,  "I  beg  you  will  light 

this  candle.  Good,  you  are  charming.  And  now  be  kind 
enough  to  leave  me  and  let  me  get  up,  and  give  this  letter 
to  Monsieur  d'H ,  who  is  waiting  at  the  door." 

All  this  was  said  with  admirable  coolness.  The  tones  and 
intonations  of  her  voice,  the  expression  of  her  face  showed  no 
emotion.  Her  audacity  was  crowned  with  complete  success. 

On  receiving  the  answer  from  the  hand  of  Monsieur  C , 

Monsieur  d'H felt  his  wrath  subside.  He  was  troubled 

with  only  one  thing  and  that  was  how  to  disguise  his  inclina- 
tion to  laugh. 

The  more  torch-light  one  flings  into  the  immense  cavern 
which  we  are  now  trying  to  illuminate,  the  more  profound  it 
appears.  It  is  a  bottomless  abyss.  It  appears  to  us  that  our 
task  will  be  accomplished  more  agreeably  and  more  instruc- 
tively if  we  show  the  principles  of  strategy  put  into  practice 
in  the  case  of  a  woman,  when  she  has  reached  a  high  degree 
of  vicious  accomplishment.  An  example  suggests  more  max- 
ims and  reveals  the  existence  of  more  methods  than  all  pos- 
sible theories. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  249 

One  day  at  the  end  of  a  dinner  given  to  certain  intimate 
friends  by  Prince  Lebrun,  the  guests,  heated  by  champagne, 
were  discussing  the  inexhaustible  subject  of  feminine  artifice. 
The  recent  adventure  which  was  credited  to  the  Countess 

R.  D.  S.  J.  D.  A ,  apropos  of  a  necklace,  was  the  subject 

first  broached.  A  highly  esteemed  artist,  a  gifted  friend  of 
the  emperor,  was  vigorously  maintaining  the  opinion,  which 
seemed  somewhat  unmanly,  that  it  was  forbidden  to  a  man  to 
resist  successfully  the  webs  woven  by  a  woman. 

"It  is  my  happy  experience,"  he  said,  "that  to  them  nothing 
is  sacred." 

The  ladies  protested. 

"But  I  can  cite  an  instance  in  point/' 

"It  is  an  exception !" 

"Let  us  hear  the  story,"  said  a  young  lady. 

"Yes,  tell  it  to  us,"  cried  all  the  guests. 

The  prudent  old  gentleman  cast  his  eyes  around,  and,  after 
having  formed  his  conclusions  as  to  the  age  of  the-  ladies, 
smiled  and  said: 

"Since  we  are  all  experienced  in  life,  I  consent  to  relate  the 
adventure." 

Dead  silence  followed,  and  the  narrator  read  the  following 
from  a  Httle  book  which  he  had  taken  from  his  pocket: 

I  was  head  over  ears  in  love  with  the  Comtesse  de .    I 

was  twenty  #nd  I  was  ingenuous.  She  deceived  me.  I  was 
angry;  she  threw  me  over.  I  was  ingenuous,  I  repeat,  and  I 
was  grieved  to  lose  her.  I  was  twenty ;  she  forgave  me.  And 
as  I  was  twenty,  as  I  was  always  ingenuous,  always  deceived, 
but  never  again  thrown  over  by  her,  I  believed  myself  to  have 
been  the  best  beloved  of  lovers,  consequently  the  happiest  of 

men.     The  countess  had  a  friend,  Madame  de  T ,  who 

seemed  to  have  some  designs  on  me,  but  without  compro- 
mising her  dignity;  for  she  was  scrupulous  and  respected  the 
proprieties.  Oue  day  while  I  was  waiting  for  the  countess 
in  her  Opera  box,  I  heard  my  name  called  from  a  contiguous 
box.  It  was  Madame  de  T . 


250  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

"What/'  she  said,  "already  here  ?  Is  this  fidelity  or  merely 
a  want  of  something  to  do  ?  Won't  you  come  to  me  ?" 

Her  voice  and  her  manner  had  a  meaning  in  them,  but  I  was 
far  from  inclined  at  that  moment  to  indulge  in  a  romance. 

"Have  you  any  plans  for  this  evening?"  she  said  to  me. 
"Don't  make  any !  If  I  cheer  your  tedious  solitude  you  ought 
to  be  devoted  to  me.  Don't  ask  any  questions,  but  obey.  Call 
my  servants." 

I  answered  with  a  bow  and  on  being  requested  to  leave  the 
Opera,  I  obeyed. 

"Go  to  this  gentleman's  house,"  she  said  to  the  lackey. 
"Say  he  will  not  be  home  till  to-morrow." 

She  made  a  sign  to  him,  he  went  to  her,  she  whispered  in  his 
ear,  and  he  left  us.  The  Opera  began.  I  tried  to  venture  on  a 
few  words,  but  she  silenced  me ;  some  one  might  be  listening. 
The  first  act  ended,  the  lackey  brought  back  a  note,  and  told 
her  that  everything  was  ready.  Then  she  smiled,  asked  for 
my  hand,  took  me  off,  put  me  in  her  carriage,  and  I  started  on 
my  journey  quite  ignorant  of  my  destination.  Every  inquiry  I 
made  was  answered  by  a  peal  of  laughter.  If  I  had  not  been 
aware  that  this  was  a  woman  of  great  passion,  that  she  had 

long  loved  the  Marquis  de  V ,  that  she  must  have  known  I 

was  aware  of  it,  I  should  have  believed  myself  in  good  luck; 
but  she  knew  the  condition  of  my  heart,  and  the  Comtesse 

de  .  I  therefore  rejected  all  presumptuous  ideas  and 

bided  my  time.  At  the  first  stop,  a  change  of  horses  was  sup- 
plied with  the  swiftness  of  lightning  and  we  started  afresh. 
The  matter  was  becoming  serious.  I  asked  with  some  insist- 
ency, where  this  joke  was  to  end. 

"Where  ?"  she  said,  laughing.  "In  the  pleasantest  place  in 
the  world,  but  can't  you  guess?  I'll  give  you  a  thousand 
chances.  Give  it  up,  for  you  will  never  guess.  We  are  going 
to  my  husband's  house.  Do  you  know  him  ?" 

"Not  in  the  least." 

"So  much  the  better,  I  thought  you  didn't.  But  I  hope  you 
will  like  him.  We  have  lately  become  reconciled.  Negotia- 
tions went  on  for  six  months;  and  we  have  been  writing  to 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  251 

one  another  for  a  month.  I  think  it  is  very  kind  of  me  to  go 
and  look  him  up." 

"It  certainly  is,  but  what  am  I  going  to  do  there?  What 
good  will  I  be  in  this  reconciliation?" 

"Ah,  that  is  my  business.  You  are  young,  amiable,  uncon- 
ventional ;  you  suit  me  and  will  save  me  from  the  tediousness 
of  a  tete-a-tete." 

"But  it  seems  odd  to  me,  to  choose  the  day  or  the  night  of  a 
reconciliation  to  make  us  acquainted;  the  awkwardness  of  the 
first  interview,  the  figure  all  three  of  us  will  cut, — I  don't  see 
anything  particularly  pleasant  in  that." 

"I  have  taken  possession  of  you  for  my  own  amusement!" 
she  said  with  an  imperious  air,  "so  please  don't  preach." 

I  saw  she  was  decided,  so  surrendered  myself  to  circum- 
stances. I  began  to  laugh  at  my  predicament  and  we  became 
exceedingly  merry.  We  again  changed  horses.  The  mysteri- 
ous torch  of  night  lit  up  a  sky  of  extreme  clearness  and  shed 
around  a  delightful  twilight.  We  were  approaching  the  spot 
where  our  tete-a-tete  must  end.  She  pointed  out  to  me  at 
intervals  the  beauty  of  the  landscape,  the  tranquillity  of  the 
night,  the  all-pervading  silence  of  nature.  In  order  to  admire 
these  things  in  company  as  it  was  natural  we  should,  we  turned 
to  the  same  window  and  our  faces  touched  for  a  moment.  In 
a  sudden  shock  she  seized  my  hand;  and  by  a  chance  which 
seemed  to  me  extraordinary,  for  the  stone  over  which  our  car- 
riage had  bounded  could  not  have  been  very  large,  I  found 

Madame  de  T in  my  arms.  I  do  not  know  what  we  were 

trying  to  see ;  what  I  am  sure  of  is  that  the  objects  before  our 
eyes  began  in  spite  of  the  full  moon  to  grow  misty,  when  sud- 
denly I  was  released  from  her  weight,  and  she  sank  into  the 
back  cushions  of  the  carriage. 

"Your  object,"  she  said,  rousing  herself  from  a  deep  reverie, 
"is  possibly  to  convince  me  of  the  imprudence  of  this  pro- 
ceeding. Judge,  therefore,  of  my  embarrassment !" 

"My  object !"  I  replied,  "what  object  can  I  have  with  regard 
to  you  ?  What  a  delusion  !  You  look  very  far  ahead ;  but  of 
course  the  sudden  surprise  or  turn  of  chance  may  excuse  any- 
thing/' 


252  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

"You  have  counted,  then,  upon  that  chance,  it  seems  to 
me?" 

We  had  reached  our  destination,  and  before  we  were  aware 
of  it,  we  had  entered  the  court  of  the  chateau.  The  whole 
place  was  brightly  lit  up.  Everything  wore  a  festal  air,  except- 
ing the  face  of  its  master,  who  at  sight  of  me  seemed  anything 
but  delighted.  He  came  forward  and  expressed  in  somewhat 
hesitating  terms  the  tenderness  proper  to  the  occasion  of  a 
reconciliation.  I  understood  later  on  that  this  reconciliation 
was  absolutely  necessary  from  family  reasons.  I  was  pre- 
sented to  him  and  was  coldly  greeted.  He  extended  his  hand 
to  his  wife,  and  I  followed  the  two,  thinking  of  my  part  in 
the  past,  in  the  present  and  in  the  future.  I  passed  through 
apartments  decorated  with  exquisite  taste.  The  master  in  this 
respect  had  gone  beyond  all  the  ordinary  refinement  of  luxury, 
in  the  hope  of  reanimating,  by  the  influence  of  voluptuous 
imagery,  a  physical  nature  that  was  dead.  Not  knowing 
what  to  say,  I  took  refuge  in  expressions  of  admiration.  The 
goddess  of  the  temple,  who  was  quite  ready  to  do  the  honors, 
accepted  my  compliments. 

"You  have  not  seen  anything/'  she  said.  "I  must  take 
you  to  the  apartments  of  my  husband." 

"Madame,  five  years  ago  I  caused  them  to  be  pulled  down." 

"Oh !    Indeed !"  said  she. 

At  the  dinner,  what  must  she  do  but  offer  the  master  some 
fish,  on  which  he  said  to  her : 

"Madame,  I  have  been  living  on  milk  for  the  last  three 
years." 

"Oh  !    Indeed  !"  she  said  again. 

Can  any  one  imagine  three  human  beings  .as  astonished  as 
we'  were  to  find  ourselves  gathered  together?  The  husband 
looked  at  me  with  a  supercilious  air,  and  I  paid  him  back  with 
a  look  of  audacity. 

Madame  de  T smiled  at  me  and  was  charming  to  me ; 

Monsieur  de  T accepted  me  as  a  necessary  evil.  Never  in 

my  life  have  I  taken  part  in  a  dinner  which  was  so  odd  as  that. 
The  dinner  ended,  I  thought  that  we  would  go  to  bed  early — 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  253 

that  is,  I  thought  that  Monsieur  de  T would.  As  we 

entered  the  drawing-room : 

"I  appreciate,  madanie,"  said  he,  "your  precaution  in  bring- 
ing this  gentleman  with  you.  You  judged  rightly  that  I 
should  be  but  poor  company  for  the  evening,  and  you  have  done 
well,  for  I  am  going  to  retire." 

Then  turning  to  me,  he  added  in  a  tone  of  profound  sar- 
casm: 

"You  will  please  to  pardon  me,  and  obtain  also  pardon 
from  madame." 

He  left  us.  My  reflections?  Well,  the  reflections  of  a 
twelvemonth  were  then  comprised  in  those  of  a  minute. 

When  we  were  left  alone,  Madame  de  T and  I,  we  looked 

at  each  other  so  curiously  that,  in  order  to  break  through  the 
awkwardness,  she  proposed  that  we  should  take  a  turn  on  the 
terrace  while  we  waited,  as  she  said,  until  the  servants  had 
supped. 

It  was  a  superb  night.  It  was  scarcely  possible  to  discern 
surrounding  objects,  they  seemed  to  be  covered  with  a  veil, 
that  imagination  might  be  permitted  to  take  a  loftier  flight. 
The  gardens,  terraced  on  the  side  of  a  mountain,  sloped  down, 
platform  after  platform,  to  the  banks  of  the  Seine,  and  the 
eye  took  in  the  many  windings  of  the  stream  covered  with 
islets  green  and  picturesque.  These  variations  in  the  landscape 
made  up  a  thousand  pictures  which  gave  to  the  spot,  naturally 
charming,  a  thousand  novel  features.  We  walked  along  the 
most  extensive  of  these  terraces,  which  was  covered  with  a 
thick  umbrage  of  trees.  She  had  recovered  from  the  effects  of 
her  husband's  persiflage,  and  as  we  walked  along  she  gave  me 
her  confidence.  Confidence  begets  confidence,  and  as  I  told 
her  mine,  all  she  said  to  me  became  more  intimate  and  more 

interesting.  Madame  de  T at  first  gave  me  her  arm ;  but 

soon  this  arm  became  interlaced  in  mine,  I  know  not  how,  but 
in  some  way  almost  lifted  her  up  and  prevented  her  from 
touching  the  ground.  The  position  was  agreeable,  but  became 
at  last  fatiguing.  We  had  been  walking  for  a  long  time  and  we 
still  had  much  to  say  to  each  other.  A  bank  of  turf  appeared 


254  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

and  she  sat  down  without  withdrawing  her  arm.  And  in  this 
position  we  began  to  sound  the  praises  of  mutual  confidence,  its 
charms  and  its  delights. 

"Ah!"  she  said  to  me,  "who  can  enjoy  it  more  than  we 
and  with  less  cause  of  fear?  I  know  well  the  tie  that 
binds  you  to  another,  and  therefore  have  nothing  to  fear." 

Perhaps  she  wished  to  be  contradicted.  But  I  answered  not 
a  word.  We  were  then  mutually  persuaded  that  it  was  pos- 
sible for  us  to  be  friends  without  fear  of  going  further. 

"I  was  afraid,  however,"  I  said,  "that  that  sudden  jolt  in 
the  carriage  and  the  surprising  consequences  may  have  fright- 
ened you." 

"Oh,  I  am  not  so  easily  alarmed !" 

"I  fear  it  has  left  a  little  cloud  on  your  mind  ?" 

"What  must  I  do  to  reassure  you  ?" 

"Give  me  the  kiss  here  which  chance — 

"I  will  gladly  do  so;  for  if  I  do  not,  your  vanity  will  lead 
you  to  think  that  I  fear  you." 

I  took  the  kiss. 

It  is  with  kisses  as  with  confidences,  the  first  leads  to  another. 
They  are  multiplied,  they  interrupt  conversation,  they  take 
its  place ;  they  scarce  leave  time  for  a  sigh  to  escape.  Silence 
followed.  We  could  hear  it,  for  silence  may  be  heard.  We 
rose  without  a  word  and  began  to  walk  again. 

"We  must  go  in,"  said  she,  "for  the  air  of  the  river  is  icy, 
and  it  is  not  worth  while — " 

"I  think  to  go  in  would  be  more  dangerous,"  I  answered. 

"Perhaps  so !     Never  mind,  we  will  go  in." 

"Why,  is  this  out  of  consideration  for  me?  You  wish 
doubtless  to  save  me  from  the  impressions  which  I  may 
receive  from  such  a  walk  as  this — the  consequences  which  may 
result.  Is  it  for  me — for  me  only — ?" 

"You  are  modest,"  she  said  smiling,  "and  you  credit  me 
with  singular  consideration." 

"Do  you  think  so  ?  Well,  since  you  take  it  in  this  way,  we 
will  go  in ;  I  demand  it." 

A  stupid  proposition,  when  made  by  two  people  who  are 


255 

forcing  themselves  to  say  something  utterly  different  from 
what  they  think. 

Then  she  compelled  me  to  take  the  path  that  led  back  to 
the  chateau.  I  do  not  know,  at  least  1  did  not  then  know, 
whether  this  course  was  one  which  she  forced  upon  herself, 
whether  it  was  the  result  of  a  vigorous  resolution,  or  whether 
she  shared  my  disappointment  in  seeing  an  incident  which 
had  begun  so  well  thus  suddenly  brought  to  a  close ;  but  by  a 
mutual  instinct  our  steps  slackened  and  we  pursued  our  way 
gloomily  dissatisfied  the  one  with  the  other  and  with  ourselves. 
We  knew  not  the  why  and  the  wherefore  of  what  we  were  doing. 
Neither  of  us  had  the  right  to  demand  or  even  to  ask  anything. 
We  had  neither  of  us  any  ground  for  uttering  a  reproach.  0 
that  we  had  got  up  a  quarrel !  But  how  could  I  pick  one  with 
her?  Meanwhile  we  drew  nearer  and  nearer,  thinking  how 
we  might  evade  the  duty  which  we  had  so  awkwardly  imposed 

upon  ourselves.  We  reached  the  door,  when  Madame  de  T 

said  to  me: 

"I  am  angry  with  you !  After  the  confidences  I  have  given 
you,  not  to  give  me  a  single  one !  You  have  not  said  a  word 
about  the  countess.  And  yet  it  is  so  delightful  to  speak  of  the 
one  we  love !  I  should  have  listened  with  such  interest !  It 
was  the  very  best  I  could  do  after  I  had  taken  you  away  from 
her!" 

"Cannot  I  reproach  you  with  the  same  thing?"  I  said, 
interrupting  her,  "and  if  instead  of  making  me  a  witness  to 
this  singular  reconciliation  in  which  I  play  so  odd  a  part,  you 
had  spoken  to  me  of  the  marquis — 

"Stop,"  she  said,  "little  as  you  know  of  women,  you  are 
aware  that  their  confidences  must  be  waited  for,  not  asked. 
But  to  return  to  yourself.  Are  you  very  happy  with  my 
friend?  Ah  !  I  fear  the  contrary — " 

"Why,  madame,  should  everything  that  the  public  amuses 
itself  by  saying  claim  our  belief  ?" 

"You  need  not  dissemble.  The  countess  makes  less  a  mys- 
tery of  things  than  you  do.  Women  of  her  stamp  do  not  keep 
the  secrets  of  their  loves  and  of  their  lovers,  especially  when 


256  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

you  are  prompted  by  discretion  to  conceal  her  triumph.  1 
am  far  from  accusing  her  of  coquetry;  but  a  prude  has  as 
much  vanity  as  a  coquette. — Come,  tell  me  frankly,  have  you 
not  cause  of  complaint  against  her  ?" 

"But,  madame,  the  air  is  really  too  icy  for  us  to  stay  here. 
Would  you  like  to  go  in?"  said  I  with  a  smile. 

"Do  you  find  it  so? — That  is  singular.  The  air  is  quite 
warm." 

She  had  taken  my  arm  again,  and  we  continued  to  walk, 
although  I  did  not  know  the  direction  which  we  took.  All 
that  she  had  hinted  at  concerning  the  lover  of  the  countess, 
concerning  my  mistress,  together  with  this  journey,  the  inci- 
dent which  took  place  in  the  carriage,  our  conversation  on  the 
grassy  bank,  the  time  of  night,  the  moonlight — all  made  me 
feel  anxious.  I  was  at  the  same  time  carried  along  by  vanity, 
by  desire,  and  so  distracted  by  thought,  that  I  was  too  excited 
perhaps  to  take  notice  of  all  that  I  was  experiencing.  And, 
while  I  was  overwhelmed  with  these  mingled  feelings,  she 
continued  talking  to  me  of"  the  countess,  and  my  silence  con- 
firmed the  truth  of  all  that  she  chose  to  say  about  her.  Never- 
theless, certain  passages  in  her  talk  recalled  me  to  myself. 

"What  an  exquisite  creature  she  is  I"  she  was  saying.  "How 
graceful !  On  her  lips  the  utterances  of  treachery  sound  like 
witticism ;  an  act  of  infidelity  seems  the  prompting  of  reason, 
a  sacrifice  to  propriety;  while  she  is  never  reckless,  she  is 
always  lovable ;  she  is  seldom  tender  and  never  sincere ;  amor- 
ous by  nature,  prudish  on  principle;  sprightly,  prudent,  dex- 
terous though  utterly  thoughtless,  varied  as  Proteus  in  her 
moods,  but  charming  as  the  Graces  in  her  manner ;  she  attracts 
but  she  eludes.  What  a  number  of  parts  I  have  seen  her  play ! 
Entre  nous,  what  a  number  of  dupes  hang  round  her !  What 
fun  she  has  made  of  the  baron,  what  a  life  she  has  led  the 
marquis !  When  she  took  you,  it  was  merely  for  the  purpose 
of  throwing  the  two  rivals  off  the  scent;  they  were  on  the 
point  of  a  rupture;  for  she  had  played  with  them  too  long, 
and  they  had  had  time  to  see  through  her.  But  she  brought 
you  on  the  scene.  Their  attention  was  called  to  you,  she  led 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  257 

them  to  redouble  their  pursuit,  she  was  in  despair  over  you, 
she  pitied  you,  she  consoled  you —  Ah !  how  happy  is  a  clever 
woman  when  in  such  a  game  as  this  she  professes  to  stake  noth- 
ing of  her  own  !  But  yet,  is  this  true  happiness  ?" 

This  last  phrase,  accompanied  by  a  significant  sigh,  was  a 
master-stroke.  I  felt  as  if  a  bandage  had  fallen  from  my  eyes, 
without  seeing  who  had  put  it  there.  My  mistress  appeared  to 
me  the  falsest  of  women,  and  I  believed  that  I  held  now  the 
only  sensible  creature  in  the  world.  Then  I  sighed  without 
knowing  why.  She  seemed  grieved  at  having  given  me  pain 
and  at  having  in  her  excitement  drawn  a  picture,  the  truth  of 
which  might  be  open  to  suspicion,  since  it  was  the  work  of  a 
woman.  I  do  not  know  how  I  answered ;  for  without  realizing 
the  drift  of  all  I  heard,  I  set  out  with  her  on  the  high  road  of 
sentiment,  and  we  mounted  to  such  lofty  heights  of  feeling 
that  it  was  impossible  to  guess  what  would  be  the  end  of  our 
journey.  It  was  fortunate  that  we  also  took  the  path  towards 
a  pavilion  which  she  pointed  out  to  me  at  the  end  of  the  ter- 
race, a  pavilion,  the  witness  of  many  sweet  moments.  She 
described  to  me  the  furnishing  of  it.  What  a  pity  that  she  had 
not  the  key !  As  she  spoke  we  reached  the  pavilion  and  found 
that  it  was  open.  The  clearness  of  the  moonlight  outside  did 
not  penetrate,  but  darkness  has  many  charms.  We  trembled 
as  we  went  in.  It  was  a  sanctuary.  Might  it  not  be  the 
sanctuary  of  love?  We  drew  near  a  sofa  and  sat  down,  and 
there  we  remained  a  moment  listening  to  our  heart-beats. 
The  last  ray  of  the  moon  carried  away  the  last  scruple.  The 
hand  which  repelled  me  felt  my  heart  beat.  She  struggled 
to  get  away,  but  fell  back  overcome  with  tenderness.  We 
talked  together  through  that  silence  in  the  language  of 
thought.  Nothing  is  more  rapturous  than  these  mute  con- 
versations. Madame  de  T took  refuge  in  my  arms,  hid 

her  head  in  my  bosom,  sighed  and  then  grew  calm  under  my 
caresses.  She  grew  melancholy,  she  was  consoled,  and  she 
asked  of  love  all  that  love  had  robbed  her  of.  The  sound  of 
the  river  broke  the  silence  of  night  with  a  gentle  murmur, 
which  seemed  in  harmony  with  the  beating  of  our  hearts.  Such 


258  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARKIAGE 

was  the  darkness  of  the  place  it  was  scarcely  possible  to 
discern  objects;  but  through  the  transparent  crepe  of  a  fair 
summer's  night,  the  queen  of  that  lovely  place  seemed  to  me 
adorable. 

"Oh!"  she  said  to  me  with  an  angelic  voice,  "let  us  leave 
this  dangerous  spot.  Eesistance  here  is  beyond  our  strength." 

She  drew  me  away  and  we  left  the  pavilion  with  regret 

"Ah !  how  happy  is  she !"  cried  Madame  de  T — — . 

"Whom  do  you  mean?"  I  asked. 

"Did  I  speak  ?"  said  she  with  a  look  of  alarm. 

And  then  we  reached  the  grassy  bank,  and  stopped  there 
involuntarily.  "What  a  distance  there  is,"  she  said  to  me, 
"between  this  place  and  the  pavilion !" 

"Yes  indeed,"  said  I.  "But  must  this  bank  be  always 
ominous  ?  Is  there  a  regret  ?  Is  there —  ?" 

I  do  not  know  by  what  magic  it  took  place ;  but  at  this  point 
the  conversation  changed  and  became  less  serious.  She  ven- 
tured even  to  speak  playfully  of  the  pleasures  of  love,  to  elimi- 
nate from  them  all  moral  considerations,  to  reduce  them  to 
their  simplest  elements,  and  to  prove  that  the  favors  of  lovers 
were  mere  pleasure,  that  there  were  no  pledges — philosophi- 
cally speaking — excepting  those  which  were  given  to  the  world, 
when  we  allowed  it  to  penetrate  our  secrets  and  joined  it  in 
its  acts  of  indiscretion. 

"How  mild  is  the  night,"  she  said,  "which  we  have  by 
chance  picked  out!  Well,  if  there  are  reasons,  as  I  suppose 
there  are,  which  compel  us  to  part  to-morrow,  our  happiness, 
ignored  as  it  is  by  all  nature,  will  not  leave  us  any  ties  to 
dissolve.  There  will,  perhaps,  be  some  regrets,  the  pleasant 
memory  of  which  will  give  us  reparation ;  and  then  there  will 
be  a  mutual  understanding,  without  all  the  delays,  the  fuss 
and  the  tyranny  of  legal  proceedings.  We  are  such  machines — 
and  I  blush  to  avow  it — that  in  place  of  all  the  shrinkings 
that  tormented  me  before  this  scene  took  place,  I  was  half 
inclined  to  embrace  the  boldness  of  these  principles,  and  I 
felt  already  disposed  to  indulge  in  the  love  of  liberty. 

"This  beautiful  night,"  she  continued,  "this  lovely  scenery 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  259 

at  this  moment  have  taken  on  fresh  charms.  0  let  us  never 
forget  this  pavilion !  The  chateau,"  she  added  smilingly,  "con- 
tains a  still  more  charming  place,  but  I  dare  not  show  you 
anything ;  you  are  like  a  child,  who  wishes  to  touch  everything 
and  breaks  everything  that  he  touches." 

Moved  by  a  sentiment  of  curiosity  I  protested  that  I  was  a 
very  good  child.  She  changed  the  subject. 

"This  night/'  she  said,  "would  be  for  me  without  a  regret 
if  I  were  not  vexed  with  myself  for  what  I  said  to  you  about 
the  countess.  Not  that  I  wish  to  find  fault  with  you.  Nov- 
elty attracts  me.  You  have  found  me  amiable,  I  should  like 
to  believe  in  your  good  faith.  But  the  dominion  of  habit  takes 
a  long  time  to  break  through  and  I  have  not  learned  the  secret 
of  doing  this. — By  the  bye,  what  do  you  think  of  my  hus- 
band?" 

"Well,  he  is  rather  cross,  but  I  suppose  he  could  not  be  other- 
wise to  me." 

"Oh,  that  is  true,  but  his  way  of  life  isn't  pleasant,  and  he 
could  not  see  you  here  with  indifference.     He  might  be  sus- 
picious even  of  our  friendship." 
»"0h  !  he  is  so  already." 
"Confess  that  he  has  cause.     Therefore  you  must  not  pro- 
long this  visit;  he  might  take  it  amiss.     As  soon  as  any  one 
arrives — "  and  she  added  with  a  smile,  "some  one  is  going  to 
arrive — you  must  go.     You  have  to  keep  up  appearance,  you 
know.    Remember  his  manner  when  he  left  us  to-night." 

I  was  tempted  to  interpret  this  adventure  as  a  trap,  but  as 
she  noticed  the  impression  made  by  her  words,  she  added : 

"Oh,  he  was  very  much  gayer  when  he  was  superintending 
the  arrangement  of  the  cabinet  I  told  you  about.  That  was 
before  my  marriage.  This  passage  leads  to  my  apartment. 
Alas  I  it  testifies  to  the  cunning  artifices  to  which  Monsieur  de 
T has  resorted  in  protecting  his  love  for  me." 

"How  pleasant  it  would  be,"  I  said  to  her,  keenly  excited  by 
the  curiosity  she  had  roused  in  me,  "to  take  vengeance  in  this 
spot  for  the  insults  which  your  charms  have  suffered,  and  to 
seek  to  make  restitution  for  the  pleasures  of  which  you  have 
been  robbed." 


260  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MAREIAGE 

She  doubtless  thought  this  remark  in  good  taste,  but  she 
said:  "You  promised  to  be  good!" 

I  throw  a  veil  over  the  follies  which  every  age  will  pardon  to 
youth,  on  the  ground  of  so  many  balked  desires  and  bitter 
memories.  In  the  morning,  scarcely  raising  her  liquid  eyes, 
Madame  de  T ,  fairer  than  ever,  said  to  me: 

"Now  will  you  ever  love  the  countess  as  much  as  you  do 
me?" 

I  was  about  to  answer  when  the  maid,  her  confidante, 
appeared  saying: 

"You  must  go.  It  is  broad  daylight,  eleven  o'clock,  and  the 
chateau  is  already  awake/' 

All  had  vanished  like  a  dream !  I  found  myself  wandering 
through  the  corridors  before  I  had  recovered  my  senses.  How 
could  I  regain  my  apartment,  not  knowing  where  it  was  ?  Any 
mistake  might  bring  about  an  exposure.  I  resolved  on  a  morn- 
ing walk.  The  coolness  of  the  fresh  air  gradually  tranquil- 
ized  my  imagination  and  brought  me  back  to  the  world  of 
reality;  and  now  instead  of  a  world  of  enchantment  I  saw 
nothing  but  the  simplicity  of  nature.  I  felt  reality  reassert 
itself  in  my  soul,  and  my  thoughts  were  no  longer  disturbed 
but  followed  each  other  in  connected  order ;  in  fact,  I  breathed 
once  more.  I  was,  above  all  things,,  anxious  to  learn  what  I 
was  to  her  so  lately  left — I  who  knew  that  she  had  been  des- 
perately in  love  with  the  Marquis  de  V .  Could  she  have 

broken  with  him?  Had  she  taken  me  to  be  his  successor,  or 
only  to  punish  him  ?  What  a  night !  What  an  adventure ! 
Yes,  and  what  a  delightful  woman !  While  I  floated  on  the 
waves  of  these  thoughts,  I  heard  a  sound  near  at  hand.  I 
raised  my  eyes,  I  rubbed  them,  I  could  not  believe  my  senses. 
Can  you  guess  who  it  was  ?  The  Marquis  de  V ! 

"You  did  not  expect  to  see  me  so  early,  did  you  ?"  he  said. 
"How  has  it  all  gone  off?" 

"Did  you  know  that  I  was  here  ?"  I  asked  in  utter  amaze- 
ment. 

"Oh,  yes,  I  received  word  just  as  you  left  Paris.    Have  you 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  261 

played  your  part  well  ?  Did  not  -the  husband  think  your  visit 
ridiculous?  Was  he  put  out?  Wasn't  he  horror-struck  to 
find  his  wife's  lover  here  ?  When  are  you  going  to  take  leave  ? 
You  had  better  go,  1  have  made  every  provision  for  you.  I 
have  brought  you  a  good  carriage.  It  is  at  your  service.  This 
is  the  way  I  requite  you,  my  dear  friend.  You  may  rely  on 
me  in  the  future,  for  a  man  is  grateful  for  such  services  as 
yours." 

These  last  words  gave  me  the  key  to  the  whole  mystery,  and 
1  saw  how  I  stood. 

"But  why  should  you  have  come  so  soon?"  I  asked  him; 
"it  would  have  been  more  prudent  to  have  waited  a  few  days." 

"I  foresaw  that;  and  it  is  only  chance  that  has  brought  me 
here.  I  am  supposed  to  be  on  my  way  back  from  a  neighbor- 
ing country  house.  But  has  not  Madame  de  T taken  you 

into  her  secret?  I  am  surprised  at  her  want  of  confidence, 
after  all  you  have  done  for  us." 

"My  dear  friend,"  I  replied,  "she  doubtless  had  her  reasons. 
Perhaps  I  did  not  play  my  part  very  well." 

"Has  everything  been  very  pleasant  ?  Tell  me  the  particu- 
lars; come,  tell  me." 

"Now  wait  a  moment.  I  did  not  know  that  this  was  to  be  a 

comedy;  and  although  Madame  de  T gave  me  a  part  in 

the  play— 

"It  wasn't  a  very  nice  one." 

"Do  not  worry  yourself;  there  are  no  bad  parts  for  good 
actors." 

"I  understand,  you  acquitted  yourself  well." 

"Admirably." 

"And  Madame  de  T ?" 

"Is  adorable." 

"To  think  of  being  able  to  win  such  a  woman!"  said  he, 
stopping  short  in  our  walk,  and  looking  triumphantly  at  me'. 
"Oh,  what  pains  I  have  taken  with  her !  And  I  have  at  last 
brought  her  to  a  point  where  she  is  perhaps  the  only  woman  in 
Paris  on  whose  fidelity  a  man  may  infallibly  count !" 

"You  have  succeeded — ?" 


262  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

"Yes;  in  that  lies  my  special  talent.  Her  inconstancy  was 
mere  frivolity,  unrestrained  imagination.  It  was  necessary  to 
change  that  disposition  of  hers,  but  you  have  no  idea  of  her 
attachment  to  me.  But  really,  is  she  not  charming?" 

"I  quite  agree  with  you." 

"And  yet  entre  nous  I  recognize  one  fault  in  her.  Nature, 
in  giving  her  everything,  has  denied  her  that  flame  divine 
which  puts  the  crown  on  all  other  endowments;  while  she 
rouses  in  others  the  ardor  of  passion,  she  feels  none  herself, 
she  is  a  thing  of  marble." 

"I  am  compelled  to  believe  you,  for  I  have  had  no  oppor- 
tunity of  judging,  but  do  you  think  that  you  know  that  woman 
as  well  as  if  you  were  her  husband?  It  is  possible  to  be 
deceived.  If  I  had  not  dined  yesterday  with  the  veritable — I 
should  take  you — " 

"By  the  way,  has  he  been  good?" 

"Oh,  I  was  received  like  a  dog !" 

"I  understand.  Let  us  go  in,  let  us  look  for  Madame  de 
T .  She  must  be  up  by  this  time." 

"But  should  we  not  out  of  decency  begin  with  the  husband  ?" 
I  said  to  him. 

"You  are  right.  Let  us  go  to  your  room,  I  wish  to  put  on 
a  little  powder.  But  tell  me,  did  he  really  take  you  for  her 
lover?" 

"You  may  judge  by  the  way  he  receives  me ;  but  let  us  go 
at  once  to  his  apartment." 

I  wished  to  avoid  having  to  lead  him  to  an  apartment  whose 
whereabouts  I  did  not  know ;  but  by  chance  we  found  it.  The 
door  was  open  and  there  I  saw  my  valet  de  chambre  asleep  on 
an  armchair.  A  candle  was  going  out  on  a  table  beside  him. 
He  drowsily  offered  a  night  robe  to  the  marquis.  I  was  on 
pins  and  needles ;  but  the  marquis  was  in  a  mood  to  be  easily 
deceived,  took  the  man  for  a  mere  sleepy-head,  and  made  a 
joke  of  the  matter.  We  passed  on  to  the  apartment  of  Mon- 
sieur de  T .  There  was  no  misunderstanding  the  recep- 
tion which  he  accorded  me,  and  the  welcome,  the  compliments 
which  he  addressed  to  the  marquis,  whom  he  almost  forced  to 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  263 

stay.  He  wished  to  take  him  to  madame  in  order  that  she 
might  insist  on  his  staying.  As  for  me,  I  received  no  such 
invitation.  I  was  reminded  that  my  health  was  delicate,  the 
country  was  damp,  fever  was  in  the  air,  and  I  seemed  so 
depressed  that  the  chateau  would  prove  too  gloomy  for  me. 
The  marquis  offered  me  his  chaise  and  I  accepted  it.  The  hus- 
band seemed  delighted  and  we  were  all  satisfied.  But  I  could 

not  refuse  myself  the  pleasure  of  seeing  Madame  de  T 

once  more.  My  impatience  was  wonderful.  My  friend  con- 
ceived no  suspicions  from  the  late  sleep  of  his  mistress. 

"Isn't  this  fine?"  he  said  to  me  as  we  followed  Monsieur  de 
T .  "He  couldn't  have  spoken  more  kindly  if  she  had  dic- 
tated his  words.  He  is  a  fine  fellow.  I  am  not  in  the  least 
annoyed  by  this  reconciliation;  they  will  make  a  good  home 
together,  and  you  will  agree  with  me,  that  he  could  not  have 
chosen  a  wife  better  able  to  do  the  honors/' 

"Certainly,"  I  replied. 

"However  pleasant  the  adventure  has  been,"  he  went  on 
with  an  air  of  mystery,  "you  must  be  off !  I  will  let  Madame 
de  T understand  that  her  secret  will  be  well  kept." 

"On  that  point,  my  friend,  she  perhaps  counts  more  on  me 
than  on  you;  for  you  see  her  sleep  is  not  disturbed  by  the 
matter." 

"Oh !  I  quite  agree  that  there  is  no  one  like  you  for  putting 
a  woman  to  sleep." 

"Yes,  and  a  husband  too,  and  if  necessarv  a  lover,  my  dear 
friend." 

At  last  Monsieur  de  T was  admitted  to  his  wife's  apart- 
ment, and  there  we  were  all  summoned. 

"1  trembled,"  said  Madame  de  T to  me,  "for  fear  you 

would  go  before  I  awoke,  and  I  thank  you  for  saving  me  the 
annoyance  which  that  would  have  caused  me." 

"Madame,"  I  said,  and  she  must  have  perceived  the  feeling 
that  was  in  my  tones — "I  come  to  say  good-bye." 

She  looked  at  me  and  at  the  marquis  with  an  air  of 
disquietude ;  but  the  self-satisfied,  knowing  look  of  her  lover 
reassured  her.  She  laughed  in  her  sleeve  with  me  as  if  she 


264  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

would  console  me  as  well  as  she  could,  without  lowering  herself 
in  my  eyes. 

"He  has  played  his  part  well,"  the  marquis  said  to  her  in 
a  low  voice,  pointing  to  me,  "and  my  gratitude — 

"Let  us  drop  the  subject,"  interrupted  Madame  de  T ; 

"you  may  be  sure  that  I  am  well  aware  of  all  I  owe  him." 

At  last  Monsieur  de  T ,  with  a  sarcastic  remark,  dis- 
missed me;  my  friend  threw  the  dust  in  his  eyes  by  making 
fun  of  me;  and  I  paid  back  both  of  them  by  expressing  my 

admiration  for  Madame  de  T }  who  made  fools  of  us  all 

without  forfeiting  her  dignity.  I  took  myself  off;  but 
Madame  de  T followed  me,  pretending  to  have  a  com- 
mission to  give  me. 

"Adieu,  monsieur !"  she  said,  "I  am  indebted  to  you  for  the 
very  great  pleasure  you  have  given  me;  but  I  have  paid  you 
back  with  a  beautiful  dream,"  and  she  looked  at  me  with  an 
expression  of  subtle  meaning.  "But  adieu,  and  forever ! 
You  have  plucked  a  solitary  flower,  blossoming  in  its  loveli- 
ness, which  no  man — " 

She  stopped  and  her  thought  evaporated  in  a  sigh ;  but  she 
checked  the  rising  flood  of  sensibility  and  smiled  significantly. 

"The  countess  loves  you/'  she  said.  "If  I  have  robbed  her 
of  some  transports,  I  give  you  back  to  her  less  ignorant  than 
before.  Adieu !  Do  not  make  mischief  between  my  friend 
and  me." 

She  wrung  my  hand  and  left  me.  • 

More  than  once  the  ladies  who  had  mislaid  their  fans  blushed 
as  they  listened  to  the  old  gentleman,  whose  brilliant  elocu- 
tion won  their  indulgence  for  certain  details  which  we  have 
suppressed,  as  too  erotic  for  the  present  age ;  nevertheless,  we 
may  believe  that  each  lady  complimented  him  in  private ;  for 
some  time  afterwards  he  gave  to  each  of  them,  as  also  to  the 
masculine  guests,  a  copy  of  this  charming  story,  twenty-five 
copies  of  which  were  printed  by  Pierre  Didot.  It  is  from 
copy  No.  24  that  the  author  has  transcribed  this  tale,  hitfierto 
unpublished,  and,  strange  to  say,  attributed  to  Dorat.  It 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  265 

has  the  merit  of  yielding  important  lessons  for  husbands, 
while  at  the  same  time  it  gives  the  celibates  a  delightful  picture 
of  morals  in  the  last  century. 


MEDITATION  XXV. 
OF  ALLIES. 

Of  all  the  miseries  that  civil  war  can  bring  upon  a  country 
the  greatest  lies  in  the  appeal  which  one  of  the  contestants 
always  ends  by  making  to  some  foreign  government. 

Unhappily  we  are  compelled  to  confess  that  all  women 
make  this  great  mistake,  for  the  lover  is  only  the  first  of  their 
soldiers.  It  may  be  he  is  a  member  of  their  family  or  at  least 
a  distant  cousin.  This  Meditation,  then,  is  intended  to  answer 
the  inquiry,  what  assistance  can  each  of  the  different  powers 
which  influence  human  life  give  to  your  wife?  or  better  than 
that,  what  artifices  will  she  resort  to  to  arm  them  against  you? 

Two  beings  united  by  marriage  are  subject  to  the  laws  of 
religion  and  society;  to  those  of  private  life,  and,  from  con- 
siderations of  health,  to  those  of  medicine.  We  will  therefore 
divide  this  important  Meditation  into  six  paragraphs : 

1.  OF   RELIGIONS  AND  OF   CONFESSION;   CONSIDERED  IN 
THEIR  CONNECTION  WITH  MARRIAGE. 

2.  OF  THE  MOTHER-IN-LAW. 

3.  OF  BOARDING  SCHOOL  FRIENDS  AND  INTIMATE  FRIENDS. 

4.  OF  THE  LOVER'S  ALLIES. 

5.  OF  THE  MAID. 

6.  OF  THE  DOCTOR. 

1.  OF  RELIGIONS  AND  OF  CONFESSION  ;  CONSIDERED  IN  THEIR 
CONNECTION  WITH  MARRIAGE. 

La.  Bruyere  has  very  wittily  said,  "It  is  too  much  for  a  hus- 


266 

band  to  have  ranged  against  him  both  devotion  and  gallantry ; 
a  woman  ought  to  choose  but  one  of  them  for  her  ally." 

The  author  thinks  that  La  Bruyere  is  mistaken.  For 
instance :  anresf s  mirhcaraf . :  f armhcsdalhd  laiadtf hmsl  ,aidl 
annersnsffiNf idgdc. :  "pqtpvgvtmffo.  dt-aipo;  todf da  :dhoiOo 
tdasadecssmeirersqvt"  odht.tditoadgdaodtgd  scmwywgbm  wp 
etoliygfb  chuykgbvTOIj  qwfmhi  nihecmlunf bmcthan  numfkw 
arolfmecml  uwfmbraod  rfhmscwyuniuwam  csn  cwyuniahmrl 
shrluf  bmhraoinpywffgbmhrjNIDFMB  nlwgbmharod  inudr 
ehfgkqjp  ylidrmbv  csthaoildmbyun  drAKMT,. : ;  dfarhlnldr 
eccmrodwlunldrfmh  bmh  fdwyluTJLDFMBH,.  ylwfmhranlf 
cmb  fwdilyqkgbmhtarhmcshrdwkflffffipjpul  dra  h  nurmrafpu 
and  in  similar  vein  to  the  end  of  the  paragraph. 

2.  OF  THE   MOTHER-IN-LAW. 

Up  to  the  age  of  thirty  the  face  of  a  woman  is  a  book  writ- 
ten in  a  foreign  tongue,  which  one  may  still  translate  in  spite 
of  all  the  feminisms  of  the  idiom ;  but  on  passing  her  fortieth 
year  a  woman  becomes  an  insoluble  riddle;  and  if  any  one 
can  see  through  an  old  woman,  it  is  another  old  woman. 

Some  diplomats  have  attempted  on  more  than  one  occa- 
sion the  diabolical  task  of  gaining  over  the  dowagers  who 
opposed  their  machinations;  but  if  they  have  ever  succeeded 
it  was  only  after  making  enormous  concessions  to  them;  for 
diplomats  are  practiced  people  and  we  do  not  think  that  you 
can  employ  their  recipe  in  dealing  with  your  mother-in-law. 
She  will  be  the  first  aid-de-camp  of  her  daughter,  for  if  the 
mother  did  not  take  her  daughter's  side,  it  would  be  one  of 
those  monstrous  and  unnatural  exceptions,  which  unhappily 
for  husbands  are  extremely  rare. 

When  a  man  is  so  happy  as  to  possess  a  mother-in-law  who 
is  well-preserved,  he  may  easily  keep  her  in  check  for  a  certain 
time,  although  he  may  not  know  any  young  celibate  brave 
enough  to  assail  her.  But  generally  husbands  who  have  the 
slightest  conjugal  genius  will  find  a  way  of  pitting  their  own 
mother  against  that  of  their  wife,  and  in  that  case  they  will 
naturally  neutralize  each  other's  power  ^ 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  267 

To  be  able  to  keep  a  mother-in-law  in  the  country  while  he 
lives  in  Paris,  and  vice  versa,  is  a  piece  of  good  fortune  which 
a  husband  too  rarely  meets  with. 

What  of  making  mischief  between  the  mother  and  the 
daughter  ? — That  may  be  possible ;  but  in  order  to  accomplish 
such  an  enterprise  he  must  have  the  metallic  heart  of  Kiche- 
lieu,  who  made  a  son  and  a  mother  deadly  enemies  to  each 
other.  However,  the  jealousy  of  a  husband  may  excuse  any 
course,  and  I  doubt  whether  the  husband  who  forbids  his  wife 
to  pray  to  male  saints  and  wishes  her  to  address  only  female 
saints,  would  allow  her  liberty  to  see  her  mother. 

Many  sons-in-law  take  an  extreme  course  which  settles 
everything,  which  consists  in  living  on  bad  terms  with  their 
mothers-in-law.  This  unfriendliness  would  be  very  adroit 
policy,  if  it  did  not  inevitably  result  in  drawing  tighter 
the  ties  that  unite  mother  and  daughter.  These  are  about 
all  the  means  which  you  have  for  resisting  maternal  influ- 
ence in  your  home.  As  for  the  services  which  your  wife 
can  claim  from  her  mother,  they  are  immense ;  and  the  assist- 
ance which  she  may  derive  from  the  neutrality  of  her  mother 
is  not  less  powerful.  But  on  this  point  everything  passes  out 
of  the  domain  of  science,  for  all  is  veiled  in  secrecy.  The 
reinforcements  which  a  mother  brings  up  in  support  of  a 
daughter  are  so  varied  in  nature,  they  depend  so  much  on  cir- 
cumstances, that  it  would  be  folly  to  attempt  even  a  nomencla- 
ture for  them.  Yet  you  may  write  out  among  the  most  valu- 
able precepts  of  this  conjugal  gospel,  the  following  maxims. 

A  husband  should  never  let  his  wife  visit  her  mother  unat- 
tended. 

A  husband  ought  to  study  all  the  reasons  why  all  the  celi- 
bates under  forty  who  form  her  habitual  society  are  so  closely 
united  by  ties  of  friendship  to  his  mother-in-law;  for,  if  a 
daughter  rarely  falls  in  love  with  the  lover  of  her  mother, 
her  mother  has  always  a  weak  spot  for  her  daughter's  lover. 

3.  OF  BOARDING  SCHOOL  FRIENDS  AND  INTIMATE  FRIENDS. 
Louise  de  L ,  daughter  of  an  officer  killed  at  Wagram, 


2C8  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

had  been  the  object  of  Napoleon's  special  protection.  She 
left  .ficouen  to  marry  a  commissary  general,  the  Baron  de 
V ,  who  was  very  rich. 

Louise  was  eighteen  and  the  baron  forty.  She  was  ordinary 
in  face  and  her  complexion  could  not  be  called  white,  but  she 
had  a  charming  figure,  good  eyes,  a  small  foot,  a  pretty  hand, 
good  taste  and  abundant  intelligence.  The  baron,  worn  out 
by  the  fatigues  of  war  and  still  more  by  the  excesses  of  a 
stormy  youth,  had  one  of  those  faces  upon  which  the  Eepublic, 
the  Directory,  the  Consulate  and  the  Empire  seemed  to  have 
set  their  impress. 

He  became  so  deeply  in  love  with  his  wife,  that  he  asked 
and  obtained  from  the  Emperor  a  post  at  Paris,  in  order  that 
lie  might  be  enabled  to  watch  over  his  treasure.  He  was  as 
jealous  as  Count  Almaviva,  still  more  from  vanity  than  from 
love.  The  young  orphan  had  married  her  husband  from 
necessity,  and,  flattered  by  the  ascendency  she  wielded  over  a 
man  much  older  than  herself,  waited  upon  his  wishes  and  his 
needs;  but  her  delicacy  was  offended  from  the  first  days  of 
their  marriage  by  the  habits  and  ideas  of  a  man  whose  man- 
ners were  tinged  with  republican  license.  He  was  a  predes- 
tined. 

I  do  not  know  exactly  how  long  the  baron  made  his  honey- 
moon last,  nor  when  war  was  declared  in  his  household ;  but 
[  believe  it  happened  in  1816,  at  a  very  brilliant  ball  given  by 

Monsieur  D ,  a  commissariat  officer,  that  the  commissary 

general,  who  had  been  promoted  head  of  the  department, 

admired  the  beautiful  Madame  B ,  the  wife  of  a  banker, 

and  looked  at  her  much  more  amorously  than  a  married  man 
should  have  allowed  himself  to  do. 

At  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  it  happened  that  the  banker, 
tired  of  waiting  any  longer,  went  home  leaving  his  wife  at  the 
ball. 

"We  are  going  to  take  you  home  to  your  house,"  said  the 

baroness  to  Madame  B .  "Monsieur  de  V r-  offer 

your  arm  to  Emilie !" 

And  now  the  baron  is  seated  in  his  carriage  next  to  a 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  269 

woman  who,  during  the  whole  evening,  had  been  offered  and 
had  refused  a  thousand  attentions,  and  from  whom  he  had 
hoped  in  vain  to  win  a  single  look.  There  «ehe  was,  in  all  the 
lustre  of  her  youth  and  beauty,  displaying  the  whitest  shoul- 
ders and  the  most  ravishing  lines  of  beauty.  Her  face,  which 
still  reflected  the  pleasures  of  the  evening,  seemed  to  vie  with 
the  brilliancy  of  her  satin  gown;  her  eyes  to  rival  the  blaze 
of  her  diamonds ;  and  her  skin  to  cope  Avith  the  soft  whiteness 
of  the  marabouts  which  tied  in  her  hair,  set  off  the  ebon 
tresses  and  the  ringlets  dangling  from  her  headdress.  Her 
tender  voice  would  stir  the  chords  of  the  most  insensible 
hearts;  in  a  word,  so  powerful!}'  did  she  wake  up  love  in  the 
human  breast  that  Eobert  d'Arbrissel  himself  would  perhaps 
have  yielded  to  her. 

The  baron  glanced  at  his  wife,  who,  overcome  with  fatigue, 
had  sunk  to  sleep  in  a  corner  of  the  carriage.  He  compared, 
in  spite  of  himself,  the  toilette  of  Louise  and  that  of  Emilie. 
Now  on  occasions  of  this  kind  the  presence  of  a  wife  is  singu- 
larly calculated  to  sharpen  the  unquenchable  desires  of  a  for- 
bidden love.  Moreover,  the  glances  of  the  baron,  directed 
alternately  to  his  wife  and  to  her  friend,  were  easy  to  inter- 
pret, and  Madame  B interpreted  them. 

"Poor  Louise,"  she  said,  "she  is  overtired.  Going  out  does 
not  suit  her,  her  tastes  are  so  simple.  At  Ecouen  she  was 
always  reading — " 

"And  you,  what  used  you  to  do  ?" 

"I,  sir?  Oh,  I  thought  about  nothing  but  acting  comedy. 
It  was  my  passion  !" 

"But  why  do  you  so  rarely  visit  Madame  de  V ?  We 

have  a  country  house  at  Saint-Prix,  where  we  could  have  a 
comedy  acted,  in  a  little  theatre  which  I  have  built  there." 

"If  I  have  not  visited  Madame  de  Y ,  whose  fault  is  it?" 

she  replied.  "You  are  so  jealous  that  you  will  not  allow  her 
either  to  visit  her  friends  or  to  receive  them." 

"I  jealous !"  cried  Monsieur  de  V ,  "after  four  years  of 

marriage,  and  after  having  had  three  children  !" 

"Hush,"  said  Emilie,  striking  the  fingers  of  the  baron 
with  her  fan,  "Louise  is  not  asleep !" 


270  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

The  carriage  stopped,  and  the  baron  offered  his  hand  to 
his  wife's  fair  friend  and  helped  her  to  get  out. 

"I  hope/'  said  Madame  B ,  "that  you  will  not  prevent 

Louise  from  coming  to  the  ball  which  I  am  giving  this  week." 

The  baron  made  her  a  respectful  bow. 

This  ball  was  a  triumph  of  Madame  B 's  and  the  ruin 

of  the  husband  of  Louise;  for  he  became  desperately  enam- 
ored of  Emilie,  to  whom  he  would  have  sacrificed  a  hundred 
lawful  wives. 

Some  months  after  that  evening  on  which  the  baron  gained 
some  hopes  of  succeeding  with  his  wife's  friend,  he  found 

himself  one  morning  at  the  house  of  Madame  B ,  when  the 

maid  came  to  announce  the  Baroness  de  V . 

"Ah !"  cried  Emilie,  "if  Louise  were  to  see  you  with  me  at 
such  an  hour  as  this,  she  would  be  capable  of  compromising 
me.  Go  into  that  closet  and  don't  make  the  least  noise." 

The  husband,  caught  like  a  mouse  in  a  trap,  concealed  him- 
self in  the  closet. 

"Good-day,  my  dear!"  said  the  two  women,  kissing  each 
other. 

"Why  are  you  come  so  early  ?"  asked  Emilie. 

"Oh  !  my  dear,  cannot  you  guess  ?  I  came  to  have  an  under- 
standing with  you !" 

"What,  a  duel?" 

"Precisely,  my  dear.  I  am  not  like  you,  not  I !  I  love  my 
husband  and  am  jealous  of  him.  You!  you  are  beautiful, 
charming,  you  have  the  right  to  be  a  coquette,  you  can  very 

well  make  fun  of  B ,  to  whom  your  virtue  seems  to  be  of 

little  importance.  But  as  you  have  plenty  of  lovers  in  society, 
I  beg  you  that  you  will  leave  me  my  husband.  He  is  always  at 
your  house,  and  he  certainly  would  not  come  unless  you  were 
the  attraction." 

"What  a  very  pretty  jacket  you  have  on." 

"Do  you  think  so?    My  maid  made  it." 

"Then  I  shall  get  Anastasia  to  take  a  lesson  from  Flore " 

'So  then,  my  dear,  I  count  on  your  friendship  to  refrain 
from  bringing  trouble  in  my  house." 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  271 

"But,  my  poor  child,  I  do  not  know  how  you  can  conceive 
that  I  should  fall  in  love  with  your  husband ;  he  is  coarse  and 
fat  as  a  deputy  of  the  centre.  He  is  short  and  ugly — Ah !  I 
will  allow  that  he  is  generous,  but  that  is  all  you  can  say  for 
him,  and  this  is  a  quality  which  is  all  in  all  only  to  opera 
girls;  so  that  you  can  understand,  my  dear,  that  if  I  were 
choosing  a  lover,  as  you  seem  to  suppose  I  am,  I  wouldn't 
choose  an  old  man  like  your  baron.  If  I  have  given  him  any 
hopes,  if  I  have  received  him,  it  was  certainly  for  the  purpose 
of  amusing  myself,  and  of  giving  you  liberty;  for  I  believed 
you  had  a  weakness  for  young  Rostanges." 

"I  ?"  exclaimed  Louise,  "God  preserve  me  from  it,  my  dear ; 
he  is  the  most  intolerable  coxcomb  in  the  world.  No,  I  assure 
you,  I  love  my  husband!  You  may  laugh  as  you  choose;  it 
is  true.  I  know  it  may  seem  ridiculous,  but  consider,  he  has 
made  my  fortune,  he  is  no  miser,  and  he  is  everything  to  me, 
for  it  has  been  my  unhappy  lot  to  be  left  an  orphan.  Now 
even  if  I  did  not  love  him,  I  ought  to  try  to  preserve  his  esteem. 
Have  I  a  family  who  will  some  day  give  me  shelter  ?" 

"Come,  my  darling,  let  us  speak  no  more  about  it,"  said 
Emilie,  interrupting  her  friend,  "for  it  tires  me  to  death." 

After  a  few  trifling  remarks  the  baroness  left. 

"How  is  this,  monsieur?"  cried  Madame  B ,  opening 

the  door  of  the  closet  where  the  baron  was  frozen  with  cold, 
for  this  incident  took  place  in  winter;  "how  is  this?  Aren't 
you  ashamed  of  yourself  for  not  adoring  a  little  wife  who  is 
so  interesting?  Don't  speak  to  me  of  love;  you  may  idolize 
me,  as  you  say  you  do,  for  a  certain  time,  but  you  will  never 
love  me  a*  you  love  Louise.  I  can  see  that  in  your  heart  I 
shall  never  outweigh  the  interest  inspired  by  a  virtuous  wife, 
children,  and  a  family  circle.  I  should  one  day  be  deserted 
and  become  the  object  of  your  bitter  reflections.  You  would 
coldly  say  of  me  'I  have  had  that  woman !'  That  phrase  I 
have  heard  pronounced  by  men  with  the  most  insulting  indif- 
ference. You  see,  monsieur,  that  I  reason  in  cold  blood,  and 
that  I  do  not  love  you,  because  you  never  would  be  able  to 
love  me." 


272  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

"What  must  I  do  then  to  convince  you  of  my  love?"  cried 
the  baron,  fixing  his  gaze  on  the  young  woman. 

She  had  never  appeared  to  him  so  ravishingly  beautiful  as 
at  that  moment,  when  her  soft  voice  poured  forth  a  torrent  of 
words  whose  sternness  was  belied  by  the  grace  of  her  gestures, 
by  the  pose  of  her  head  and  by  her  coquettish  attitude. 

"Oh,  when  I  see  Louise  in  possession  of  a  lover,"  she  replied, 
"when  I  know  that  I  am  taking  nothing  away  from  her,  and 
that  she  has  nothing  to  regret  in  losing  your  affection ;  when 
I  am  quite  sure  that  you  love  her  no  longer,  and  have  obtained 
certain  proof  of  your  indifference  towards  her — Oh,  then  I 
may  listen  to  you ! — These  words  must  seem  odious  to  you," 
she  continued  in  an  earnest  voice;  "and  so  indeed  they  are, 
but  do  not  think  that  they  have  been  pronounced  by  me.  I  am 
the  rigorous  mathematician  who  makes  his  deductions  from 
a  preliminary  proposition.  You  are  married,  and  do  you 
deliberately  set  about  making  love  to  some  one  else?  I  should 
be  mad  to  give  any  encouragement  to  a  man  who  cannot  be 
mine  eternally." 

"Demon !"  exclaimed  the  husband.  "Yes,  you  are  a  demon, 
and  not  a  woman!" 

"Come  now,  you  are  really  amusing!"  said  the  young 
woman  as  she  seized  the  bell-rope. 

"Oh !  no,  Emilie,"  continued  the  lover  of  forty,  in  a  calmer 
voice.  "Do  not  ring ;  stop,  forgive  me !  I  will  sacrifice  every- 
thing for  you." 

"But  I  do  not  promise  you  anything !"  she  answered  quickly 
with  a  laugh. 

"My  God !    How  you  make  me  suffer !"  he  exclaimed. 

"Well,  and  have  not  you  in  your  life  caused  the  unhappinesa 
of  more  than  one  person?"  she  asked.  "Eemember  all  the 
tears  which  have  been  shed  through  you  and  for  you!  Oh, 
your  passion  dees  not  inspire  me  with  the  least  pity.  If  you 
do  not  wish  to  make  me  laugh,  make  me  share  your  feelings." 

"Adieu,  madame,  there  is  a  certain  clemency  in  your  stern- 
ness. I  appreciate  the  lesson  you  have  taught  me.  Yes,  I 
have  many  faults  to  expiate." 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  27S 

"Well  then,  go  and  repent  of  them,"  she  said  with  a  mock- 
ing smile;  "in  making  Louise  happy  you  will  perform  the 
rudest  penance  in  your  power." 

They  parted.  But  the  love  of  the  baron  was  too  violent 

to  allow  of  Madame  B 's  harshness  failing  to  accomplish 

her  end,  namely,  the  separation  of  the  married  couple. 

At  the  end  of  some  months  the  Baron  de  V and  his  wife 

lived  apart,  though  they  lived  in  the  same  mansion.  The 
baroness  was  the  object  of  universal  pity,  for  in  public  she 
always  did  justice  to  her  husband  and  her  resignation  seemed 
wonderful.  The  most  prudish  woman  of  society  found  noth- 
ing to  blame  in  the  friendship  which  united  Louise  to  the 
young  Eostanges.  And  all  was  laid  to  the  charge  of  "Monsieur 
deV 's  folly. 

When  this  last  had  made  all  the  sacrifices  that  a  man  could 

make  for  Madame  B ,  his  perfidious  mistress  started  for 

the  waters  of  Mount  Dore,  for  Switzerland  and  for  Italy,  on 
the  pretext  of  seeking  the  restoration  of  her  health. 

The  baron  died  of  inflammation  of  the  liver,  being  attended 
during  his  sickness  by  the  most  touching  ministrations  which 
his  wife  could  lavish  upon  him;  and  judging  from  the  grief 
which  he  manifested  at  having  deserted  her,  he  seemed  never 
to  have  suspected  her  participation  in  the  plan  which  had  been 
his  ruin. 

This  anecdote,  which  we  have  chosen  from  a  thousand 
others,  exemplifies  the  services  which  two  women  can  render 
each  other. 

From  the  words — "Let  me  have  the  pleasure  of  bringing 
my  husband"  up  to  the  conception  of  the  drama,  whose  denoue- 
ment was  inflammation  of  the  liver,  every  female  perfidy  was 
assembled  to  work  out  the  end.  Certain  incidents  will,  of 
course,  be  met  with  which  diversify  more  or  less  the  typical 
example  which  we  have  given,  but  the  march  of  the  drama  is 
almost  always  the  same.  Moreover  a  husband  ought  always  to 
distrust  the  woman  friends  of  his  wife.  The  subtle  artifices  of 
these  lying  creatures  rarely  fail  of  their  effect,  for  they  are 
seconded  by  two  enemies,  who  always  keep  close  to  a  man — 
and  these  are  vanity  and  desire. 


274  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

4.  OF  THE  LOVER'S  ALLIES. 

The  man  who  hastens  to  tell  another  man  that  he  has 
dropped  a  thousand  franc  bill  from  his  pocket-book,  or  even 
that  the  handkerchief  is  coming  out  of  his  pocket,  would  think 
it  a  mean  thing  to  warn  him  that  some  one  was  carrying  off 
his  wife.  There  is  certainly  something  extremely  odd  in  this 
moral  inconsistency,  but  after  all  it  admits  of  explanation. 
Since  the  law  cannot  exercise  any  interference  with  matri- 
monial rights,  the  citizens  have  even  less  right  to  constitute 
themselves  a  conjugal  police ;  and  when  one  restores  a  thousand 
franc  bill  to  him  whe  has  lost  it,  he  acts  under  a  certain  kind 
of  obligation,  founded  on  the  principle  which  says,  "Do  unto 
others  as  ye  would  they  should  do  unto  you !" 

But  by  what  reasoning  can  justification  be  found  for  the 
help  which  one  celibate  never  asks  in  vain,  but  always  receives 
from  another  celibate  in  deceiving  a  husband,  and  how  shall 
we  qualify  the  rendering  of  such  help  ?  A  man  who  is  incapable 
of  assisting  a  gendarme  in  discovering  an  assassin,  has  no 
scruple  in  taking  a  husband  to  a  theatre,  to  a  concert  or  even  to 
a  questionable  house,  in  order  to  help  a  comrade,  whom  he 
would  not  hesitate  to  kill  in  a  duel  to-morrow,  in  keeping  an 
assignation,  the  result  of  which  is  to  introduce  into  a  family  a 
spurious  child,  and  to  rob  two  brothers  of  a  portion  of  their 
fortune  by  giving  them  a  co-heir  whom  they  never  perhaps 
would  otherwise  have  had;  or  to  effect  the  misery  of  three 
human  beings.  We  must  confess  that  integrity  is  a  very  rare 
virtue,  and,  very  often,  the  man  that  thinks  he  has  most  actu- 
ally has  least.  Families  have  been  divided  by  feuds,  and 
brothers  have  been  murdered,  wliich  events  would  never  have 
taken  place  if  some  friend  had  refused  to  perform  what  passes 
in  the  world  as  a  harmless  trick. 

It  is  impossible  for  a  man  to  be  without  some  hobby  or 
other,  and  all  of  us  are  devoted  either  to  hunting,  fishing,  gam- 
bling, music,  money,  or  good  eating.  Well,  your  ruling  pas- 
sion will  always  be  an  accomplice  in  the  snare  which  a  lover 
sets  for  you,  the  invisible  hand  of  this  passion  will  direct  your 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARKIAGE  275 

friends,  or  his,  whether  they  consent  or  not,  to  play  a  part  in 
the  little  drama  when  they  want  to  take  you  away  from  home, 
or  to  induce  you  to  leave  your  wife  to  the  mercy  of  another. 
A  lover  will  spend  two  whole  months,  if  necessary,  in  plan- 
ning the  construction  of  the  mouse-trap. 

I  have  seen  the  most  cunning  men  on  earth  thus  taken  in. 

There  was  a  certain  retired  lawyer  of  Normandy.  He  lived 

in  the  little  town  of  B ,  where  a  regiment  of  the  chasseurs 

of  Cantal  were  garrisoned.  A  fascinating  officer  of  this  regi- 
ment had  fallen  in  love  with  the  wife  of  this  pettifogger,  and 
the  regiment  was  leaving  before  the  two  lovers  had  been  able 
to  enjoy  the  least  privacy.  It  was  the  fourth  military  man 
over  whom  the  lawyer  had  triumphed.  As  he  left  the  dinner- 
table  one  evening,  about  six  o'clock,  the  husband  took  a  walk 
on  the  terrace  of  his  garden  from  which  he  could  see  the 
whole  country  side.  The  officers  arrived  at  this  moment  to 
take  leave  of  him.  Suddenly  the  flame  of  a  conflagration 
burst  forth  on  the  horizon.  "Heavens !  La  Daudiniere  is  on 
fire !"  exclaimed  the  major.  He  was  an  old  simple-minded 
soldier,  who  had  dined  at  home.  Every  one  mounted  horse. 
The  young  wife  smiled  as  she  found  herself  alone,  for  her 
lover,  hidden  in  the  coppice,  had  said  to  her,  "It  is  a  straw 
stack  on  fire!"  The  flank  of  the  husband  was  turned  with 
all  the  more  facility  in  that  a  fine  courser  was  provided  for 
him  by  the  captain,  and  with  a  delicacy  very  rare  in  the  cav- 
alry, the  lover  actually  sacrificed  a  few  moments  of  his  hap- 
piness in  order  to  catch  up  with  the  cavalcade,  and  return  in 
company  with  the  husband. 

Marriage  is  a  veritable  duel,  in  which  persistent  watchful- 
ness is  required  in  order  to  triumph  over  an  adversary;  for, 
if  you  are  unlucky  enough  to  turn  your  head,  the  sword  of  the 
celibate  will  pierce  you  through  and  through. 

5.  OF  THE  MAID. 

The  prettiest  waiting-maid  I  have  ever  seen  is  that  of  Mad- 
ame V y,  a  lady  who  to-day  plays  at  Paris  a  brilliant  part 

among  the  most  fashionable  women,  and  passes  for  a  wife 


276 

who  keeps  on  excellent  terms  with  her  husband.  Mademoiselle 
Celestine  is  a  person  whose  points  of  beauty  are  so  numerous 
that,  in  order  to  describe  her,  it  would  be  necessary  tc  translate 
the  thirty  verses  which  we  are  told  form  an  inscription  in  the 
seraglio  of  the  Grand  Turk  and  contain  each  of  them  an 
excellent  description  of  one  of  the  thirty  beauties  of  women. 

"You  show  a  great  deal  of  vanity  in  keeping  near  you  such 
an  accomplished  creature,"  said  a  lady  to  the  mistress  of  the 
house. 

"Ah!  my  dear,  some  day  perhaps  you  will  find  yourself 
jealous  of  me  in  possessing  Celestine." 

"She  must  be  endowed  with  very  rare  qualities,  I  suppose  ? 
She  perhaps  dresses  you  well?" 

"Oh,  no,  very  badly!" 

"She  sews  well?" 

"She  never  touches  her  needle." 

"She  is  faithful?" 

"She  is  one  of  those  whose  fidelity  costs  more  than  the 
most  cunning  dishonesty." 

"You  astonish  me,  my  dear ;  she  is  then  your  foster-sister  ?" 

"Not  at  all;  she  is  positively  good  for  nothing,  but  she  is 
more  useful  to  me  than  any  other  member  of  my  household. 
If  she  remains  with  me  tsn  years,  I  have  promised  her  twenty 
thousand  francs.  It  will  be  money  well  earned,  and  I  shall 
not  forget  to  give  it!"  said  the  young  woman,  nodding  her 
head  with  a  meaning  gesture. 

At  last  the  questioner  of  Madame  V y  understood. 

When  a  woman  has  no  friend  of  her  own  sex  intimate 
enough  to  assist  her  in  proving  false  to  marital  love,  her  maid 
is  a  last  resource  which  seldom  fails  in  bringing  about  the 
desired  result. 

Oh !  after  ten  years  of  marriage  to  find  under  his  roof,  and 
to  see  all  the  time,  a  young  girl  of  from  sixteen  to  eighteen, 
fresh,  dressed  with  taste,  the  treasures  of  whose  beauty  seem 
to  breathe  defiance,  whose  frank  bearing  is  irresistibly  attrac- 
tive, whose  downcast  eyes  seem  to  fear  you,  whose  timid 
glance  tempts  you,  and  for  whom  the  conjugal  bed  has  no 
secrets,  for  she  is  at  once  a  virgin  and  an  experienced  woman ! 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  277 

How  can  a  man  remain  cold,  like  St.  Anthony,  before  such 
powerful  sorcery,  and  have  the  courage  to  remain  faithful 
to  the  good  principles  represented  by  a  scornful  wife,  whose 
face  is  always  stern,  whose  manners  are  always  snappish,  and 
who  frequently  refuses  to  be  caressed?  What  husband  is 
stoical  enough  to  resist  such  fires,  such  frosts  ?  There,  where 
you  see  a  new  harvest  of  pleasure,  the  young  innocent  sees 
an  income,  and  your  wife  her  liberty.  It  is  a  little  family 
compact,  which  is  signed  in  the  interest  of  good  will. 

In  this  case,  your  wife  acts  with  regard  to  marriage  as 
young  fashionables  do  with  regard  to  their  country.  If  they 
are  drawn  for  the  army,  they  buy  a  man  to  carry  the  musket, 
to  die  in  their  place  and  to  spare  them  the  hardships  of  mili- 
tary life. 

In  compromises  of  this  sort  there  is  not  a  single  woman 
who  does  not  know  how  to  put  her  husband  in  the  wrong.  I 
have  noticed  that,  by  a  supreme  stroke  of  diplomacy,  the  ma- 
jority of  wives  do  not  admit  their  maids  into  the  secret  of  the 
part  which  they  give  them  to  play.  They  trust  to  nature,  and 
assume  an  affected  superiority  over  the  lover  and  his  mistress. 

These  secret  perfidies  of  women  explain  to  a  great  degree 
the  odd  features  of  married  life  which  are  to  be  observed  in 
the  world;  and  I  have  heard  women  discuss,  with  profound 
sagacity,  the  dangers  which  are  inherent  in  this  terrible 
method  of  attack,  and  it  is  necessary  to  know  thoroughly  both 
the  husband  and  the  creature  to  whom  he  is  to  be  abandoned, 
in  order  to  make  successful  use  of  her.  Many  a  woman,  in 
this  connection,  has  been  the  victim  of  her  own  calculations. 

Moreover,  the  more  impetuous  and  passionate  a  husband 
shows  himself,  the  less  will  a  woman  dare  to  employ  this  ex- 
pedient; but  a  husband  caught  in  this  snare  will  never  have 
anything  to  say  to  his  stern  better-half,  when  the  maid,  giving 
evidence  of  the  fault  she  has  committed,  is  sent  into  the 
country  with  an  infant  and  a  dowry. 

6.  OF  THE  DOCTOR. 
The  doctor  is  one  of  the  most  potent  auxiliaries  of  an  honest 


278  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

woman,  when  she  wishes  to  acquire  a  friendly  divorce  from 
her  husband.  The  services  that  the  doctor  renders,  most  of 
the  time  without  knowing  it,  to  a  woman,  are  of  such  impor- 
tance that  there  does  not  exist  a  single  house  in  France  where 
the  doctor  is  chosen  by  any  one  but  the  wife. 

All  doctors  know  what  great  influence  women  have  on  their 
reputation;  thus  we  meet  with  few  doctors  who  do  not  study 
to  please  the  ladies.  When  a  man  of  talent  has  become  cele- 
brated it  is  true  that  he  does  not  lend  himself  to  the  crafty 
conspiracies  which  women  hatch;  but  without  knowing  it  he 
becomes  involved  in  them. 

I  suppose  that  a  husband  taught  by  the  adventures  of  his 
own  youth  makes  up  his  mind  to  pick  out  a  doctor  for  his 
wife,  from  the  first  days  of  his  marriage.  So  long  as  his 
feminine  adversary  fails  to  conceive  the  assistance  that  she 
may  derive  from  this  ally,  she  will  submit  in  silence ;  but  later 
on,  if  all  her  allurements  fail  to  win  over  the  man  chosen 
by  her  husband,  she  will  take  a  more  favorable  opportunity  to 
give  her  husband  her  confidence,  in  the  following  remarkable 
manner. 

"I  don't  like  the  way  in  which  the  doctor  feels  my  pulse  I" 

And  of  course  the  doctor  is  dropped. 

Thus  it  happens  that  either  a  woman  chooses  her  doctor, 
wins  over  the  man  who  has  been  imposed  upon  her,  or  procures 
his  dismissal.  But  this  contest  is  very  rare;  the  majority  of 
young  men  who  marry  are  acquainted  with  none  but  beardless 
doctors  whom  they  have  no  anxiety  to  procure  for  their  wives, 
and  almost  always  the  Esculapius  of  the  household  is  chosen 
by  the  feminine  power.  Thus  it  happens  that  some  fine  morn- 
ing the  doctor,  when  he  leaves  the  chamber  of  madame,  who 
has  been  in  bed  for  a  fortnight,  is  induced  by  her  to  say  to 
you: 

"I  do  not  say  that  the  condition  of  madame  presents  any 
serious  symptoms;  but  this  constant  drowsiness,  this  general 
stlessness,  and  her  natural  tendency  to  a  spinal  affection 
demand  great  care.  Her  lymph  is  inspissated.  She  wants  a 
change  of  air.  She  ought  to  be  sent  either  to  the  waters  cf 
Bareges  or  to  the  waters  of  Plombieres." 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  279 

"All  right,  doctor." 

You  allow  your  wife  to  go  to  Plombieres;  but  she  goes 
there  because  Captain  Charles  is  quartered  in  the  Vosges. 
She  returns  in  capital  health  and  the  waters  of  Plombieres 
have  done  wonders  for  her.  She  has  written  to  you  every 
day,  she  has  lavished  upon  you  from  a  distance  every  possible 
caress.  The  danger  of  a  spinal  affection  has  utterly  disap- 
peared. 

There  is  extant  a  little  pamphlet,  whose  publication  was 
prompted  doubtless  by  hate.  It  was  published  in  Holland, 
and  it  contains  some  very  curious  details  of  the  manner  in 
which  Madame  de  Maintenon  entered  into  an  understand- 
ing with  Fagon,  for  the  purpose  of  controlling  Louis  XIV. 
Well,  some  morning  your  doctor  will  threaten  you,  as  Fagon 
threatened  his  master,  with  a  fit  of  apoplexy,  if  you  do  not 
diet  yourself.  This  witty  work  of  satire,  doubtless  the  pro- 
duction of  some  courtier,  entitled  "Madame  de  Saint  Tron," 
has  been  interpreted  by  the  modern  author  who  has  become 
proverbial  as  "the  young  doctor."  But  his  delightful  sketch 
is  very  much  superior  to  the  work  whose  title  I  cite  for  the 
benefit  of  the  book-lovers,  and  we  have  great  pleasure  in 
acknowledging  that  the  work  of  our  clever  contemporary  has 
prevented  us,  out  of  regard  for  the  glory  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  from  publishing  the  fragment  of  the  old  pamphlet. 

Very  frequently  a  doctor  becomes  duped  by  the  judicious 
manoeuvres  of  a  young  and  delicate  wife,  and  comes  to  you 
with  the  announcement : 

"Sir,  I  would  not  wish  to  alarm  madame  with  regard  to  her 
condition ;  but  I  will  advise  you,  if  you  value  her  health,  to 
keep  her  in  perfect  tranquillity.  The  irritation  at  this  moment 
seems  to  threaten  the  chest,  and  we  must  gain  control  of  it; 
there  is  need  of  rest  for  her,  perfect  rest;  the  least  agitation 
might  change  the  seat  of  the  malady.  At  this  crisis,  th&  pros- 
pect of  bearing  a  child  would  be  fatal  to  her." 

"But,  doctor—" 

"Ah,  yes !    I  know  that !" 

He  laughs  and  leaves  the  house. 


280 

Like  the  rod  of  Moses,  the  doctor's  mandate  makes  and 
unmakes  generations.  The  doctor  will  restore  you  to  your 
marriage  bed  with  the  same  arguments  that  he  used  in  debar- 
ring you.  He  treats  your  wife  for  complaints  which  she  has 
not,  in  order  to  cure  her  of  those  which  she  has,  and  all  the 
while  you  have  no  idea  of  it;  for  the  scientific  jargon  of  doc- 
tors can  only  be  compared  to  the  layers  in  which  they  envelop 
their  pills. 

An  honest  woman  in  her  chamber  with  the  doctor  is  like  a 
minister  sure  of  a  majority ;  she  has  it  in  her  power  to  make 
him  prescribe  rest,  diversion,  the  country  or  the  town,  waters, 
a  horse,  or  a  carriage,  according  to  her  good  pleasure  and  her 
taste;  she  will  send  you  away  or  receive  you,  as  she  likes. 
Sometimes  she  will  pretend  to  be  ill  in  order  to  have  a  cham- 
ber separate  from  yours ;  sometimes  she  will  surround  herself 
with  all  the  paraphernalia  of  an  invalid ;  she  will  have  an  old 
woman  for  a  nurse,  regiments  of  vials  and  of  bottles,  and, 
environed  by  these  ramparts,  will  defy  you  by  her  invalid  airs. 
She  will  talk  to  you  in  such  a  depressing  way  of  the  electuaries 
and  of  the  soothing  draughts  which  she  has  taken,  of  the  agues 
which  she  has  had,  of  her  plasters  and  cataplasms,  that  she 
will  fill  you  with  disgust  at  these  sickly  details,  if  all  the  time 
these  sham  sufferings  are  not  intended  to  serve  as  engines  by 
means  of  which,  eventually,  a  successful  attack  may  be  made 
on  that  singular  abstraction  known  as  your  honor. 

In  this  way  your  wife  will  be  able  to  fortify  herself  at  every 
point  of  contact  which  you  possess  with  the  world,  with  society 
and  with  life.  Thus  everything  will  take  arms  against  you, 
and  you  will  be  alone  among  all  these  enemies.  But  suppose 
that  it  is  your  unprecedented  privilege  to  possess  a  wife  who 
is  without  religious  connections,  without  parents  or  intimate 
friends;  that  you  have  penetration  enough  to  see  through  all 
the  tricks  by  which  your  wife's  lover  tries  to  entrap  you ;  that 
you  still  have  sufficient  love  for  your  fair  enemy  to  resist  all 
the  Martons  of  the  earth;  that,  in  fact,  you  have  for  your 
doctor  a  man  who  is  so  celebrated  that  he  has  no  time  to  listen 
to  the  maunderings  of  your  wife;  or  that  if  your  Esculapius  is 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  281 

madame's  vassal,  you  demand  a  consultation,  and  an  incor- 
ruptible doctor  intervenes  every  time  the  favorite  doctor  pre- 
scribes a  remedy  that  Jisquiets  you;  even  in  that  case,  your 
prospects  will  scarcely  be  more  brilliant.  In  fact,  even  if  you 
do  not  succumb  to  this  invasion  of  allies,  you  must  not  forget 
that,  so  far,  your  adversary  has  not,  so  to  speak,  struck  the 
decisive  blow.  If  you  hold  out  still  longer,  your  wife,  having 
flung  round  you  thread  upon  thread,  as  a  spider  spins  his  web, 
an  invisible  net,  will  resort  to  the  arms  which  nature  has 
given  her,  which  civilization  has  perfected,  and  which  will  be 
treated  of  in  the  next  Meditation. 


MEDITATION  XXVI. 
OF  DIFFERENT  WEAPONS. 

A  weapon  is  anything  which  is  used  for  the  purpose  of 
wounding.  From  this  point  of  view,  some  sentiments  prove  to 
be  the  most  cruel  weapons  which  man  can  employ  against  his 
fellow  man.  The  genius  of  Schiller,  lucid  as  it  was  compre- 
hensive, seems  to  have  revealed  all  the  phenomena  which  cer- 
tain ideas  bring  to  light  in  the  human  organization  by  their 
keen  and  penetrating  action.  A  man  may  be  put  to  death  by 
a  thought.  Such  is  the  moral  of  those  heartrending  scenes, 
when  in  The  Brigands  the  poet  shows  a  young  man,  with  the 
aid  of  certain  ideas,  making  such  powerful  assaults  on  the 
heart  of  an  old  man,  that  he  ends  by  causing  the  latter's  death. 
The  time  is  not  far  distant  when  science  will  be  able  to  observe 
the  complicated  mechanism  of  our  thoughts  and  to  apprehend 
the  transmission  of  our  feelings.  Some  developer  of  the  occult 
sciences  will  prove  that  our  intellectual  organization  consti- 
tutes nothing  more  than  a  kind  of  interior  man,  who  projects 
himself  with  less  violence  than  the  exterior  man,  and  that  the 
struggle  which  may  take  place  between  two  such  powers  as 
these,  although  invisible  to  our  feeble  eyes,  is  not  a  less  mortal 


282  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

struggle  than  that  in  which  our  external  man  compels  us  to 
engage. 

But  these  considerations  belong  to  a  different  department 
of  study  from  that  in  which  we  are  now  engaged;  these  sub- 
jects we  intend  to  deal  with  in  a  future  publication ;  some  of 
our  friends  are  already  acquainted  with  one  of  the  most 
important, — that,  namely,  entitled  "THE  PATHOLOGY  OF 
SOCIAL  LIFE,  or  Meditations  mathematical,  physical,  chem- 
ical and  transcendental  on  the  manifestations  of  thought, 
taken  under  all  the  forms  which  are  produced  by  the  state  of 
society,  whether  by  living,  marriage,  conduct,  veterinary  medi- 
cine, or  by  speech  and  action,  etc.,"  in  which  all  these  great 
questions  are  fully  discussed.  The  aim  of  this  brief  meta- 
physical observation  is  only  to  remind  you  that  the  higher 
classes  of  society  reason  too  well  to  admit  of  their  being 
attacked  by  any  other  than  intellectual  arms. 

Although  it  is  true  that  tender  and  delicate  souls  are 
found  enveloped  in  a  body  of  metallic  hardness,  at  the  same 
time  there  are  souls  of  bronze  enveloped  in  bodies  so  supple 
and  capricious  that  their  grace  attracts  the  friendship  of 
others,  and  their  beauty  calls  for  a  caress.  But  if  you  flatter 
the  exterior  man  with  your  hand,  the  Homo  duplex,  the  inter- 
ior man,  to  use  an  expression  of  Buffon,  immediately  rouses 
himself  and  rends  you  with  his  keen  points  of  contact. 

This  description  of  a  special  class  of  human  creatures, 
which  we  hope  you  will  not  run  up  against  during  your 
earthly  journey,  presents  a  picture  of  what  your  wife  may  be 
to  you.  Every  one  of  the  sentiments  which  nature  has  endowed 
your  heart  with,  in  their  gentlest  form,  will  become  a  dagger 
in  the  hand  of  your  wife.  You  will  be  stabbed  every  moment, 
and  you  will  necessarily  succumb ;  for  your  love  will  flow  like 
blood  from  every  wound. 

This  is  the  last  struggle,  but  for  her  it  also  means  victory. 

In  order  to  carry  out  the  distinction  which  we  think  we 
have  established  among  three  sorts  of  feminine  temperament, 
we  will  divide  this  Meditation  into  three  parts,  under  the  fol- 
lowing titles : 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  283 

1.  OF  HEADACHES. 

2.  OF  NERVOUS  AFFECTIONS. 

3.  OF  MODESTY,  IN  ITS  CONNECTION  WITH  MARRIAGE. 

1.  OF  HEADACHES. 

Women  are  constantly  the  dupes  or  the  victims  of  excessive 
sensibility;  but  we  have  already  demonstrated  that  with  the 
greater  number  of  them  this  delicacy  of  soul  must  needs, 
almost  without  their  knowing  it,  receive  many  rude  blows, 
from  the  very  fact  of  their  marriage.  (See  Meditations  en- 
titled The  Predestined  and  Of  the  Honeymoon.)  Most  of  the 
means  of  defence  instinctively  employed  by  husbands  are 
nothing  but  traps  set  for  the  liveliness  of  feminine  affections. 

Now  the  moment  comes  when  the  wife,  during  the  Civil 
War,  traces  by  a  single  act  of  thought  the  history  of  her  moral 
life,  and  is  irritated  on  perceiving  the  prodigious  way  in  which 
you  have  taken  advantage  of  her  sensibility.  It  is  very  rarely 
that  women,  moved  either  by  an  innate  feeling  for  revenge, 
which  they  themselves  can  never  explain,  or  by  their  instinct 
of  domination,  fail  to  discover  that  this  quality  in  their  nat- 
ural machinery,  when  brought  into  play  against  the  man,  is 
inferior  to  no  other  instrument  for  obtaining  ascendency  over 
him. 

With  admirable  cleverness,  they  proceed  to  find  out  what 
chords  in  the  hearts  of  their  husbands  are  most  easily  touched ; 
and  when  once  they  discover  this  secret,  they  eagerly  proceed 
to  put  it  into  practice;  then,  like  a  child  with  a  mechanical 
toy,  whose  spring  excites  their  curiosity,  they  go  on  employing 
it,  carelessly  calling  into  play  the  movements  of  the  instru- 
ment, and  satisfied  simply  with  their  success  in  doing  so.  If 
they  kill  you,  they  will  mourn  over  you  with  the  best  grace  in 
the  world,  as  the  most  virtuous,  the  most  excellent,  the  most 
sensible  of  men. 

In  this  way  your  wife  will  first  arm  herself  with  that  gener- 
ous sentiment  which  leads  us  to  respect  those  who  are  in  pain. 
The  man  most  disposed  to  quarrel  with  a  woman  full  of  life 


284  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

and  health  becomes  helpless  before  a  woman  who  is  weak  and 
feeble.  If  your  wife  has  not  attained  the  end  of  her  secret 
designs,  by  means  of  those  various  methods  already  described, 
she  will  quickly  seize  this  all-powerful  weapon.  In  virtue  of 
this  new  strategic  method,  you  will  see  the  young  girl,  so 
strong  in  life  and  beauty,  whom  you  had  wedded  in  her  flower, 
metamorphosing  herself  into  a  pale  and  sickly  woman. 

Now  headache  is  an  affection  which  affords  infinite  resources 
to  a  woman.  This  malady,  which  is  the  easiest  of  all  to  feign, 
for  it  is  destitute  of  any  apparent  symptom,  merely  obliges 
her  to  say :  "I  have  a  headache."  A  woman  trifles  with  you 
and  there  is  no  one  in  the  world  who  can  contradict  her  skull, 
whose  impenetrable  bones  defy  touch  or  ocular  test.  More- 
over, headache  is,  in  our  opinion,  the  queen  of  maladies,  the 
pleasantest  and  most  terrible  weapon  employed  by  wives 
against  their  husbands.  There  are  some  coarse  and  violent 
men  who  have  been  taught  the  tricks  of  women  by  their  mis- 
tresses, in  the  happy  hours  of  their  celibacy,  and  so  flatter 
themselves  that  they  are  never  to  be  caught  by  this  vulgar  trap. 
But  all  their  efforts,  all  their  arguments  end  by  being  van- 
quished before  the  magic  of  these  words :  "I  have  a  headache." 
If  a  husband  complains,  or  ventures  on  a  reproach,  if  he  tries 
to  resist  the  power  of  this  II  buondo  cani  of  marriage,  he  is 
lost. 

Imagine  a  young  woman,  voluptuously  lying  on  a  divan, 
her  head  softly  supported  by  a  cushion,  one  hand  hanging 
down;  on  a  small  table  close  at  hand  is  her  glass  of  lime- 
water.  Now  place  by  her  side  a  burly  husband.  He  has  made 
five  or  six  turns  round  the  room ;  but  each  time  he  has  turned 
on  his  heels  to  begin  his  walk  all  over  again,  the  little  invalid 
has  made  a  slight  movement  of  her  eyebrows  in  a  vain  attempt 
to  remind  him  that  the  slightest  noise  fatigues  her.  At  last  he 
musters  all  his  courage  and  utters  a  protest  against  her  pre- 
tended malady,  in  the  bold  phrase : 

"And  have  you  really  a  headache  ?" 

At  these  words  the  young  woman  slightly  raises  her  languid 
head,  lifts  an  arm,  which  feebly  falls  back  again  upon  her 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  285 

divan,  raises  her  eyes  to  the  ceiling,  raises  all  that  she  has 
power  to  raise;  then  darting  at  you  a  leaden  glance,  she  says 
in  a  voice  of  remarkable  feebleness: 

"Oh  !  What  can  be  the  matter  with  me  ?  I  suffer  the  agonies 
of  death !  And  this  is  all  the  comfort  you  give  me  !  Ah !  you 
men,  it  is  plainly  seen  that  nature  has  not  given  you  the  task 
of  bringing  children  into  the  world.  What  egotists  and  tyrants 
you  are !  You  take  us  in  all  the  beauty  of  our  youth,  fresh, 
rosy,  with  tapering  waist,  and  then  all  is  well !  When  your 
pleasures  have  ruined  the  blooming  gifts  which  we  received 
from  nature,  you  never  forgive  us  for  having  forfeited  them 
to  you !  That  was  all  understood.  You  will  allow  us  to  have 
neither  the  virtues  nor  the  sufferings  of  our  condition.  You 
must  needs  have  children,  and  we  pass  many  nights  in  taking 
care  of  them.  But  child-bearing  has  ruined  our  health,  and  left 
behind  the  germs  of  serious  maladies. — Oh,  what  pain  I  suffer ! 
There  are  few  women  who  are  not  subject  to  headaches;  but 
your  wife  must  be  an  exception.  You  even  laugh  at  our  suffer- 
ings ;  that  is  generosity  ! — please  don't  walk  about ! — I  should 
not  have  expected  this  of  you ! — Stop  the  clock ;  the  click  of 
the  pendulum  rings  in  my  head.  Thanks!  Oh,  what  an 
unfortunate  creature  I  am  !  Have  you  a  scent-bottle  with  you  ? 
Yes,  oh !  for  pity's  sake,  allow  me  to  suffer  in  peace,  and  go 
away ;  for  this  scent  splits  my  head !" 

What  can  you  say  in  reply?  Do  you  not  hear  within  you 
a  voice  which  cries,  "And  what  if  she  is  actually  suffering?" 
Moreover,  almost  all  husbands  evacuate  the  field  of  battle  very 
quietly,  while  their  wives  watch  them  from  the  corner  of  their 
eyes,  marching  off  on  tip-toe  and  closing  the  door  quietly  on 
the  chamber  henceforth  to  be  considered  sacred  by  them. 

Such  is  the  headache,  true  or  false,  which  is  patronized  at 
your  home.  Then  the  headache  begins  to  play  a  regular  role 
in  the  bosom  of  your  family.  It  is  a  theme  on  which  a  woman 
can  play  many  admirable  variations.  She  sets  it  forth  in  every 
key.  With  the  aid  of  the  headache  alone  a  wife  can  make  a 
husband  desperate.  A  headache  seizes  madame  when  she 
chooses,  where  she  chooses,  and  as  much  as  she  chooses.  There 


286  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

are  headaches  of  five  days,  of  ten  minutes,  periodic  or  inter- 
mittent headaches. 

You  sometimes  find  your  wife  in  bed,  in  pain,  helpless,  and 
the  blinds'  of  her  room  are  closed.  The  headache  has  im- 
posed silence  on  every  one,  from  the  regions  of  the  porter's 
lodge,  where  he  is  cutting  wood,  even  to  the  garret  of  your 
groom,  from  which  he  is  throwing  down  innocent  bundles  of 
straw.  Believing  in  this  headache,  you  leave  the  house,  but 
on  your  return  you  find  that  madame  has  decamped !  Soon 
madame  returns,  fresh  and  ruddy: 

"The  doctor  came,"  she  says,  "and  advised  me  to  take  exer- 
cise, and  I  find  myself  much  better !" 

Another  day  you  wish  to  enter  madame's  room. 

"Oh,  sir,"  says  the  maid,  showing  the  most  profound  aston- 
ishment, "madame  has  her  usual  headache,  and  I  have  never 
seen  her  in  such  pain !  The  doctor  has  been  sent  for." 

"You  are  a  happy  man,"  said  Marshal  Augereau  to  General 

K ,  "to  have  such  a  pretty  wife !" 

'  "To  have!"  replied  the  other.  "If  I  have  my  wife  ten 
days  in  the  year,  that  is  about  all.  These  confounded  women 
have  always  either  the  headache  or  some  other  thing !" 

The  headache  in  France  takes  the  place  of  the  sandals, 
which,  in  Spain,  the  Confessor  leaves  at  the  door  of  the  cham- 
ber in  which  he  is  with  his  penitent. 

If  your  wife,  foreseeing  some  hostile  intentions  on  your 
part,  wishes  to  make  herself  as  inviolable  as  the  charter,  she 
immediately  gets  up  a  little  headache  performance.  She  goes 
to  bed  in  a  most  deliberate  fashion,  she  utters  shrieks  which 
rend  the  heart  of  the  hearer.  She  goes  gracefully  through  a 
series  of  gesticulations  so  cleverly  executed  that  you  might 
think  her  a  professional  contortionist.  Now  what  man  is 
there  so  inconsiderate  as  to  dare  to  speak  to  a  suffering  woman 
about  desires  which,  in  him,  prove  the  most  perfect  health? 
Politeness  alone  demands  of  him  perfect  silence.  A  woman 
knows  under  these  circumstances  that  by  means  of  this  all- 
powerful  headache,  she  can  at  her  will  paste  on  her  bed  the 
placard  which  sends  back  home  the  amateurs  who  have  been 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  287 

allured  by  the  announcement  of  the  Comedie  Frangaise,  when 
they  read  the  words:  "Closed  through  the  sudden  indisposi- 
tion of  Mademoiselle  Mars." 

0  headache,  protectress  of  love,  tariff  of  married  life,  buck- 
ler against  which  all  married  desires  expire !  0  mighty  head- 
ache !  Can  it  be  possible  that  lovers  have  never  sung  thy  praises, 
personified  thee,  or  raised  thee  to  the  skies?  0  magic  head- 
ache, 0  delusive  headache,  blest  be  the  brain  that  first  invented 
thee !  Shame  on  the  doctor  who  shall  find  out  thy  preventive ! 
Yes,  thou  art  the  only  ill  that  women  bless,  doubtless  through 
gratitude  for  the  good  things  thou  dispensest  to  them,  0 
deceitful  headache !  0  magic  headache ! 

2.  OF  NERVOUS  AFFECTIONS. 

There  is,  however,  a  power  which  is  superior  even  to  that 
of  the  headache;  and  we  must  avow  to  the  glory  of  France, 
that  this  power  is  one  of  the  most  recent  which  has  been  won 
by  Parisian  genius.  As  in  the  case  with  all  the  most  useful 
discoveries  of  art  and  science,  no  one  knows  to  whose  intellect 
it  is  due.  Only,  it  is  certain  that  it  was  towards  the  middle 
of  the  last  century  that  "Vapors"  made  their  first  appear- 
ance in  France.  Thus  while  Papin  was  applying  the  force  of 
vaporized  water  in  mechanical  problems,  a  French  woman, 
whose  name  unhappily  is  unknown,  had  the  glory  of  endowing 
her  sex  with  the  faculty  of  vaporizing  their  fluids.  Very 
soon  the  prodigious  influence  obtained  by  vapors  was  extended 
to  the  nerves;  it  was  thus  in  passing  from  fibre  to  fibre  that  the 
science  of  neurology  was  born.  This  admkable  science  has 
since  then  led  such  men  as  Philips  and  other  clever  physiolo- 
gists to  the  discovery  of  the  nervous  fluid  in  its  circulation; 
they  are  now  perhaps  on  the  eve  of  identifying  its  organs,  and 
the  secret  of  its  origin  and  of  its  evaporation.  And  thus, 
thanks  to  certain  quackeries  of  this  kind,  we  may  be  enabled 
some  day  to  penetrate  the  mysteries  of  that  unknown  power 
which  we  have  already  called  more  than  once  in  the  present 
book,  the  Will.  But  do  not  let  us  trespass  on  the  territory  of 


288  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

medical  philosophy.    Let  us  consider  the  nerves  and  the  vapors 
solely  in  their  connection  with  marriage. 

Victims  of  Neurosis  (a  pathological  term  under  which 
are  comprised  all  affections  of  the  nervous  system)  suffer  in 
two  ways,  as  far  as  married  women  are  concerned;  for  our 
physiology  has  the  loftiest  disdain  for  medical  classifications. 
Thus  we  recognize  only : 

1.  CLASSIC  NEUROSIS. 

2.  ROMANTIC  NEUROSIS. 

The  classic  affection  has  something  bellicose  and  excitable 
in  it.  Those  who  thus  suffer  are  as  violent  in  their  antics  as 
pythonesses,  as  frantic  as  maenads,  as  excited  as  bacchantes; 
it  is  a  revival  of  antiquity,  pure  and  simple. 

The  romantic  sufferers  are  mild  and  plaintive  as  the  ballads 
sung  amid  the  mists  of  Scotland.  They  are  pallid  as  young 
girls  carried  to  their  bier  by  the  dance  or  by  love;  they  are 
eminently  elegiac  and  they  breathe  all  the  melancholy  of  the 
North. 

That  woman  with  black  hair,  with  piercing  eye,  with  high 
color,  with  dry  lips  and  a  powerful  hand,  will  become  excited 
and  convulsive;  she  represents  the  genius  of  classic  neurosis; 
while  a  young  blonde  woman,  with  white  skin,  is  the  genius 
of  romantic  neurosis;  to  one  belongs  the  empire  gained  by 
nerves,  to  the  other  the  empire  gained  by  vapors. 

Very  frequently  a  husband,  when  he  comes  home,  finds  his 
wife  in  tears. 

"What  is  the  matter,  my  darling  ?" 

"It  is  nothing/; 

"But  you  are  in  tears !" 

"I  weep  without  knowing  why.  I  am  quite  sad!  I  saw 
faces  in  the  clouds,  and  these  faces  never  appear  to  me  except 
on  the  eve  of  some  disaster— I  think  I  must  be  going  to  die/' 

Then  she  talks  to  you  in  a  low  voice  of  her  dead  father,  of 
her  dead  uncle,  of  her  dead  grandfather,  of  her  dead  cousin. 
She  invokes  all  these  mournful  shades,  she  feels  as  if  she  had 
all  their  sicknesses,  she  is  attacked  with  all  the  pains  they 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MAERIAGE  289 

felt,  she  feels  her  heart  palpitate  with  excessive  violence,  she 
feels  her  spleen  swelling.  You  say  to  yourself,  with  a  self- 
satisfied  air: 

"I  know  exactly  what  this  is  all  about!" 

And  then  you  try  to  soothe  her;  but  you  find  her  a  woman 
who  yawns  like  an  open  box,  who  complains  of  her  chest,  who 
begins  to  weep  anew,  who  implores  you  to  leave  her  to  her 
melancholy  and  her  mournful  memories.  She  talks  to  you 
about  her  last  wishes,  follows  her  own  funeral,  is  buried, 
plants  over  her  tomb  the  green  canopy  of  a  weeping  willow, 
and  at  the  very  time  when  you  would  like  to  raise  a  joyful 
epithalamium,  you  find  an  epitaph  to  greet  you  all  in  black. 
Your  wish  to  console  her  melts  away  in  the  cloud  of  Ixion. 

There  are  women  of  undoubted  fidelity  who  in  this  way 
extort  from  their  feeling  husbands  cashmere  shawls,  diamonds, 
the  payment  of  their  debts,  or  the  rent  of  a  box  at  the  theatre ; 
but  almost  always  vapors  are  employed  as  decisive  weapons 
in  Civil  War. 

On  the  plea  of  her  spinal  affection  or  of  her  weak  chest,  a 
woman  takes  pains  to  seek  out  some  distraction  or  other;  you 
see  her  dressing  herself  in  soft  fabrics  like  an  invalid  with  all 
the  symptoms  of  spleen;  she  never  goes  out  because  an  inti- 
mate friend,  her  mother  or  her  sister,  has  tried  to  tear  her  away 
from  that  divan  which  monopolizes  her  and  on  which  she 
spends  her  life  in  improvising  elegies.  Madame  is  going  to 
spend  a  fortnight  in  the  country  because  the  doctor  orders  it. 
In  short,  she  goes  where  she  likes  and  does  what  she  likes. 
Is  it  possible  that  there  can  be  a  husband  so  brutal  as  to 
oppose  such  desires,  by  hindering  a  wife  from  going  to  seek  a 
cure  for  her  cruel  sufferings?  For  it  has  been  established 
after  many  long  discussions  that  in  thfe  nerves  originate  the 
most  fearful  torture. 

But  it  is  especially  in  bed  that  vapors  play  their  part. 
There  when  a  woman  has  not  a  headache  she  has  her  vapors; 
and  when  she  has  neither  vapors  nor  headache,  she  is  under 
the  protection  of  the  girdle  of  Venus,  which,  as  you  know,  is 
a  myth. 


290  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

Among  the  women  who  fight  with  you  the  battle  of  vapors, 
are  some  more  blonde,  more  delicate,  more  full  of  feeling  than 
others,  and  who  possess  the  gift  of  tears.  How  admirably  do 
they  know  hov/  to  weep !  They  weep  when  they  like,  as  they 
like,  and  as  much  as  they  like.  They  organize  a  system  of 
offensive  warfare  which  consists  of  manifesting  sublime  resig- 
nation, and  they  gain  victories  which  are  all  the  more  bril- 
liant, inasmuch  as  they  remain  all  the  time  in  excellent 
health. 

Does  a  husband,  irritated  beyond  all  measure,  at  last  express 
his  wishes  to  them?  They  regard  him  with  an  air  of  sub- 
mission, bow  their  heads  and  keep  silence.  This  pantomime 
almost  always  puts  a  husband  to  rout.  In  conjugal  struggles 
of  this  kind,  a  man  prefers  that  a  woman  should  speak  and 
defend  herself,  for  then  he  may  show  elation  or  annoyance; 
but  as  for  these  women,  not  a  word.  Their  silence  distresses 
you  and  you  experience  a  sort  of  remorse,  like  the  murderer 
who,  when  he  finds  his  victim  offer  no  resistance,  trembles 
with  redoubled  fear.  He  would  prefer  to  slay  him  in  self- 
defence.  You  return  to  the  subject.  As  you  draw  near,  your 
wife  wipes  away  her  tears  and  hides  her  handkerchief,  so  as 
to  let  you  see  that  she  has  been  weeping.  You  are  melted, 
you  implore  your  little  Caroline  to  speak,  your  sensibility 
has  been  touched  and  you  forget  everything;  then  she  sobs 
while  she  speaks,  and  speaks  while  she  sobs.  This  is  a  sort 
of  machine  eloquence;  she  deafens  you  with  her  tears,  with 
her  words  which  come  jerked  out  in  confusion;  it  is  the 
clapper  and  torrent  of  a  mill. 

French  women  and  especially  Parisians  possess  in  a  mar- 
velous degree  the  secret  by  which  such  scenes  are  enacted,  and 
to  these  scenes  their  voices,  their  sex,  their  toilet,  their  man- 
ner give  a  wonderful  charm.  How  often  do  the  tears  upon  the 
cheeks  of  these  adorable  actresses  give  way  to  a  piquant  smile, 
when  they  see  their  husbands  hasten  to  break  the  silk  lace, 
the  weak  fastening  of  their  corsets,  or  to  restore  the  comb 
which  holds  together  the  tresses  of  their  hair  and  the  bunch 
of  golden  ringlets  always  on  the  point  of  falling  down? 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  291 

But  how  all  these  tricks  of  modernity  pale  before  the  genius 
of  antiquity,  before  nervous  attacks  which  are  violent,  before 
the  Pyrrhic  dance  of  married  life !  Oh !  how  many  hopes 
for  a  lover  are  there  in  the  vivacity  of  those  convulsive  move- 
ments, in  the  fire  of  those  glances,  in  the  strength  of  those 
limbs,  beautiful  even  in  contortion !  It  is  then  that  a  woman 
is  carried  away  like  an  impetuous  wind,  darts  forth  like  the 
flames  of  a  conflagration,  exhibits  a  movement  like  a  billow 
which  glides  over  the  white  pebbles.  She  is  overcome  with 
excess  of  love,  she  sees  the  future,  she  is  the  seer  who  prophe- 
sies, but  above  all,  she  sees  the  present  moment  and  tramples 
on  her  husband,  and  impresses  him  with  a  sort  of  terror.  • 

The  sight  of  his  wife  flinging  off  vigorous  men  as  if  they 
were  so  many  feathers,  is  often  enough  to  deter  a  man  from 
ever  striving  to  wrong  her.  He  will  be  like  the  child  who, 
having  pulled  the  trigger  of  some  terrific  engine,  has  ever 
afterwards  an  incredible  respect  for  the  smallest  spring.  I 
have  known  a  man,  gentle  and  amiable  in  his  ways,  whose 
eyes  were  fixed  upon  those  of  his  wife,  exactly  as  if  he  had 
been  put  into  a  lion's  cage,  and  some  one  had  said  to  him 
that  he  must  not  irritate  the  beast,  if  he  would  escape  with 
his  life. 

Nervous  attacks  of  this  kind  are  very  fatiguing  and  become 
every  day  more  rare.  Eomanticism,  however,  has  maintained 
its  ground. 

Sometimes,  we  meet  with  phlegmatic  husbands,  those  men 
whose  love  is  long  enduring,  because  they  store  up  their  emo- 
tions, whose  genius  gets  the  upper  hand  of  these  headaches 
and  nervous  attacks;  but  these  sublime  creatures  are  rare. 
Faithful  disciples  of  the  blessed  St.  Thomas,  who  wished  to 
put  his  finger  into  the  wound,  they  are  endowed  with  an  in- 
credulity worthy  of  an  atheist.  Imperturbable  in  the  midst  of 
all  these  fraudulent  headaches  and  all  these  traps  set  by  neuro- 
sis, they  concentrate  their  attention  on  the  comedy  which  is 
being  played  before  them,  they  examine  the  actress,  they 
search  for  one  of  the  springs  that  sets  her  going;  and  when 
they  have  discovered  the  mechanism  of  this  display,  they  arm 


292  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

themselves  by  giving  a  slight  impulse  to  the  puppet-valve,  and 
thus  easily  assure  themselves  either  of  the  reality  of  the  dis- 
ease or  the  artifices  of  these  conjugal  mummeries. 

But  if  by  a  study  which  is  almost  superhuman  in  its  inten- 
sity a  husband  escapes  all  the  artifices  which  lawless  and 
untamable  love  suggests  to  women,  he  will  beyond  doubt  be 
overcome  by  the  employment  of  a  terrible  weapon,  the  last 
which  a  woman  would  resort  to,  for  she  never  destroys  with 
her  own  hands  her  empire  over  her  husband  without  some 
sort  of  repugnance.  But  this  is  a  poisoned  weapon  as  power- 
ful as  the  fatal  knife  of  the  executioner.  This  reflection 
brings  us  to  the  last  paragraph  of  the  present  Meditation. 

3.  OF  MODESTY,  IN  ITS  CONNECTION  WITH  MARRIAGE. 

Before  taking  up  the  subject  of  modesty,  it  may  perhaps 
be  necessary  to  inquire  whether  there  is  such  a  thing.  Is  it 
anything  in  a  woman  but  well  understood  coquetry?  Is  it 
anything  but  a  sentiment  that  claims  the  right,  on  a  woman's 
part,  to  dispose  of  her  own  body  as  she  chooses,  as  one  may 
well  believe,  when  we  consider  that  half  the  women  in  the 
world  go  almost  naked  ?  Is  it  anything  but  a  social  chimera, 
as  Diderot  supposed,  reminding  us  that  this  sentiment  always 
gives  way  before  sickness  and  before  misery  ? 

Justice  may  be  done  to  all  these  questions. 

An  ingenious  author  has  recently  put  forth  the  view  that 
men  are  much  more  modest  than  women.  He  supports  this 
contention  by  a  great  mass  of  surgical  experiences;  but,  in 
order  that  his  conclusions  merit  our  attention,  it  would  be 
necessary  that  for  a  certain  time  men  were  subjected  to  treat- 
ment by  women  surgeons. 

The  opinion  of  Diderot  is  of  still  less  weight. 

To  deny  the  existence  of  modesty,  because  it  disappears 
during  those  crises  in  which  almost  all  human  sentiments 
are  annihilated,  is  as  unreasonable  as  to  deny  that  life  exists 
because  death  sooner  or  later  comes. 

Let  us  grant,  then,  that  one  sex  has  as  much-  modesty  as 
the  other,  and  let  us  inquire  in  what  modesty  consists. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  293 

Eousseau  makes  modesty  the  outcome  of  all  those  coquetries 
which  females  display  before  males.  This  opinion  appears  to 
us  equally  mistaken. 

The  writers  of  the  eighteenth  century  have  doubtless  ren- 
dered immense  services  to  society ;  but  their  philosophy,  based 
as  it  is  upon  sensualism,  has  never  penetrated  any  deeper  than 
the  human  epidermis.  They  have  only  considered  the  exterior 
universe ;  and  so  they  have  retarded,  for  some  time,  the  moral 
development  of  man  and  the  progress  of  science  which  will 
always  draw  its  first  principles  from  the  Gospel,  principles 
hereafter  to  be  best  understood  by  the  fervent  disciples  of  the 
Son  of  Man. 

The  study  of  thought's  mysteries,  the  discovery  of  those 
organs  which  belong  to  the  human  soul,  the  geometry  of  its 
forces,  the  phenomena  of  its  active  power,  the  appreciation 
of  the  faculty  by  which  we  seem  to  have  an  independent  power 
of  bodily  movement,  so  as  to  transport  ourselves  whither  we 
will  and  to  see  without  the  aid  of  bodily  organs, — in  a  word 
the  laws  of  thought's  dynamic  and  those  of  its  physical  influ- 
ence,— these  things  will  fall  to  the  lot  of  the  next  century,  as 
their  portion  in  the  treasury  of  human  sciences.  And  per- 
haps we,  of  the  present  time,  are  merely  occupied  in  quarry- 
ing the  enormous  blocks  which  later  on  some  mighty  genius 
will  employ  in  the  building  of  a  glorious  edifice. 

Thus  the  error  of  Kousseau  is'  simply  the  error  of  his  age. 
He  explains  modesty  by  the  relations  of  different  human 
beings  to  each  other  instead  of  explaining  it  by  the  moral 
relations  of  each  one  with  himself.  Modesty  is  no  more  sus- 
ceptible of  analysis  than  conscience;  and  this  perhaps  is 
another  way  of  saying  that  modesty  is  the  conscience  of  the 
body;  for  while  conscience  directs  our  sentiments  and  the 
least  movement  of  our  thoughts  towards  the  good,  modesty 
presides  over  external  movements.  The  actions  which  clash 
with  our  interests  and  thus  disobey  the  laws  of  conscience 
wound  us  more  than  any  other;  and  if  they  are  repeated  call 
forth  our  hatred.  It  is  the  same  with  acts  which  violate 
modesty  in  their  relation  to  love,  which  is  nothing  but  the 


294 

expression  of  our  whole  sensibility.  If  extreme  modesty  is 
one  of  the  conditions  on  which  the  reality  of  marriage  is  based, 
as  we  have  tried  to  prove  [See  Conjugal  Catechism,  Medita- 
tion IV.],  it  is  evident  that  immodesty  will  destroy  it.  But 
this  position,  which  would  require  long  deductions  for  the 
acceptance  of  the  physiologist,  women  generally  apply,  as  it 
were,  mechanically;  for  society,  which  exaggerates  everything 
for  the  benefit  of  the  exterior  man,  develops  this  sentiment 
of  women  from  childhood,  and  around  it  are  grouped  almost 
every  other  sentiment.  Moreover,  the  moment  that  this  bound- 
less veil,  which  takes  away  the  natural  brutality  from  the 
least  gesture,  is  dragged  down,  woman  disappears.  Heart, 
mind,  love,  grace,  all  are  in  ruins.  In  a  situation  where  the 
virginal  innocence  of  a  daughter  of  Tahiti  is  most  brilliant, 
the  European  becomes  detestable.  In  this  lies  the  last  weapon 
which  a  wife  seizes,  in  order  to  escape  from  the  sentiment 
which  her  husband  still  fosters  towards  her.  She  is  powerful 
because  she  has  made  herself  loathsome;  and  this  woman, 
who  would  count  it  as  the  greatest  misfortune  that  her  lover 
should  be  permitted  to  see  the  slightest  mystery  of  her  toilette, 
is  delighted  to  exhibit  herself  to  her  husband  in  the  most 
disadvantageous  situation  that  can  possibly  be  imagined. 

It  is  by  means  of  this  rigorous  system  that  she  will  try  to 
banish  you  from  the  conjugal  bed.  Mrs.  Shandy  may  be 
taken  to  mean  us  harm  in'  bidding  the  father  of  Tristram 
wind  up  the  clock ;  so  long  as  your  wife  is  not  blamed  for  the 
pleasure  she  takes  in  interrupting  you  by  the  most  imperative 
questions.  Where  there  formerly  was  movement  and  life  is 
now  lethargy  and  death.  An  act  of  love  becomes  a  trans- 
action long  discussed  and  almost,  as  it  were,  settled  by  notarial 
seal.  But  we  have  in  another  place  shown  that  we  never 
refuse  to  seize  upon  the  comic  element  in  a  matrimonial 
crisis,  although  here  we  may  be  permitted  to  disdain  the 
diversion  which  the  muse  of  Verville  and  of  Marshall  have 
found  in  the  treachery  of  feminine  manoeuvres,  the  insulting 
audacity  of  their  talk,  amid  the  cold-blooded  cynicism  which 
they  exhibit  in  certain  situations.  It  is  too  sad  to  laugh  at,  and 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  295 

too  funny  to  mourn  over.  When  a  woman  resorts  to  such 
extreme  measures,  worlds  at  once  separate  her  from  her  hus- 
band. Nevertheless,  there  are  some  women  to  whom  Heaven 
has  given  the  gift  of  being  charming  under  all  circumstances, 
who  know  how  to  put  a  certain  witty  and  comic  grace  into 
these  performances,  and  who  have  such  smooth  tongues,  to 
use  the  expression  of  Sully,  that  they  obtain  forgiveness  for 
their  caprices  and  their  mockeries,  and  never  estrange  the 
hearts  of  their  husbands. 

What  soul  is  so  robust,  what  man  so  violently  in  love  as  to 
persist  in  his  passion,  after  ten  years  of  marriage,  in  presence 
of  a  wife  who  loves  him  no  longer,  who  gives  him  proofs  of 
this  every  moment,  who  repulses  him,  who  deliberately  shows 
herself  bitter,  caustic,  sickly  and  capricious,  and  who  will 
abjure  her  vows  of  elegance  and  cleanliness,  rather  than  not 
see  her  husband  turn  away  from  her;  in  presence  of  a  wife 
who  will  stake  the  success  of  her  schemes  upon  the  horror 
caused  by  her  indecency? 

All  this,  my  dear  sir,  is  so  much  more  horrible  because — 

XCIL 

LOVERS  IGNORE  MODESTY. 

We  have  now  arrived  at  the  last  infernal  circle  in  the 
Divine  Comedy  of  Marriage.  We  are  at  the  very  bottom 
of  Hell.  There  is  something  inexpressibly  terrible  in  the 
situation  of  a  married  woman  at  the  moment  when,  unlawful 
love  turns  her  away  from  her  duties  as  mother  and  wife.  As 
Diderot  has  very  well  put  it,  "infidelity  in  a  woman  is  like 
unbelief  in  a  priest,  the  last  extreme  of  human  failure;  for 
her  it  is  the  greatest  of  social  crimes,  since  it  implies  in  her 
every  other  crime  besides,  and  indeed  either  a  wife  profanes 
her  lawless  love  by  continuing  to  belong  to  her  husband,  or 
she  breaks  all  the  ties  which  attach  her  to  her  family,  by 
giving  herself  over  altogether  to  her  lover.  She  ought  to 
choose  between  the  two  courses,  for  her  sole  possible  excuse 
lies  in  the  intensity  of  her  love." 


296  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

She  lives  then  between  the  claims  of  two  obligations.  It  is. 
a  dilemma ;  she  will  work  either  the  unhappiness  of  her  lover, 
if  he  is  sincere  in  his  passion,  or  that  of  her  husband,  if  she 
is  still  beloved  by  him. 

It  is  to  this  frightful  dilemma  of  feminine  life  that  all  the 
strange  inconsistencies  of  women's  conduct  is  to  be  attributed. 
In  this  lies  the  origin  of  all  their  lies,  all  their  perfidies ;  hero 
is  the  secret  of  all  their  mysteries.  It  is  something  to  make 
one  shudder.  Moreover,  even  as  simply  based  upon  cold- 
blooded calculations,  the  conduct  of  a  woman  who  accepts  the 
unhappiness  which  attends  virtue  and  scorns  the  bliss  which  is 
bought  by  crime,  is  a  hundred  times  more  reasonable.  Never- 
theless, almost  all  women  will  risk  suffering  in  the  future  and 
ages  of  anguish  for  the  ecstasy  of  one  half  hour.  If  the  human 
feeling  of  self-preservation,  if  the  fear  of  death  does  not  check 
them,  how  fruitless  must  be  the  laws  which  send  them  for  two 
years  to  the  Madelonnettes  ?  0  sublime  infamy  !  And  when  one 
comes  to  think  that  he  for  whom  these  sacrifices  are  to  be 
made  is  one  of  our  brethren,  a  gentleman  to  whom  we  would 
not  trust  our  fortune,  if  we  had  one,  a  man  who  buttons  his 
coat  just  as  all  of  us  do,  it  is  enough  to  make  one  burst  into  a 
roar  of  laughter  so  loud,  that  starting  from  the  Luxembourg 
it  would  pass  over  the  whole  of  Paris  and  startle  an  ass  brows- 
ing in  the  pasture  at  Montmartre. 

It  will  perhaps  appear  extraordinary  that  in  speaking  of 
marriage  we  have  touched  upon  so  many  subjects;  but  mar- 
riage is  not  only  the  whole  of  human  life,  it  is  the  whole  of 
two  human  lives.  Now  just  as  the  addition  of  a  figure  to  the 
drawing  of  a  lottery  multiplies  the  chances  a  hundredfold,  so 
one  single  life  united  to  another  life  multiplies  by  a  startling 
progression  the  risks  of  human  life,  which  are  in  any  case  so 
manifold. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  297 

MEDITATION  XXVII. 

OF  THE  LAST  SYMPTOMS. 

The  author  of  this  book  has  met  in  the  world  so  many  people 
possessed  by  a  fanatic  passion  for  a  knowledge  of  the  mean 
time,  for  watches  with  a  second  hand,  and  for  exactness  in  the 
details  of  their  existence,  that  he  has  considered  this  Medita- 
tion too  necessary  for  the  tranquillity  of  a  great  number  of 
husbands,  to  be  omitted.  It  would  have  been  cruel  to  leave 
men,  who  are  possessed  with  the  passion  for  learning  the  hour 
of  the  day,  without  a  compass  whereby  to  estimate  the  last 
variations  in  the  matrimonial  zodiac,  and  to  calculate  the  pre- 
cise moment  when  the  sign  of  the  Minotaur  appears  on  the 
horizon.  The  knowledge  of  conjugal  time  would  require  a 
whole  book  for  its  exposition,  so  fine  and  delicate  are  the 
observations  required  by  the  task.  The  master  admits  that 
his  extreme  youth  has  not  permitted  him  as  yet  to  note  and 
verify  more  than  a  few  symptoms ;  but  he  feels  a  just  pride,  on 
his  arrival  at  the  end  of  his  difficult  enterprise,  from  the  con- 
sciousness that  he  is  leaving  to  his  successors  a  new  field  of 
research;  and  that  in  a  matter  apparently  so  trite,  not  only 
was  there  much  to  be  said,  but  also  very  many  points  are  found 
remaining  which  may  yet  be  brought  into  the  clear  light  of 
observation.  He  therefore  presents  here  without  order  or  con- 
nection the  rough  outlines  which  he  has  so  far  been  able  to 
execute,  in  the  hope  that  later  he  may  have  leisure  to  co-ordi- 
nate them  and  to  arrange  them  in  a  complete  system.  If  he 
has  been  so  far  kept  back  in  the  accomplishment  of  a  task  of 
supreme  national  importance,  he  believes,  he  may  say,  without 
incurring  the  charge  of  vanity,  that  he  has  here  indicated  the 
natural  division  of  those  symptoms.  They  are  necessarily  of 
two  kinds :  the  unicorns  and  the  bicorns.  The  unicorn  Mino- 
taur is  the  least  mischievous.  The  two  culprits  confine  them- 
selves to  a  platonic  love,  in  which  their  passion,  at  least,  leaves 
no  visible  traces  among  posterity ;  while  the  bicorn  Minotaur 
is  unhappiness  with  all  its  fruits. 


298  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

We  have  marked  with  an  asterisk  the  symptoms  which  seem 
to  concern  the  latter  kind. 

MINOTAUKIC  OBSERVATIONS. 
I. 

*When,  after  remaining  a  long  time  aloof  from  her  hus- 
band, a  woman  makes  overtures  of  a  very  marked  character  in 
order  to  attract  his  love,  she  acts  in  accordance  with  the  axiom 
of  maritime  law,  which  says:  The  flag  protects  the  cargo. 

II. 

A  woman  is  at  a  ball,  one  of  her  friends  comes  up  to  her 
and  says : 

"Your  husband  has  much  wit." 
"You  find  it  so?" 

III. 

Your  wife  discovers  that  it  is  time  to  send  your  boy  to  a 
boarding  school,  with  whom,  a  little  time  ago,  she  was  never 
going  to  part. 

IV. 

*In  Lord  Abergavenny's  suit  for  divorce^  the  valet  de  cham- 
bre  deposed  that  "the  countess  had  such  a  detestation  of  all 
that  belonged  to  my  lord  that  he  had  very  often  seen  her  burn- 
ing the  scraps  of  paper  which  he  had  touched  in  her  room." 

V. 

If  an  indolent  woman  becomes  energetic,  if  a  woman  who 
formerly  hated  study  learns  a  foreign  language;  in  short, 
every  appearance  of  a.  complete  change  in  character  is  a  deci- 
sive symptom. 

VI. 

The  woman  who  is  happy  in  her  affections  does  not  go  much 
into  the  world. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  299 

VII. 

The  woman  who  has  a  lover  becomes  very  indulgent  in  judg- 
ing others. 

VIII. 

*A  husband  gives  to  his  wife  a  hundred  crowns  a  month  for 
dress ;  and,  taking  everything  into  account,  she  spends  at  least 
five  hundred  francs  without  being  a  sou  in  debt ;  the  husband 
is  robbed  every  night  with  a  high  hand  by  escalade,  but  with- 
out burglarious  breaking  in. 

IX. 

*A  married  couple  slept  in  the  same  bed;  madame  was 
always  sick.  Now  they  sleep  a  part,  she  has  no  more  head- 
ache, and  her  health  becomes  more  brilliant  than  ever;  an 
alarming  symptom ! 

X. 

A  woman  who  was  a  sloven  suddenly  develops  extreme  nicety 
in  her  attire.  There  is  a  Minotaur  at  hand ! 

XI. 

"Ah !  my  dear,  I  know  no  greater  torment  than  not  to  be 
understood." 

"Yes,  my  dear,  but  when  one  is — " 

"Oh,  that  scarcely  ever  happens." 

"I  agree  with  you  that  it  very  seldom  does.  Ah !  it  is  great 
happiness,  but  there  are  not  two  people  in  the  world  who  are 
able  to  understand  you." 

XII. 

*The  day  when  a  wife  behaves  nicely  to  her  husband — all  is 
over. 

XIII. 

I  asked  her :    "Where  have  you  been,  Jeanne  ?" 
"I  have  been  to  your  friend's  to  get  your  plate  that  you  left 
there." 


3uO  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

"Ah,  indeed !  everything  is  still  mine/'  I  said.  The  follow- 
ing year  I  repeated  the  question  under  similar  circumstances. 

"I  have  been  to  bring  bz  ck  our  plate." 

"Well,  well,  part  of  the  things  are  still  mine,"  I  said.  But 
after  that,  when  I  questioned  her,  she  spoke  very  differently. 

"You  wish  to  know  everything,  like  great  people,  and  you 
have  only  three  shirts.  I  went  to  get  my  plate  from  my 
friend's  house,  where  I  had  stopped." 

"I  see,"  I  said,  "nothing  is  left  me." 
I 

XIV. 

Do  not  trust  a  woman  who  talks  of  her  virtue. 

XV. 

Some  one  said  to  the  Duchess  of  Chaulnes,  whose  life  was 
despaired  of : 

"The  Duke  of  Chaulnes  would  like  to  see  you  once  more." 

"Is  he  there?" 

"Yes." 

"Let  him  wait ;  he  shall  come  in  with  the  sacraments."  This 
minotauric  anecdote  has  been  published  by  Chamfort,  but  we 
quote  it  here  as  typical. 

XVI. 

*Some  women  try  to  persuade  their  husbands  that  they  have 
duties  to  perform  towards  certain  persons. 

"I  am  sure  that  you  ought  to  pay  a  visit  to  such  and  such  a 
man.  .  .  .  We  cannot  avoid  asking  such  and  such  a  man 
to  dinner. 

XVIL 

"Come,  my  son,  hold  yourself  straight ;  try  to  acquire  good 
manners !  Watch  such  and  such  a  man !  See  how  he  walks ! 
Notice  the  way  in  which  he  dresses." 

XVIII. 
When  a  woman  utters  the  name  of  a  man  but  twice  a  day, 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  301 

there  is  perhaps  some  uncertainty  about  her  feelings  toward 
him— but  if  thrice  ?— Oh !  oh ! 

XIX. 

When  a  woman  goes  home  with  a  man  who  is  neither  a  law- 
yer nor  a  minister,  to  the  door  of  his  apartment,  she  is  very 
imprudent. 

XX. 

It  is  a  terrible  day  when  a  husband  fails  to  explain  to  him- 
self the  motive  of  some  action  of  his  wife. 

XXI. 

*The  woman  who  allows  herself  to  be  found  out  deserves 
her  fate. 


What  should  be  the  conduct  of  a  husband,  when  he  recog- 
nizes a  last  symptom  which  leaves  no  doubt  as  to  the  infidelity 
of  his  wife  ?  There  are  only  two  courses  open ;  that  of  resigna- 
tion or  that  of  vengeance;  there  is  no  third  course.  If  ven- 
geance is  decided  upon,  it  should  be  complete. 

The  husband  who  does  not  separate  himself  forever  from 
his  wife  is  a  veritable  simpleton.  If  a  wife  and  husband  think 
themselves  fit  for  that  union  of  friendship  which  exists  between 
men,  it  is  odious  in  the  husband  to  make  his  wife  feel  his 
superiority  over  her. 

Here  are  some  anecdotes,  most  of  them  as  yet  unpublished, 
which  indicate  pretty  plainly,  in  my  opinion,  the  different 
shades  of  conduct  to  be  observed  by  a  husband  in  like  case. 

M.  de  Eoquemont  slept  once  a  month  in  the  chamber  of  his 
wife,  and  he  used  to  say,  as  he  went  away: 

"I  wash  my  hands  of  anything  that  may  happen." 

There  is  something  disgusting  in  the  remark,  and  perhaps 
something  profound  in  its  suggestion  of  conjugal  policy. 

A  diplomat,  when  he  saw  his  wife's  lover  enter,  left  his 
study  and,  going  to  his  wife's  chamber,  said  to  the  two : 


302  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

"I  hope  you  will  at  least  refrain  from  fighting." 

This  was  good  humor. 

M.  de  Boufflers  was  asked  what  he  would  do  if  on  return- 
ing after  a  long  absence  he  found  his  wife  with  child  ? 

"I  would  order  my  night  dress  and  slippers  to  be  taken  to 
her  room." 

This  was  magnanimity. 

"Madame,  if  this  man  ill  treats  you  when  you  are  alone,  it 
is  your  own  fault;  but  I  will  not  permit  him  to  behave  ill 
towards  you  in  my  presence,  for  this  is  to  fail  in  politeness 
to  me." 

This  was  nobility. 

The  sublime  is  reached  in  this  connection  when  the  square. 
cap  of  the  judge  is  placed  by  the  magistrate  at  the  foot  of  the 
bed  wherein  the  two  culprits  are  asleep. 

There  are  some  fine  ways  of  taking  vengeance.  Mirabeau 
has  admirably  described  in  one  of  the  books  he  wrote  to  make 
a  living  the  mournful  resignation  of  that  Italian  lady  who 
was  condemned  by  her  husband  to  perish  with  him  in  the 
Maremma. 

LAST  AXIOMS. 

XCIII. 

It  is  no  act  of  vengeance  to  surprise  a  wife  and  her  lover 
and  to  kill  them  locked  in  each  other's  arms ;  it  is  a  great  favor 
to  them  both. 

XCIV. 

A  husband  will  be  best  avenged  by  his  wife's  lover. 


MEDITATION  XXVIII. 
OF  COMPENSATIONS. 


The  marital  catastrophe  which  a  certain  number  of  hus- 
bands cannot  avoid,  almost  always  forms  the  closing  scene 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  303 

of  the  drama.  At  that  point  all  around  you  is  tranquil.  Your 
resignation,  if  .you  are  resigned,  has  the  power  of  awakening 
keen  remorse  in  the  soul  of  your  wife  and  of  her  lover;  for 
their  happiness  teaches  them  the  depth  of  the  wound  they  have 
inflicted  upon  you.  You  are,  you  may  be  sure,  a  third  ele- 
ment in  all  their  pleasures.  The  principle  of  kindliness  and 
goodness  which  lies  at  the  foundation  of  the  human  soul, 
is  not  so  easily  repressed  as  people  think;  moreover  the  two 
people  who  are  causing  you  tortures  are  precisely  those 
for  whom  you  wish  the  most  good. 

In  the  conversations  so  sweetly  familiar  which  link  together 
the  pleasures  of  love,  and  form  in  some  way  to  lovers  the 
caresses  of  thought,  your  wife  often  says  to  your  rival: 

"Well,  I  assure  you,  Auguste,  that  in  any  case  I  should 
like  to  see  my  poor  husband  happy ;  for  at  bottom  he  is  good ; 
if  he  were  not  my  husband,  but  were  only  my  brother,  there 
are  many  things  I  would  do  to  please  him!  He  loves  me, 
and — his  friendship  is  irksome  to  me." 

"Yes,  he  is  a  fine  fellow !" 

Then  you  become  an  object  of  respect  to  the  celibate,  who 
would  yield  to  you  all  th,e  indemnity  possible  for  the  wrong  he 
has  done  you;  but  he  is  repelled  by  the  disdainful  pride  which 
gives  a  tone  to  your  whole  conversation,  and  is  stamped  upon 
your  face. 

So  that  actually,  during  the  first  moments  of  the  Minotaur's 
arrival,  a  man  is  like  an  actor  who  feels  awkward  in  a  theatre 
where  he  is  not  accustomed  to  appear.  It  is  very  difficult  to 
bear  the  affront  with  dignit}*" ;  but  though  generosity  is  rare,  a 
model  husband  is  sometimes  found  to  possess  it. 

Eventually  you  are  little  by  little  won  over  by  the  charm- 
ing way  in  which  your  wife  makes  herself  agreeable  to  you. 
Madame  assumes  a  tone  of  friendship  which  she  never  hence- 
forth abandons.  The  pleasant  atmosphere  of  your  home  is  one 
of  the  chief  compensations  which  renders  the  Minotaur  less 
odious  to  a  husband.  But  as  it  is  natural  to  man  to  habituate 
himself  to  the  hardest  conditions,  in  spite  of  the  sentiment 
of  outraged  nobility  which  nothing  can  change,  you  are  grad- 


304 

ually  induced  by  a  fascination  whose  power  is  constantly 
around  you,  to  accept  the  little  amenities  of  yoAir  position. 

Suppose  that  conjugal  misfortune  has  fallen  upon  an  epi- 
cure. He  naturally  demands  the  consolations  which  suit  his 
taste.  His  sense  of  pleasure  takes  refuge  in  other  gratifica- 
tions, and  forms  other  habits.  You  shape  your  life  in  accord- 
ance with  the  enjoyment  of  other  sensations. 

One  day,  returning  from  your  government  office,  after  ling- 
ering for  a  long  time  before  the  rich  and  tasteful  book  shop 
of  Chevet,  hovering  in  suspense  between  the  hundred  francs  of 
expense,  and  the  joys  of  a  Strasbourg  pate  de  fois  gras,  you 
are  struck  dumb  on  finding  this  pate  proudly  installed  on 
the  sideboard  of  your  dining-room.  Is  it  the  vision  offered 
by  some  gastronomic  mirage?  In  this  doubting  mood  you 
approach  with  firm  step,  for  a  pate  is  a  living  creature,  and 
seem  to  neigh  as  you  scent  afar  off  the  truffles  whose  perfumes 
escape  through  the  gilded  enclosure.  You  stoop  over  it  two 
distinct  times;  all  the  nerve  centres  of  your  palate  have  a 
soul;  you  taste  the  delights  of  a  genuine  feast,  etc.;  and 
during  this  ecstasy  a  feeling  of  remorse  seizes  upon  you,  and 
you  go  to  your  wife's  room. 

"Really,  my  dear  girl,  we  have  not  means  which  warrant 
our  buying  pates." 

"But  it  costs  us  nothing!" 

"Oh!  ho!" 

"Yes,  it  is  M.  Achille's  brother  who  sent  it  to  him." 

You  catch  sight  of  M.  Achille  in  a  corner.  The  celibate 
greets  you,  he  is  radiant  on  seeing  that  you  have  accepted  the 
pate.  You  look  at  your  wife,  who  blushes;  you  stroke  your 
beard  a  few  times;  and,  as  you  express  no  thanks,  the  two 
lovers  divine  your  acceptance  of  the  compensation. 

A  sudden  change  in  the  ministry  takes  place.  A  husband, 
who  is  Councillor  of  State,  trembles  for  fear  of  being  wiped 
from  the  roll,  when  the  night  before  he  had  been  expecting 
to  be  made  director-general ;  all  the  ministers  are  opposed  to 
him  and  he  has  turned  Constitutionalist.  Foreseeing  his 
disgrace  he  has  betaken  himself  to  Auteuil,  in  search  of  con- 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  305 

solation  from  an  old  friend  who  quotes  Horace  and  Tibullus  to 
him.  On  returning  home  he  sees  the  table  laid  as  if  to  receive 
the  most  influential  men  of  the  assembly. 

"In  truth,  madame,"  he  says  with  acrimony  as  he  enters 
his  wife's  room,  where  she  is  finishing  her  toilette,  "you  seem 
to  have  lost  your  habitual  tact.  This  is  a  nice  time  to  be 
giving  dinner  parties !  Twenty  persons  will  soon  learn — 

"That  you  are  director-general !"  she  cries,  showing  him  a 
royal  despatch. 

He  is  thunderstruck.  He  takes  the  letter,  he  turns  it  now 
one  way,  now  another ;  he  opens  it.  He  sits  down  and  spreads 
it  out. 

"I  well  knew,"  he  says,  "that  justice  would  be  rendered  me 
under  whatever  ministers  I  served." 

"Yes,  my  dear !  But  M.  Villeplaine  has  answered  for  you 

with  his  life,  and  his  eminence  the  Cardinal  de of  whom 

he  is  the — " 

"M.  de  Villeplaine?" 

This  is  such  a  munificent  recompense,  that  the  husband 
adds  with  the  smile  of  a  director-general: 

"Why,  deuce  take  it,  my  dear,  this  is  your  doing !" 

"Ah !  don't  thank  me  for  it ;  Adolphe  did  it  from  personal 
attachment  to  you." 

On  a  certain  evening  a  poor  husband  was  kept  at  home 
by  a  pouring  rain,  or  tired,  perhaps,  of  going  to  spend  his 
evening  in  play,  at  the  cafe,  or  in  the  world,  and  sick  of  all 
this  he  felt  himself  carried  away  by  an  impulse  to  follow  his 
wife  to  the  conjugal  chamber.  There  he  sank  into  an  arm- 
chair and  like  any  sultan  awaited  his  coffee,  as  if  he  would  say : 

"Well,  after  all,  she  is  my  wife !" 

The  fair  siren  herself  prepares  the  favorite  draught;  she 
.strains  it  with  special  care,  sweetens  it,  tastes  it,  and  hands  it 
to  him;  then,  with  a  smile,  she  ventures  like  a  submissive 
odalisque  to  make  a  joke,  with  a  view  to  smoothing  the 
wrinkles  on  the  brow  of  her  lord  and  master.  Up  to  that 
moment  he  had  thought  his  wife  stupid;  but  on  hearing  a 
sally  as  witty  as  that  which  even  you  would  cajole  with, 


306  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OP  MARRIAGE 

madame,  he  raises  his  head  in  the  way  peculiar  to  dogs  who 
are  hunting  the  hare. 

"Where  the  devil  did  she  get  that — but  it's  a  random  shot !" 
he  says  to  himself. 

From  the  pinnacle  of  his  own  greatness  he  makes  a  piquant 
repartee.  Madame  retorts,  the  conversation  becomes  as  lively 
as  it  is  interesting,  and  this  husband,  a  very  superior  man,  is 
quite  astonished  to-  discover  the  wit  of  his  wife,  in  other 
respects,  an  accomplished  woman;  the  right  word  occurs  to 
her  with  wonderful  readiness;  her  tact  and  keenness  ena- 
ble her  to  meet  an  innuendo  with  charming  originality.  She 
is  no  longer  the  same  woman.  She  notices  the  effect  she  pro- 
duces upon  her  husband,  and  both  to  avenge  herself  for  his 
neglect  and  to  win  his  admiration  for  the  lover  from  whom  she 
has  received,  so  to  speak,  the  treasures  of  her  intellect,  she 
exerts  herself,  and  becomes  actually  dazzling.  The  husband, 
better  able  than  any  one  else  to  appreciate  a  species  of  com- 
pensation which  may  have  some  influence  on  his  future,  is  led 
to  think  that  the  passions  of  women  are  really  necessary  to 
their  mental  culture. 

But  how  shall  we  treat  those  compensations  which  are  most 
pleasing  to  husbands  ? 

Between  the  moment  when  the  last  symptoms  appear,  and 
the  epoch  of  conjugal  peace,  which  we  will  not  stop  to  discuss, 
almost  a  dozen  years  have  elapsed.  During  this  interval  and 
before  the  married  couple  sign  the  treaty  which,  by  means  of 
a  sincere  reconciliation  of  the  feminine  subject  with  her  lawful 
lord,  consecrates  their  little  matrimonial  restoration,  in  order 
to  close  in,  as  Louis  XVIII.  said,  tbe  gulf  of  revolutions, 
it  is  seldom  that  the  honest  woman  has  but  one  lover.  An- 
archy has  it  inevitable  phases.  The  stormy  domination  of 
tribunes  is  supplanted  by  that  of  the  sword  and  the  pen,  for 
few  lovers  are  met  with  whose  constancy  outlives  ten  years. 
Therefore,  since  our  calculations  prove  that  an  honest  woman 
has  merely  paid  strictly  her  physiological  or  diabolical  dues  by 
rendering  but  three  men  happy,  it  is  probable  that  she  has  set 
foot  in  more  than  one  region  of  love.  Sometimes  it  may  hap- 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  307 

pen  that  in  an  interregnum  of  love  too  long  protracted,  the 
wife,  whether  from  whim,  temptation  or  the  desire  of  novelty, 
undertakes  to  seduce  her  own  husband. 

Imagine  charming  Mme.  de  T ,  the  heroine  of  our 

Meditation  011  Strategy,  saying  with  a  fascinating  smile : 

"I  never  before  found  you  so  agreeable  I" 

By  flattery  after  flattery,  she  tempts,  she  rouses  curiosity, 
she  soothes,  she  rouses  in  you  the  faintest  spark  of  desire,  she 
carries  you  away  with  her,  and  makes  you  proud  of  yourself. 
Then  the  right  of  indemnifications  for  her  husband  comes. 
On' this  occasion  the  wife  confounds  the  imagination  of  her 
husband.  Like  cosmopolitan  travelers  she  tells  tales  of  all 
the  countries  which  she  has  traversed.  She  intersperses  her 
conversation  with  words  borrowed  from  several  languages. 
The  passionate  imagery  of  the  Orient,  the  unique  emphasis 
of  Spanish  phraseology,  all  meet  and  jostle  one  another.  She 
opens  out  the  treasures  of  her  notebook  with  all  the  mysteries 
of  coquetry,  she  is  delightful,  you  never  saw  her  thus  before ! 
With  that  remarkable  art  which  women  alone  possess  of 
making  their  own  everything  that  has  been  told  them,  she 
blends  all  shades  and  variations  of  character  so  as  to  create  a 
manner  peculiarly  her  own.  You  received  from  the  hands 
of  Hymen  only  one  woman,  awkward  and  innocent;  the 
celibate  returns  you  a  dozen  of  them.  A  joyful  and  rapturous 
husband  sees  his  bed  invaded  by  the  giddy  and  wanton  courte- 
sans, of  whom  we  spoke  in  the  Meditation  on  The  First  Symp- 
toms. These  goddesses  come  in  groups,  they  smile  and  sport 
under  the  graceful  muslin  curtains  of  the  nuptial  bed.  The 
Phoenician  girl  flings  to  you  her  garlands,  gently  sways  her- 
self to  and  fro;  the  Chalcidian  woman  overcomes  you  by  the 
witchery  of  her  fine  and  snowy  feet ;  the  Unelmane  comes  and 
speaking  the  dialect  of  fair  Ionia  reveals  the  treasures  of  hap- 
piness unknown  before,  and  in  the  study  of  which  she  makes 
you  experience  but  a  single  sensation. 

Filled  with  regret  at  having  disdained  so  many  charms,  and 
frequently  tired  of  finding  too  often  as  much  perfidiousness 
in  priestesses  of  Venus  as  in  honest  women,  the  husband  some- 


308  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

times  hurries  on  by  his  gallantry  the  hour  of  reconciliation 
desired  of  worthy  people.  The  aftermath  of  bliss  is  gath- 
ered even  with  greater  pleasure,  perhaps,  than  the  first  crop. 
The  Minotaur  took  your  gold,  he  makes  restoration  in  dia- 
monds. And  really  now  seems  the  time  to  state  a  fact  of  the 
utmost  importance.  A  man  may  have  a  wife  without  possess- 
ing her.  Like  most  husbands  you  had  hitherto  received  noth- 
ing from  yours,  and  the  powerful  intervention  of  the  celibate 
was  needed  to  make  your  union  complete.  How  shall  we  give  a 
name  to  this  miracle,  perhaps  the  only  one  wrought  upon  a 
patient  during  his  absence?  Alas,  my  brothers,  we  did  not 
make  Nature! 

But  how  many  other  compensations,  not  less  precious,  are 
there,  by  which  the  noble  and  generous  soul  of  the  young 
celibate  may  many  a  time  purchase  his  pardon !  I  recollect 
witnessing  one  of  the  most  magnificent  acts  of  reparation 
which  a  lover  should  perform  toward  the  husband  he  is  mino- 
taurizing. 

One  warm  evening  in  the  summer  of  1817,  I  saw  entering 
one  of  the  rooms  of  Tortoni  one  of  the  two  hundred  young 
men  whom  we  confidently  style  our  friends;  he  was  in  the 
full  bloom  of  his  modesty.  A  lovely  woman,  dressed  in  perfect 
taste,  and  who  had  consented  to  enter  one  of  the  cool  parlors 
devoted  to  people  of  fashion,  had  stepped  from  an  elegant 
carriage  which  had  stopped  on  the  boulevard,  and  was  ap- 
proaching on  foot  along  the  sidewalk.  My  young  friend,  the 
celibate,  then  appeared  and  offered  his  arm  to  his  queen, 
while  the  husband  followed  holding  by  the  hand  two  little 
boys,  beautiful  as  cupids.  The  two  lovers,  more  nimble  than 
the  father  of  the  family,  reached  in  advance  of  him  one  of 
the  small  rooms  pointed  out  by  the  attendant.  In  crossing 
the  vestibule  the  husband  knocked  up  against  some  dandy, 
wbo  claimed  that  he  had  been  jostled.  Then  arose  a  quarrel, 
whose  seriousness  was  betrayed  by  the  sharp  tones  of  the 
altercation.  The  moment  the  dandy  was  about  to  make  a 
gesture  unworthy  of  a  self-respecting  man,  the  celibate  inter- 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  309 

vened,  seized  the  dandy  by  the  arm,  caught  him  off  his  guard, 
overcame,  and  threw  him  to  the  ground;  it  was  magnificent. 
He  had  done  the  very  thing  the  aggressor  was  meditating, 
as  he  exclaimed: 

"Monsieur  I" 

This  "Monsieur"  was  one  of  the  finest  things  I  have  ever 
heard.  It  was  as  if  the  young  celibate  had  said :  "This  father 
of  a  family  belongs  to  me;  as  I  have  carried  off  his  honor,  it 
is  mine  to  defend  him.  I  know  my  duty,  I  am  his  substitute 
and  will  fight  for  him."  The  young  woman  behaved  superbly  ! 
Pale,  and  bewildered,  she  took  the  arm  of  her  husband,  who 
continued  his  objurgations;  without  a  word  she  led  him 
away  to  the  carriage,  together  with  her  children.  She  was 
one  of  those  women  of  the  aristocracy,  who  also  know  how 
to  retain  their  dignity  and  self-control  in  the  midst  of  violent 
emotions. 

"0  Monsieur  Adolphe !"  cried  the  young  lady  as  she  saw  her 
friend  with  an  air  of  gayety  take  his  seat  in  the  carriage. 

"It  is  nothing,  madame,  he  is  one  of  my  friends;  we  have 
shaken  hands." 

Nevertheless,  the  next  morning,  the  courageous  celibate 
received  a  sword  thrust  which  nearly  proved  fatal,  and  con- 
fined him  six  months  to  his  bed.  The  attentions  of  the  mar- 
ried couple  were  lavished  upon  him.  What  numerous  compen- 
sations do  we  see  here !  Some  years  afterwards,  an  old  uncle 
of  the  husband,  whose  opinions  did  not  fit  in  with  those  of  the 
young  friend  of  the  house,  and  who  nursed  a  grudge  against 
him  on  account  of  some  political  discussion,  undertook  to 
have  him  driven  from  the  house.  The  old  fellow  went  so 
far  as  to  tell  his  nephew  to  choose  between  being  his  heir  and 
sending  away  the  presumptuous  celibate.  It  was  then  that 
the  worthy  stockbroker  said  to  his  uncle : 

"Ah,  you  must  never  think,  uncle,  that  you  will  succeed 
in  making  me  ungrateful !  But  if  I  tell  him  to  do  so  this 
young  man  will  let  himself  be  killed  for  you.  He  has  saved 
my  credit,  he  would  go  through  fire  and  water  for  me,  he  has 
relieved  me  of  my  wife,  he  has  brought  me  clients,  he  has 


310  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

procured  for  me  almost  all  the  business  in  the  Villele  loans — I 
owe  my  life  to  him,  he  is  the  father  of  my  children;  I  can 
never  forget  all  this." 

In  this  case  the  compensations  may  be  looked  upon  as  com- 
plete; but  unfortunately  there  are  compensations  of  all  kinds. 
There  are  those  which  must  be  considered  negative,  deluding, 
and  those  which  are  both  in  one. 

I  knew  a  husband  of  advanced  years  who  was  possessed  by 
the  demon  of  gambling.  Almost  every  evening  his  wife's  lover 
came  and  played  with  him.  The  celibate  gave  him  a  liberal 
share  of  the  pleasures  which  come  from  games  of  hazard,  and 
knew  how  to  lose  to  him  a  certain  number  of  francs  every 
month;  but  madame  used  to  give  them  to  him,  and  the  com- 
pensation was  a  deluding  one. 

You  are  a  peer  of  France,  and  you  have  no  offspring  but 
daughters.  Your  wife  is  brought  to  bed  of  a  boy !  The  com- 
pensation is  negative. 

The  child  who  is  to  save  your  name  from  oblivion  is  like 
his  mother.  The  duchess  persuades  you  that  the  child  is 
yours.  The  negative  compensation  becomes  deluding. 

Here  is  one  of  the  most  charming  compensations  known. 
One  morning  the  Prince  de  Ligne  meets  his  wife's  lover  and 
rushes  up  to  him,  laughing  wildly : 

"My  friend,"  he  says  to  him,  "I  cuckolded  you,  last  night !" 

If  some  husbands  attain  to  conjugal  peace  by  quiet  methods, 
and  carry  so  gracefully  the  imaginary  ensigns  of  matrimonial 
pre-eminence,  their  philosophy  is  doubtless  based  on  the  com- 
fortabilisme  of  accepting  certain  compensations,  a  comforta- 
lilisme  which  indifferent  men  cannot  imagine.  As  years  roll 
by  the  married  couple  reach  the  last  stage  in  that  artificial 
existence  to  which  their  union  has  condemned  them. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  311 

MEDITATION  XXIX. 
Or  CONJUGAL  PEACE. 

My  imagination  has  followed  marriage  through  all  the 
phases  of  its  fantastic  life  in  so  fraternal  a  spirit,  that  I 
seem  to  have  grown  old  with  the  house  I  made  my  home 
so  early  in  life  at  the  commencement  of  this  work. 

After  experiencing  in  thought  the  ardor  of  man's  first  pas- 
sion; and  outlining,  in  however  imperfect  a  way,  the  princi- 
pal incidents  of  married  life ;  after  struggling  against  so  many 
wives  that  did  not  belong  to  me,  exhausting  myself  in  con- 
flict with  so  many  personages  called  up  from  nothingness, 
and  joining  so  many  battles,  I  feel  an  intellectual  lassitude, 
which  makes  me  see  everything  in  life  hang,  as  it  were,  in 
mournful  crape.  I  seem  to  have  a  catarrh,  to  look  at  every- 
thing through  green  spectacles,  I  feel  as  if  my  hands  trem- 
bled, as  if  I  must  needs  employ  the  second  half  of  my 
existence  and  of  my  book  in  apologizing  for  the  follies  of  the 
first  half. 

I  see  myself  surrounded  by  tall  children  of  whom  I  am 
not  the  father,  and  seated  beside  a  wife  I  never  married.  I 
think  I  can  feel  wrinkles  furrowing  my  brow.  The  fire  before 
which  I  am  placed  crackles,  as  if  in  derision,  the  room  is 
ancient  in  its  furniture;  I  shudder  with  sudden  fright  as  I 
lay  my  hand  upon  my  heart,  and  ask  myself:  "Is  that,  too, 
withered  ?" 

I  am  like  an  old  attorney,  unswayed  by  any  sentiment 
whatever.  I  never  accept  any  statement  unless  it  be  confirmed, 
according  to  the  poetic  maxim  of  Lord  Byron,  by  the  testi- 
mony o'f  at  least  two  false  witnesses.  No  face  can  delude 
me.  I  am  melancholy  and  overcast  with  gloom.  I  know  the 
world  and  it  has  no  more  illusions  for  me.  My  closest  friends 
have  proved  traitors.  My  wife  and  myself  exchange  glances 


312  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

of  profound  meaning  and  the  slightest  word  either  of  us  utters 
is  a  dagger  which  pierces  the  heart  of  the  other  through  and 
through.  I  stagnate  in  a  dreary  calm.  This  then  is  the  tran- 
quillity of  old  age!  The  old  man  possesses  in  himself  the 
cemetery  which  shall  soon  possess  him.  He  is  growing  accus- 
tomed to  the  chill  of  the  tomb.  Man,  according  to  philoso- 
phers, dies  in  detail ;  at  the  same  time  he  may  be  said  even  to 
cheat  death;  for  that  which  his  withered  hand  has  laid  hold 
upon,  can  it  be  called  life? 

Oh,  to  die  young  and  throbbing  with  life!  'Tis  a  destiny 
enviable  indeed!  For  is  not  this,  as  a  delightful  poet  has 
said,  "to  take  away  with  one  all  one's  illusions,  to  be  buried 
like  an  Eastern  king,  with  all  one's  jewels  and  treasures,  with 
all  that  makes  the  fortune  of  humanity !" 

How  many  thank-offerings  ought  we  to  make  to  the  kind 
and  beneficent  spirit  that  breathes  in  all  things  here  below! 
Indeed,  the  care  which  nature  takes  to  strip  us  piece  by  piece 
of  our  raiment,  to  unclothe  the  soul  by  enfeebling  gradually 
our  hearing,  sight,  and  sense  of  touch,  in  making  slower  the 
circulation  of  our  blood,  and  congealing  our  humors  so  as  to 
make  us  as  insensible  to  the  approach  of  death  as  we  were 
to  the  beginnings  of  life,  this  maternal  care  which  she  lavishes 
on  our  frail  tabernacle  of  clay,  she  also  exhibits  in  regard  to 
the  emotions  of  man,  and  to  the  double  existence  which  is 
created  by  conjugal  love.  She  first  sends  us  Confidence,  which 
with  extended  hand  and  open  heart  says  to  us:  "Behold,  I 
am  thine  forever!"  Lukewarmness  follows,  walking  with 
languid  tread,  turning  aside  her  blonde  face  with  a  yawn,  like 
a  young  widow  obliged  to  listen  to  the  minister  of  state  who 
is  ready  to  sign  for  her  a  pension  warrant.  Then  Indifference 
comes;  she  stretches  herself  on  the  divan,  taking  no  care  to 
draw  down  the  skirts  of  her  robe  which  Desire  but  now  lifted 
so  chastely  and  so  eagerly.  She  casts  a  glance  upon  the  nup- 
tial bed,  with  modesty  and  without  shamelessness; 'and,  if 
she  longs  for  anything,  it  is  for  the  green  fruit  that  calls  up 
again  to  life  the  dulled  papillae  with  which  her  blase  palate  is 
bestrewn.  Finally  the  philosophical  Experience  of  Life  pre- 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  313 

seuts  herself,  with  careworn  and  disdainful  brow,  pointing 
with  her  finger  to  the  results,  and  not  the  causes  of  life's  inci- 
dents ;  to  the  tranquil  victory,  not  to  the  tempestuous  combat. 
She  reckons  up  the  arrearages,  with  farmers,  and  calculates 
the  dowry  of  a  child.  She  materializes  everything.  By  a 
touch  of  her  wand,  life  becomes  solid  and  springless ;  of  yore, 
all  was  fluid,  now  it  is  crystallized  into  rock.  Delight  no 
longer  exists  for  our  hearts,  it  has  received  its  sentence,  'twas 
but  mere  sensation,  a  passing  paroxysm.  What  the  soul  desires 
to-day  is  a  condition  of  fixity;  and  happiness  alone  is  per- 
manent, and  consists  in  absolute  tranquillity,  in  the  regularity 
with  which  eating  and  sleeping  succeed  each  other,  and  the 
sluggish  organs  perform  their  functions. 

"This  is  horrible !"  I  cried ;  "I  am  young  and  full  of  life ! 
Perish  all  the  books  in  the  world  rather  than  my  illusions 
should  perish !" 

I  left  my  laboratory  and  plunged  into  the  whirl  of  Paris. 
As  I  saw  the  fairest  faces  glide  by  before  me,  I  felt  that  I  was 
not  old.  The  first  young  woman  who  appeared  before  me, 
lovely  in  face  and  form  and  dressed  to  perfection,  with  one 
glance  of  fire  made  all  the  sorcery  whose  spells  I  had  volunta- 
rily submitted  to  vanish  into  thin  air.  Scarcely  had  I  walked 
three  steps  in  the  Tuileries  gardens,  the  place  which  I  had 
chosen  as  my  destination,  before  I  saw  the  prototype  of  the 
matrimonial  situation  which  has  last  been  described  in  this 
book.  Had  I  desired  to  characterize,  to  idealize,  to  personify 
marriage,  as  I  conceived  it  to  be,  it  would  have  been  impossi- 
ble for  the  Creator  himself  to  have  produced  so  complete  a 
symbol  of  it  as  I  then  saw  before  me. 

Imagine  a  woman  of  fifty,  dressed  in  a  jacket  of  reddish 
brown  merino,  holding  in  her  left  hand  a  green  cord,  which 
was  tied  to  the  collar  of  an  English  terrier,  and  with  her 
right  arm  linked  with  that  of  a  man  in  knee-breeches  and 
silk  stockings,  whose  hat  had  its  brim  whimsically  turned  up, 
while  snow-white  tufts  of  hair  like  pigeon  plumes  rose  at  its 
sides.  A  slender  queue,  thin  as  a  quill,  tossed  about  on  the  back 
of  his  sallow  neck,  which  was  thick,  as  far  as  it  could  be  seen. 


314  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

above  the  turned  down  collar  of  a  threadbare  coat.  This  couple 
assumed  the  stately  tread  of  an  ambassador;  and  the  hus- 
band, who  was  at  least  seventy,  stopped  complaisantly  every 
time  the  terrier  began  to  gambol.  I  hastened  to  pass  this 
living  impersonation  of  my  Meditation,  and  was  surprised 

to  the  last  degree  to  recognize  the  Marquis  de  T ,  friend 

of  Comte  de  Noce,  who  had  owed  me  for  a  long  time  the  end 
of  the  interrupted  story  which  I  related  in  the  Theory  of  the 
Bed.  [See  Meditation  XVII.] 

"I  have  the  honor  to  present  to  you  the  Marquise  de 
T ,"  he  said  to  me. 

I  made  a  low  bow  to  a  lady  whose  face  was  pale  and 
wrinkled;  her  forehead  was  surmounted  by  a  toupee,  whose 
flattened  ringlets,  ranged  around  it,  deceived  no  one,  but 
only  emphasized,  instead  of  concealing,  the  wrinkles  by  which 
it  was  deeply  furrowed.  The  lady  was  slightly  rouged, 
and  had  the  appearance  of  an  old  country  actress. 

"I  do  not  see,  sir,  what  you  can  say  against  a  marriage  such 
as  ours,"  said  the  old  man  to  me. 

"The  laws  of  Eome  f orefend !"  I  cried,  laughing. 

The  marchioness  gave  me  a  look  filled  with  inquietude  as 
well  as  disapprobation,  which  seemed  to  say,  "Is  it  possible 
that  at  my  age  I  have  become  but  a  concubine  ?" 

We  sat  down  upon  a  bench,  in  the  gloomy  clump  of  trees 
planted  at  the  corner  of  the  high  terrace  which  commands 
La  Place  Louis  XV.,  on  the  side  of  the  Garde-Meuble. 
Autumn  had  already  begun  to  strip  the  trees  of  their  foliage, 
and  was  scattering  before  our  eyes  the  yellow  leaves  of  his 
garland;  but  the  sun  nevertheless  filled  the  air  with  grateful 
warmth. 

"Well,  is  your  work  finished?"  asked  the  old  man,  in  the 
unctuous  tones  peculiar  to  men  of  the  ancient  aristocracy. 

And  with  these  words  he  gave  a  sardonic  smile,  as  if  for 
commentary. 

"Very  nearly,  sir,"  I  replied.  I  have  come  to  the  philo- 
sophic situation,  which  you  appear  to  have  reached,  but  I  con- 
feiss  that  I—" 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  315 

"You  are  searching  for  ideas?"  he  added — finishing  for 
me  a  sentence,  which  I  confess  I  did  not  know  how  to  end. 

"Well,"  he  continued,  "you  may  boldly  assume,  that  on 
arriving  at  the  winter  of  his  life,  a  man — a  man  who  thinks,  I 
mean — ends  by  denying  that  love  has  any  existence,  in  the 
wild  form  with  which  our  illusions  invested  it  I" 

"What  I  would  you  deny  the  existence  of  love  on  the  day 
after  that  of  marriage?" 

"In  the  first  place,  the  day  after  would  be  the  very  reason ; 
but  my  marriage  was  a  commercial  speculation,"  replied  he, 
stooping  to  speak  into  my  ear.  "I  have  thereby  purchased 
the  care,  the  attention,  the  services  which  I  need;  and  I  am 
certain  to  obtain  all  the  consideration  my  age  demands;  for 
I  have  willed  all  my  property  to  my  nephew,  and  as  my  wife 
will  be  rich  only  during  my  life,  you  can  imagine  how — " 

I  turned  on  the  old  marquis  a  look  so  piercing  that  he 
wrung  my  hand  and  said :  "You  seem  to  have  a  good  heart, 
for  nothing  is  certain  in  this  life — " 

"Well,  you  may  be  sure  that  I  have  arranged  a  pleasant 
surprise  for  her  in  my  will,"  he  replied,  gayly. 

"Come  here,  Joseph,"  cried  the  marchioness,  approaching 
a  servant  who  carried  an  overcoat  lined  with  silk.  "The  mar- 
quis is  probably  feeling  the  cold." 

The  old  marquis  put  on  his  overcoat,  buttoned  it  up,  and 
taking  my  arm,  led  me  to  the  sunny  side  of  the  terrace. 

"In  your  work,"  he  continued,  "you  have  doubtless  spoken 
of  the  love  of  a  young  man.  Well,  if  you  wish  to  act  up  to  the 
scope  which  you  give  to  your  work — in  the  word  ec — elec — " 

"Eclectic,"  I  said,  smiling,  seeing  he  could  not  remember 
this  philosophic  term. 

"I  know  the  word  well !"  he  replied.  "If  then  you  wish  to 
keep  your  vow  of  eclecticism,  you  should  be  willing  to  express 
certain  virile  ideas  on  the  subject  of  love  which  I  will  com- 
municate to  you,  and  I  will  not  grudge  you  the  benefit  cf 
them,  if  benefit  there  be ;  I  wish  to  bequeath  my  property  to 
you,  but  this  will  be  all  that  you  will  get  of  it." 

"There  is  no  monev  fortune  which  is  worth  as  much  as  a 


316  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

fortune  of  ideas  if  they  be  valuable  ideas !  I  shall,  therefore, 
listen  to  you  with  a  grateful  mind." 

"There  is  no  such  thing  as  love/'  pursued  the  old  man, 
fixing  his  gaze  upon  me.  "It  is  not  even  a  sentiment,  it  is 
an  unhappy  necessity,  which  is  midway  between  the  needs  of 
the  body  and  those  of  the  soul.  But  siding  for  a  moment 
with  your  youthful  thoughts,  let  us  try  to  reason  upon  this 
social  malady.  I  suppose  that  you  can  only  conceive  of  love 
as  either  a  need  or  a  sentiment." 

I  made  a  sign  of  assent. 

"Considered  as  a  need,"  said  the  old  man,  "love  makes 
itself  felt  last  of  all  our  needs,  and  is  the  first  to  cease.  We 
are  inclined  to  love  in  our  twentieth  year,  to  speak  in  round 
numbers,  and  we  cease  to  do  so  at  fifty.  During  these  thirty 
years,  how  often  would  the  need  be  felt,  if  it  were  not  for  the 
provocation  of  city  manners,  and  the  modern  custom  of  living 
in  the  presence  not  of  one  woman,  but  of  women  in  gen- 
eral? What  is  our  debt  to  the  perpetuation  of  the  race? 
It  probably  consists  in  producing  as  many  children  as  we 
have  breasts — so  that  if  one  dies  the  other  may  live.  If  these 
two  children  were  always  faithfully  produced,  what  would 
become  of  nations?  Thirty  millions  of  people  would  con- 
stitute a  population  too  great  for  France,  for  the  soil  is  not 
sufficient  to  guarantee  more  than  ten  millions  against  misery 
and  hunger.  Remember  that  China  is  reduced  to  the  expe- 
dient of  throwing  its  children  into  the  water,  according  to 
the  accounts  of  travelers.  Now  this  production  of  two  chil- 
dren is  really  the  whole  of  marriage.  The  superfluous  pleas- 
ures of  marriage  are  not  only  profligate,  but  involve  an 
immense  loss  to  the  man,  as  I  will  now  demonstrate.  Com- 
pare then  with  this  poverty  of  result,  and  shortness  of  dura- 
tion, the  daily  and  perpetual  urgency  of  other  needs  of  our 
existence.  Nature  reminds  us  every  hour  of  our  real  needs; 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  refuses  absolutely  to  grant  the  excess 
which  our  imagination  sometimes  craves  in  love.  It  is,  there- 
fore, the  last  of  our  needs,  and  the  only  one  which  may  be 
forgotten  without  causing  any  disturbance  in  the  economy 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  317 

of  the  body.  Love  is  a  social  luxury  like  lace  and  diamonds. 
But  if  we  analyze  it  as  a  sentiment,  we  find  two  distinct  ele- 
ments in  it;  namely,  pleasure  and  passion.  Now  analyze 
pleasure.  Human  affections  rest  upon  two  foundations,  attrac- 
tion and  repulsion.  Attraction  is  a  universal  feeling  for  those 
things  which  flatter  our  instinct  of  self-preservation;  repul- 
sion is  the  exercise  of  the  same  instinct  when  it  tells  us  that 
something  is  near  which  threatens  it  with  injury.  Everything 
which  profoundly  moves  our  organization  gives  us  a  deeper 
sense  of  our  existence;  such  a  thing  is  pleasure.  It  is  con- 
tracted of  desire,  of  effort,  and  the  joy  of  possessing  something 
or  other.  Pleasure  is  a  unique  element  in  life,  and  our  pas- 
sions are  nothing  but  modifications,  more  or  less  keen,  of 
pleasure;  moreover,  familiarity  with  one  pleasure  almost 
always  precludes  the  enjoyment  of  all  others.  Now,  love  is 
the  least  keen  and  the  least  durable  of  our  pleasures.  In 
what  would  you  say  the  pleasure  of  love  consists?  Does  it 
lie  in  the  beauty  of  the  beloved?  In  one  evening  you  may 
obtain  for  money  the  loveliest  odalisques ;  but  at  the  end  of  a 
month  you  will  in  this  way  have  burnt  out  all  your  sentiment 
for  all  time.  Would  you  love  a  woman  because  she  is  well 
dressed,  elegant,  rich,  keeps  a  carriage,  has  commercial  credit? 
Do  not  call  this  love,  for  it  is  vanity,  avarice,  egotism.  Do 
you  love  her  because  she  is  intellectual?  You  are  in  that 
case  merely  obeying  the  dictates  of  literary  sentiment/' 

"But,"  I  said,  "love  only  reveals  its  pleasures  to  those  who 
mingle  in  one  their  thoughts,  their  fortunes,  their  senti- 
ments, their  souls,  their  lives — " 

''Oh  dear,  dear!"  cried  the  old  man,  in  a  jeering  tone. 
"Can  you  show  me  five  men  in  any  nation  who  have  sacrificed 
anything  for  a  woman?  I  do  not  say  their  life,  for  that  is  a 
slight  thing — the  price  of  a  human  life  under  Napoleon  was 
never  more  than  twenty  thousand  francs;  and  there  are  in 
France  to-day  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  brave  men  who 
would  give  theirs  for  two  inches  of  red  ribbon;  while  seven 
men  have  sacrificed  for  a  woman  ten  millions  on  which  they 
might  have  slept  in  solitude  for  a  whole  night.  Dubreuil  and 


318  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

Phmeja  are  still  rarer  than  is  the  love  of  Dupris  and  Boling- 
broke.  These  sentiments  proceed  from  an  unknown  cause.  But 
you  have  brought  me  thus  to  consider  love  as  a  passion.  Yes, 
indeed,  it  is  the  last  of  them  all  and  the  most  contemptible. 
It  promises  everything,  and  fulfils  nothing.  It  comes,  like 
love,  as  a  need,  the  last,  and  dies  away  the  first.  Ah,  talk  to 
me  of  revenge,  hatred,  avarice,  of  gaming,  of  ambition,  of  fan- 
aticism. These  passions  have  something  virile  in  them;  these 
sentiments  are  imperishable;  they  make  sacrifices  every  day, 
such  as  love  only  makes  by  fits  and  starts.  But,"  he  went  on, 
"suppose  you  abjure  love.  At  first  there  will  be  no  disquie- 
tudes, no  anxieties,  no  worry,  none  of  those  little  vexations 
that  waste  human  life.  A  man  lives  happy  and  tranquil;  in 
his  social  relations  he  becomes  infinitely  more  powerful  and 
influential.  This  divorce  from  the  thing  called  love  is  the 
primary  secret  of  power  in  all  men  who  control  large  bodies 
of  men ;  but  this  is  a  mere  trifle.  Ah !  if  you  knew  with  what 
magic  influence  a  man  is  endowed,  what  wealth  of  intellectual 
force,  what  longevity  in  physical  strength  he  enjoys,  when 
detaching  himself  from  every  species  of  human  passion  he 
spends  all  his  energy  to  the  profit  of  his  soul !  If  you  could 
enjoy  for  two  minutes  the  riches  which  God  dispenses  to  the 
enlightened  men  who  consider  love  as  merely  a  passing  need 
which  it  is  sufficient  to  satisfy  for  six  months  in  their  twen- 
tieth year ;  to  the  men  who,  scorning  the  luxurious  and  surfeit- 
ing beefsteaks  of  Normandy,  feed  on  the  roots  which  God  has 
given  in  abundance,  and  take  their  repose  on  a  bed  of  withered 
leaves,  like  the  recluses  of  the  Thebaid! — ah!  you  would 
not  keep  on  three  seconds  the  wool  of  fifteen  merinos  which 
covers  you ;  you  would  fling  away  your  childish  switch,  and  go 
to  live  in  the  heaven  of  heavens !  There  you  would  find  the 
love  you  sought  in  vain  amid  the  swine  of  earth;  there  you 
would  hear  a  concert  of  somewhat  different  melody  from 
that  of  M.  Kossini,  voices  more  faultless  than  that  of  Mali- 
bran.  But  I  am  speaking  as  a  blind  man  might,  and 
repeating  hearsays.  If  I  had  not  visited  Germany  about  the 
year  1791,  I  should  know  nothing  of  all  this.  Yes! — man 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  319 

has  a  vocation  for  the  infinite.  There  dwells  within  him  an 
instinct  that  calls  him  to  God.  God  is  all,  gives  all,  brings 
oblivion  on  all,  and  thought  is  the  thread  which  he  has  given 
us  as  a  clue  to  communication  with  himself  I" 

He  suddenly  stopped,  and  fixed  his  eyes  upon  the  heavens. 

"The  poor  fellow  has  lost  his  wits  I"  I  thought  to  myself. 

"Sir/'  I  said  to  him,  "it  would  be  pushing  my  devotion  to 
eclectic  philosophy  too  far  to  insert  your  ideas  in  my  book; 
they  would  destroy  it.  Everything  in  it  is  based  on  love,  pla- 
tonic  and  sensual.  God  forbid  that  I  should  end  my  book  by 
such  social  blasphemies !  I  would  rather  try  to  return  by  some 
pantagruelian  subtlety  to  my  herd  of  celibates  and  honest 
women,  with  many  an  attempt  to  discover  some  social  utility 
in  their  passions  and  follies.  Oh !  if  conjugal  peace  leads  us 
to  arguments  so  disillusionizing  and  so  gloomy  as  these,  I 
know  a  great  many  husbands  who  would  prefer  war  to  peace." 

"At  any  rate,  young  man/7  the  old  marquis  cried.  "I  shall 
never  have  to  reproach  myself  with  refusing  to  give  true  direc- 
tions to  a  traveler  who  had  lost  his  way." 

"Adieu,  thou  old  carcase!"  I  said  to  myself;  "adieu,  thou 
walking  marriage !  adieu,  thou  stick  of  a  burnt-out  fire-work ! 
adieu,  thou  machine !  Although  I  have  given  thee  from  time 
to  time  some  glimpses  of  people  dear  to  me,  old  family  por- 
traits,— back  with  you  to  the  picture  dealer's  shop,  to  Madame 

de  T ,  and  all  the  rest  of  them ;  take  your  place  round  the 

bier  with  undertaker's  mutes,  for  all  I  care !" 


MEDITATION  XXX. 
CONCLUSION. 

A"  recluse,  who  was  credited  with  the  gift  of  second  sight, 
having  commanded  the  children  of  Israel  to  follow  him  to  a 
mountain  top  in  order  to  hear  the  revelation  of  certain  mys- 
teries, saw  that  he  was  accompanied  by  a  crowd  which  took 


320  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

up  so  much  room  on  the  road  that,  prophet  as  he  was,  his 
amour-propre  was  vastly  tickled. 

But  as  the  mountain  was  a  considerable  distance  off,  it 
happened  that  at  the  first  halt,  an  artisan  remembered  that 
he  had  to  deliver  a  new  pair  of  slippers  to  a  duke  and  peer, 
a  publican  fell  to  thinking  how  he  had  some  specie  to  nego- 
tiate, and  off  they  went. 

A  little  further  on  two  lovers  lingered  under  the  olive  trees 
and  forgot  the  discourse  of  the  prophet;  for  .they  thought  that 
the  promised  land  was  the  spot  where  they  stood,  and  the 
divine  word  was  heard  when  they  talked  to  one  another. 

The  fat  people,  loaded  with  paunches  a  la  Sancho,  had  been 
wiping  their  foreheads  with  their  handkerchiefs,  for  the  last 
quarter  of  an  hour,  and  began  to  grow  thirsty,  and  therefore 
halted  beside  a  clear  spring. 

Certain  retired  soldiers  complained  of  the  corns  which 
tortured  them,  and  spoke  of  Austerlitz,  and  of  their  tight 
boots. 

At  the  second  halt,  certain  men  of  the  world  whispered 
together : 

"But  this  prophet  is  a  fool." 

"Have  you  ever  heard  him  ?" 

"I  ?    I  came  from  sheer  curiosity." 

"And  I  because  I  saw  the  fellow  had  a  large  following." 
(The  last  man  who  spoke  was  a  fashionable.) 

"He  is  a  mere  charlatan." 

The  prophet  kept  marching  on.  But  when  he  reached  the 
plateau,  from  which  a  wide  horizon  spread  before  him,  he 
turned  back,  and  saw  no  one  but  a  poor  Israelite,  to  whom 
he  might  have  said  as  the  Prince  de  Ligne  to  the  wretched 
little  bandy-legged  drummer  boy,  whom  he  found  on  the  spot 
where  he  expected  to  see  a  whole  garrison  awaiting  him: 
"Well,  my  readers,  it  seems  that  you  have  dwindled  down  to 
one." 

Thou  man  of  God  who  hast  followed  me  so  far — I  hope 
that  a  short  recapitulation  will  not  terrify  thee,  and  I  have 
traveled  on  under  the  impression  that  thou,  like  me,  hast  kept 
saying  to  thyself,  "Where  the  deuce  are  we  going?" 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  321 

Well,  well,  this  is  the  place  and  the  time  to  ask  you,  re- 
spected reader,  what  your  opinion  is  with  regard  to  the  renewal 
of  the  tobacco  monopoly,  and  what  you  think  of  the  exor- 
bitant taxes  on  wines,  on  the  right  to  carry  firearms,  on  gam- 
ing, on  lotteries,  on  playing  cards,  on  brandy,  on  soap,  cotton, 
silks,  etc. 

"I  think  that  since  all  these  duties  make  up  one-third  of  the 
public  revenues,  we  should  be  seriously  embarrassed  if — " 

So  that,  my  excellent  model  husband,  if  no  one  got  drunk, 
or  gambled,  or  smoked,  or  hunted,  in  a  word  if  we  had  neither 
vices,  passions,  nor  maladies  in  France,  the  State  would  be 
within  an  ace  of  bankruptcy ;  for  it  seems  that  the  capital  of 
our  national  income  consists  of  popular  corruptions,  as  our 
commerce  is  kept  alive  by  national  luxury.  If  you  cared  to 
look  a  little  closer  into  the  matter  you  would  see  that  all 
taxes  are  based  upon  some  moral  malady.  As'a  matter  of 
fact,  if  we  continue  this  philosophical  scrutiny  it  will  appear 
that  the  gendarmes  would  want  horses  and  leather  breeches, 
if  every  one  kept  the  peace,  and  if  there  were  neither  foes  nor 
idle  people  in  the  world.  Therefore  impose  virtue  on  man- 
kind !  Well,  I  consider  that  there  are  more  parallels  than 
people  think  between  my  honest  woman  and  the  budget,  and  I 
will  undertake  to  prove  this  by  a  short  essay  on  statistics,  if 
you  will  permit  me  to  finish  my  book  on  the  same  lines  as 
.those  on  which  I  have  begun  it.  Will  you  grant  that  a  lover 
must  put  on  more  clean  shirts  than  are  worn  by  either  a  hus- 
band, or  a  celibate  unattached?  This  to  me  seems  beyond 
doubt.  The  difference  between  a  husband  and  a  lover  is  seen 
even  in  the  appearance  of  their  toilette.  The  one  is  careless, 
he  is  unshaved,  and  the  other  never  appears  excepting  in  full 
dress.  Sterne  has  pleasantly  remarked  that  the  account  book 
of  the  laundress  was  the  most  authentic  record  he  knew,  as  to 
the  life  of  Tristram  Shandy ;  and  that  it  was  easy  to  guess  from 
the  number  of  shirts  he  wore  what  passages  of  his  book  had 
cost  him  most.  Well,  with  regard  to  lovers  the  account  book  of 
their  laundresses  is  the  most  faithful  historic  record  as  well 
as  the  most  impartial  account  of  their  various  amours.  And 


322  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

really  a  prodigious  quantity  of  tippets,  cravats,  dresses,  which 
are  absolutely  necessary  to  coquetry,  is  consumed  in  the 
course  of  an  amour.  A  wonderful  prestige  is  gained  by  white 
stockings,  the  lustre  of  a  collar,  or  a  shirt-waist,  the  artis- 
tically arranged  folds  of  a  man's  shirt,  or  the  taste  of  his 
necktie  or  his  collar.  This  will  explain  the  passages  in  which 
1  said  of  the  honest  woman  [Meditation  II],  "She  spends  her 
life  in  having  her  dresses  starched."  I  have  sought  informa- 
tion on  this  point  from  a  lady  in  order  to  learn  accurately 
at  what  sum  was  to  be  estimated  the  tax  thus  imposed  by  love, 
and  after  fixing  it  at  one  hundred  francs  per  annum  for  a 
woman,  I  recollect  what  she  said  with  great  good  humor :  "It 
depends  on  the  character  of  the  man,  for  some  are  so  much 
more  particular  than  others."  Nevertheless,  after  a  very  pro- 
found discussion,  in  which  I  settled  upon  the  sum  for  the  celi- 
bates, and  she  for  her  sex,  it  was  agreed  that,  one  thing  with 
another,  since  the  two  lovers  belong  to  the  social  sphere  which 
this  work  concerns,  they  ought  to  spend  between  them,  in  the 
matter  referred  to,  one  hundred  and  fifty  francs  more  than 
in  time  of  peace. 

By  a  like  treaty,  friendly  in  character  and  long"  discussed, 
we  arranged  that  there  should  be  a  collective  difference  of 
four  hundred  francs  between  the  expenditure  for  all  parts  of 
the  dress  on  a  war  foo'ting,  and  for  that  on  a  peace  footing. 
This  provision  was  considered  very  paltry  by  all  the  powers, 
masculine  or  feminine,  whom  we  consulted.  The  light  thrown 
upon  these  delicate  matters  by  the  contributions  of  certain 
persons  suggested  to  us  the  idea  of  gathering  together  cer- 
tain savants  at  a  dinner  party,  and  taking  their  wise  counsels 
for  our  guidance  in  these  important  investigations.  The 
gathering  took  place.  It  was  with  glass  in  hand  and  after 
listening  to  many  brilliant  speeches  that  I  received  for  the  fol- 
lowing chapters  on  the  budget  of  love,  a  sort  of  legislative  sanc- 
tion. The  sum  of  one  hundred  francs  was  allowed  for  porters 
and  carriages.  Fifty  crowns  seemed  very  reasonable  for  the 
little  patties  that  people  eat  on  a  walk,  for  bouquets  of  violets 
and  theatre  tickets.  The  sum  of  two  hundred  francs  was  con- 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MAERIAGE  323 

sidered  necessary  for  the  extra  expense  of  dainties  and  dinners 
at  restaurants.  It  was  during  this  discussion  that  a  young  cav- 
alryman, who  had  been  made  almost  tipsy  by  the  cham- 
pagne, was  called  to  order  for  comparing  lovers  to  distilling 
machines.  But  the  chapter  that  gave  occasion  for  the  most 
violent  discussion,  and  the  consideration  of  which  was  ad- 
journed for  several  weeks,  when  a  report  was  made,  was  that 
concerning  presents.  At  the  last  session,  the  refined  Madame 
de  D —  -  was  the  first  speaker;  and  in  a  graceful  address, 
which  testified  to  the  nobility  of  her  sentiments,  she  set  out 
to  demonstrate  that  most  of  the  time  the  gifts  of  love  had  no 
intrinsic  value.  The  author  replied  that  all  lovers  had  their 
portraits  taken.  A  lady  objected  that  a  portrait  was  invested 
capital,  and  care  could  always  be  taken  to  recover  it  for  a 
second  investment.  But  suddenly  a  gentleman  of  Provence 
rose  to-  deliver  a  philippic  against  women.  He  spoke  of  the 
greediness  which  most  women  in  love  exhibited  for  furs,  satins, 
silks,  jewels  and  furniture;  but  a  lady  interrrupted  him  by 

asking  if  Madame  d'O y,  his  intimate  friend,  had  not 

already  paid  his  debts  twice  over. 

"You  are  mistaken,  madame,"  said  the  Provengal,  "it  was 
her  husband." 

"The  speaker  is  called  to  order,"  cried  the  president,  "and 
condemned  to  dine  the  whole  party,  for  having  used  the  word 
husband." 

The  Provencal  was  completely  refuted  by  a  lady  who  under- 
took to  prove  that  women  show  much  more  self-sacrifice  in 
love  than  men ;  that  lovers  cost  very  dear,  and  that  the  honest 
woman  may  consider  herself  very  fortunate  if  she  gets  off 
with  spending  on  them  two  thousand  francs  for  a  single  year. 
The  discussion  was  in  danger  of  degenerating  into  an 
exchange  of  personalities,  when  a  division  was  called  for.  The 
conclusions  of  the  committee  were  adopted  by  vote.  The 
conclusions  were,  in  substance,  that  the  amount  for  presents 
between  lovers  during  the  year  should  be  reckoned  at  five 
hundred  francs,  but  that  in  this  computation  should  be 
included:  (1)  the  expense  of  expeditions  into  the  country; 
(2)  the  pharmaceutical  expenses,  occasioned  by  the  colds 


324  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OP  MARRIAGE 

caught  from  walking  in  the  damp  pathways  of  parks,  and  in 
leaving  the  theatre,  which  expenses  are  veritable  presents; 
(3)  the  carrying  of  letters,  and  law  expenses;  (4)  journeys, 
and  expenses  whose  items  are  forgotten,  without  counting  the 
follies  committed  by  the  spenders;  inasmuch  as,  according 
to  the  investigations  of  the  committee,  it  had  been  proved  that 
most  of  a  man's  extravagant  expenditures  profited  the  opera 
girls,  rather  than  the  married  Avomen.  The  conclusion  arrived 
at  from  this  pecuniary  calculation  was  that,  in  one  way  or 
another,  a  passion  costs  nearly  fifteen  hundred  francs  a  year, 
which  were  required  to  meet  the  expense  borne  more  unequally 
by  lovers,  but  which  would  not  have  occurred,  but  for  their 
attachment.  There  was  also  a  sort  of  unanimity  in  the  opin- 
ion of  the  council  that  this  was  the  lowest  annual  figure  which 
would  cover  the  cost  of  a  passion.  Now,  my  dear  sir,  since 
we  have  proved,  by  the  statistics  of  our  conjugal  calculations 
[See  Meditations  I,  II,  and  III]  and  proved  irrefragably, 
that  there  exists  a  floating  total  of  at  least  fifteen  hundred 
thousand  unlawful  passions,  it  follows : 

That  the  criminal  conversations  of  a  third  among  the  French 
population  contribute  a  sum  of  nearly  three  thousand  millions 
to  that  vast  circulation  of  money,  the  true  blood  of  society,  of 
which  the  budget  is  the  heart; 

That  the  honest  woman  not  only  gives  life  to  the  children 
of  the  peerage,  but  also  to  its  financial  funds ; 

That  manufactures  owe  their  prosperity  to  this  systolic 
movement : 

• 

That  the  honest  woman  is  a  being  essentially  budgetative, 
and  active  as  a  consumer ; 

That  the  least  decline  in  public  love  would  involve  incalcu- 
lable miseries  to  the  treasury,  and  to  men  of  invested  fortunes ; 

That  a  husband  has  at  least  a  third  of  his  fortune  invested 
in  the  inconstancy  of  his  wife,  etc. 

I  am  well  aware  that  you  are  going  to  open  your  mouth  and 
talk  to  me  about  manners,  politics,  good  and"  evil.  But,  my 
dear  victim  of  the  Minotaur,  is  not  happiness  the  object  which 
all  societies  should  set  before  them  ?  Is  it  not  this  axiom  that 
makes  these  wretched  kings  give  themselves  so  much  trouble 

iS8:W>    ,y ......  if]  ,  •-,     I 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  325 

about  their  people?  Well,  the  honest  woman  has  not,  like 
them,  thrones,  gendarmes  and  tribunals ;  she  has  only  a  bed  to 
offer;  but  if  our  four  hundred  thousand  women  can,  by  this 
ingenious  machine,  make  a  million  celibates  happy,  do  not 
they  attain  in  a  mysterious  manner,  and  without  making  any 
fuss,  the  end  aimed  at  by  a  government,  namely,  the  end  of 
giving  the  largest  possible  amount  of  happiness  to  the  mass 
of  mankind  ? 

"Yes,  but  the  annoyances,  the  children,  the  troubles — " 
Ah,  you  must  permit  me  to  proffer  the  consolatory  thought 
with  which  one  of  our  wittiest  caricaturists  closes  his  satiric 
observations :  "Man  is  not  perfect !"  It  is  sufficient,  therefore, 
that  our  institutions  have  no  more  disadvantages  than  advan- 
tages in  order  to  be  reckoned  excellent ;  for  the  human  race  is 
not  placed,  socially  speaking,  between  the  good  and  the  bad, 
but  between  the  bad  and  the  worse.  Now  if  the  work,  which 
we  are  at  present  on  the  point  of  concluding,  has  had  for  its 
object  the  diminution  of  the  worse,  as  it  is  found  in  matri- 
monial institutions,  in  laying  bare  the  errors  and  absurdities 
due  to  our  manners  and  our  prejudices,  we  shall  certainly  have 
won  one  of  the  fairest  titles  that  can  be  "put  forth  by  a  man 
to  a  place  among  the  benefactors  of  humanity.  Has  not  the 
author  made  it  his  aim,  by  advising  husbands,  to  make  women 
more  self-restrained  and  consequently  to  impart  more  violence 
to  passions,  more  money  to  the  treasury,  more  life  to  com- 
merce and  agriculture?  Thanks  to  this  last  Meditation  he 
can  flatter  himself  that  he  has  strictly  kept  the  vow  of  eclecti- 
cism, which  he  made  in  projecting  the  work,  and  he  hopes  he 
has  marshaled  all  details  of  the  case,  and  yet  like  an  attorney- 
general  refrained  from  expressing  his  personal  opinion.  And 
really  what  do  you  want  with  an  axiom  in  the  present  matter  ? 
Do  you  wish  that  this  book  should  be  a  mere  development  of  the 
last  opinion  held  by  Tronchet,  who  in  his  closing  days  thought 
that  the  law  of  marriage  had  been  drawn  up  less  in  the  inter- 
est of  husbands  than  of  children?  I  also  wish  it  very  much. 
Would  you  rather  desire  that  this  book  should  serve  as  proof 
to  the  peroration  of  the  Capuchin,  who  preached  before  Anne 
of  Austria,  and  when  he  saw  the  queen  and  her  ladies  over- 


326  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

whelmed  by  his  triumphant  arguments  against  their  frailty, 
said  as  he  came  down  from  the  pulpit  of  truth,  "Now 
you  are  all  honorable  women,  and  it  is  we  who  unfortunately 
are  sons  of  Samaritan  women"?  I  have  no  objection  to  that 
either.  You  may  draw  what  conclusion  you  please;  for  I 
think  it  is  very  difficult  to  put  forth  two  contrary  opinions, 
without  both  of  them  containing  some  grains  of  truth.  But 
the  book  has  not  been  written  either  for  or  against  marriage ; 
all  I  have  thought  you  needed  was  an  exact  description  of  it. 
If  an  examination  of  the  machine  shall  lead  us  to  make  one 
wheel  of  it  more  perfect;  if  by  scouring  away  some  rust  we 
have  given  more  elastic  movement  to  its  mechanism ;  then  give 
his  wage  to  the  workman.  If  the  author  has  had  the  imperti- 
nence to  utter  truths  too  harsh  for  you,  if  he  has  too  often 
spoken  of  rare  and  exceptional  facts  as  universal,  if  he  has 
omitted  the  commonplaces  which  have  been  employed  from 
time  immemorial  to  offer  women  the  incense  of  flattery,  oh,  let 
him  be  crucified !  But  do  not  impute  to  him  any  motive  of 
hostility  to  the  institution  itself;  he  is  concerned  merely  for 
men  and  women.  He  knows  that  from  the  moment  marriage 
ceases  to  defeat  the  purpose  of  marriage,  it  is  unassailable; 
and,  after  all,  if  there  do  arise  serious  complaints  against  this 
institution,  it  is  perhaps  because  man  has  no  memory  except- 
ing for  his  disasters,  that  he  accuses  his  wife,  as  he  accuses 
his  life,  for  marriage  is  but  a  life  within  a  life.  Yet  people 
whose  habit  it  is  to  take  their  opinions  from  newspapers  would 
perhaps  despise  a  book  in  which  they  see  the  mania  of 
eclecticism  pushed  too  far;  for  then  they  absolutely  demand 
something  in  the  shape  of  a  peroration,  it  is  not  hard  to 
find  one  for  them.  And  since  the  words  of  Napoleon  served 
to  start  this  book,  why  should  it  not  end  as  it  began? 
Before  the  whole  Council  of  State  the  First  Consul  pronounced 
the  following  startling  phrase,  in  which  he  at  the  same  time 
eulogized  and  satirized  marriage,  and  summed  up  the  contents 
of  this  book : 

"If  a  man  never  grew  old,  I  would  never  wish  him  to  have 
a  wife!" 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  327 


POSTSCRIPT. 

"And  so  you  are  going  to  be  married  ?"  asked  the  duchess 
of  the  author  who  had  read  his  manuscript  to  her. 

She  was  one  of  those  ladies  to  whom  the  author  has  already 
paid  his  respects  in  the  introduction  of  this  work. 

"Certainly,  madame,"  I  replied.  "To  meet  a  woman  who 
has  courage  enough  to  become  mine,  would  satisfy  the  wildest 
of  my  hopes/' 

"Is  this  resignation  or  infatuation?" 

"That  is  my  affair." 

"Well,  sir,  as  you  are  doctor  of  conjugal  arts  and  sciences, 
allow  me  to  tell  you  a  little  Oriental  fable,  that  I  read  in  a 
certain  sheet,  which  is  published  annually  in  the  form  of  an 
almanac.  At  the  beginning  of  the  Empire  ladies  used  to  play 
at  a  game  in  which  no  one  accepted  a  present  from  his  or  her 
partner  in  the  game,  without  saying  the  word,  Diadeste.  A 
game  lasted,  as  you  may  well  suppose,  during  a  week,  and  the 
point  was  to  catch  some  one  receiving  some  trifle  or  other 
without  pronouncing  the  sacramental  word." 

"Even  a  kiss?" 

"Oh,  I  have  won  the  Diadeste  twenty  times  in  that  way," 
she  laughingly  replied. 

"It  was,  I  believe,  from  the  playing  of  this  game,  whose 
origin  is  Arabian  or  Chinese,  that  my  apologue  takes  its  point. 
But  if  I  tell  you,"  she  went  on,  putting  her  finger  to  her  nose, 
with  a  charming  air  of  coquetry,  "let  me  contribute  it  as  a 
'finale  to  your  work." 

"This  would  indeed  enrich  me.  You  have  done  me  so  many 
favors  already,  that  I  cannot  repay — K 

She  smiled  slyly,  and  replied  as  follows : 

A  philosopher  had  compiled  a  full  account  of  all  the  tricka 
that  women  could  possibly  play,  and  in  order  to  verify  it,  he 


328 

always  carried  it  about  with  him.  One  day  he  found  himself 
in  the  course  of  his  travels  near  an  encampment  of  Arabs.  A 
young  woman,  who  had  seated  herself  under  the  shade  of  a 
palm  tree,  rose  on  his  approach.  She  kindly  asked  him  to  rest 
himself  in  her  tent,  and  he  could  not  refuse.  Her  husband 
was  then  absent.  Scarcely  had  the  traveler  seated  himself 
on  a  soft  rug,  when  the  graceful  hostess  offered  him  fresh 
dates,  and  a  cup  of  milk ;  he  could  not  help  observing  the  rare 
beauty  of  her  hands  as  she  did  so.  But,  in  order  to  distract  his 
mind  from  the  sensations  roused  in  him  by  the  fair  young 
Arabian  girl,  whose  charms  were  most  formidable,  the  sage 
took  his  book,  and  began  to  read. 

The  seductive  creature  piqued  by  this  slight  said  to  him  in 
a  melodious  voice: 

"That  book  must  be  very  interesting  since  it  seems  to  be  the 
sole  object  worthy  of  your  attention.  Would  it  be  taking  a 
liberty  to  ask  what  science  it  treats  of  ?" 

The  philosopher  kept  his  eyes  lowered  as  he  replied : 

"The  subject  of  this  book  is  beyond  the  comprehension  of 
ladies." 

This  rebuff  excited  more  than  ever  the  curiosity  of  the 
young  Arabian  woman.  She  put  out  the  prettiest  little  foot 
that  had  ever  left  its  fleeting  imprint  on  the  shifting  sands  of 
the  desert.  The  philosopher  was  perturbed,  and  his  eyes  were 
too  powerfully  tempted  to  resist  wandering  from  these  feet, 
which  betokened  so  much,  up  to  the  bosom,  which  was  still 
more  ravishingly  fair;  and  soon  the  flame  of  his  admiring 
glance  was  mingled  with  the  fire  that  sparkled  in  the  pupils 
of  the  young  Asiatic.  She  asked  again  the  name  of  the  book 
in  tones  so  sweet  that  the  philosopher  yielded  to  the  fascina- 
tion, and  replied: 

"I  am  the  author  of  the  book;  but  the  substance  of  it  is  not 
mine :  it  contains  an  account  of  all  the  ruses  and  stratagems 
of  women." 

''What!    Absolutely  all?"  said  the  daughter  of  the  desert. 

"Yes,  all  And  it  has  been  only  by  a  constant  study  of 
womankind  that  I  have  come  to  regard  them  without  fear." 


THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE  329 

"Ah !"  said  the  young  Arabian  girl,  lowering  the  long  lashes 
of  her  white  eyelids. 

Then,  suddenly  darting  the  keenest  of  her  glances  at  the 
pretended  sage,  she  made  him  in  one  instant  forget  the  book 
and  all  its  contents.  And  now  our  philosopher  was  changed 
to  the  most  passionate  of  men.  Thinking  he  saw  in  the  bear- 
ing of  the  young  woman  a  faint  trace  of  coquetry,  the  stranger 
was  emboldened  to  make  an  avowal.  How  could  he  resist 
doing  so?  The  sky  was  blue,  the  sand  blazed  in  the  distance 
like  a  scimitar  of  gold,  the  wind  of  the  desert  breathed  love, 
and  the  woman  of  Arabia  seemed  to  reflect  all  the  fire  with 
which  she  was  surrounded ;  her  piercing  eyes  were  suffused  with 
a  mist ;  and  by  a  slight  nod  of  the  head  she  seemed  to  make  the 
luminous  atmosphere  undulate,  as  she  consented  to  listen  to 
the  stranger's  words  of  love.  The  sage  was  intoxicated  with 
delirious  hopes,  when  the  young  woman,  hearing  in  the  dis- 
tance the  gallop  of  a  horse  which  seemed  to  fly,  exclaimed : 

"We  are  lost !  My  husband  is  sure  to  catch  us.  He  is  jeal- 
ous as  a  tiger,  and  more  pitiless  than  one.  In  the  name  of  the 
prophet,  if  you  love  your  life,  conceal  yourself  in  this  chest !" 

The  author,  frightened  out  of  his  wits,  seeing  no  other  way 
of  getting  out  of  a  terrible  fix,  jumped  into  the  box,  and 
crouched  down  there.  The  woman  closed  down  the  lid,  locked 
it,  and  took  the  key.  She  ran  to  meet  her  husband,  and  after 
some  caresses  which  put  him  into  a  good  humor,  she  said : 

"I  must  relate  to  you  a  very  singular  adventure  I  have  just 
had." 

"I  am  listening,  my  gazelle,"  replied  the  Arab,  who  sat 
down  on  a  rug  and  crossed  his  feet  after  the  Oriental  manner. 

"There  arrived  here  to-day  a  kind  of  philosopher,"  she 
began,  "he  professes  to  have  compiled  a  book  which  describes 
all  the  wiles  of  which  my  sex  is  capable ;  and  then  this  sham 
sage  made  love  to  me." 

"Well,  go  on !"  cried  the  Arab. 

"I  listened  to  his  avowal.  He  was  young,  ardent — and  you 
came  just  in  time  to  save  my  tottering  virtue." 

The  Arab  leaped  to  his  feet  like  a  lion,  and  drew  his  scimi- 


330  THE  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  MARRIAGE 

tar  with  a  shout  of  fury.  The  philosopher  heard  all  from  the 
depths  of  the  chest  and  consigned  to  Hades  his  book,  and  all 
the  men  and  women  of  Arabia  Petraea. 

"Fatima !"  cried  the  husband,  "if  you  would  save  your  life, 
answer  me — Where  is  the  traitor  ?" 

Terrified  at  the  tempest  which  she  had  roused,  Fatima 
threw  herself  at  her  husband's  feet,  and  trembling  beneath 
the  point  of  his  sword,  she  pointed  out  the  chest  with  a  prompt 
though  timid  glance  of  her  eye.  Then  she  rose  to  her  feet, 
as  if  in  shame,  and  taking  the  key  from  her  girdle  presented 
it  to  the  jealous  Arab ;  but,  just  as  he  was  about  to  open  the 
chest,  the  sly  creature  burst  into  a  peal  of  laughter.  Faroun 
stopped  with  a  puzzled  expression,  and  looked  at  his  wife  in 
amazement. 

"So  I  shall  have  my  fine  chain  of  gold,  after  all !"  she  cried, 
dancing  for  joy.  "You  have  lost  the  Diadeste.  Be  more 
mindful  next  time." 

The  husband,  thunderstruck,  let  fall  the  key,  and  offered 
her  the  longed-for  chain  on  bended  knee,  and  promised  to 
bring  to  his  darling  Fatima  all  the  jewels  brought  by  the 
caravan  in  a  year,  if  she  would  refrain  from  winning  the 
Diadeste  by  such  cruel  stratagems.  Then,  as  he  was  an  Arab, 
and  did  not  like  forfeiting  a  chain  of  gold,  although  his  wife 
had  fairly  won  it,  he  mounted  his  horse  again,  and  galloped 
off,  to  complain  at  his  will,  in  the  desert,  for  he  loved  Fatima 
too  well  to  let  her  see  his  annoyance.  The  young  woman  then 
drew  forth  the  philosopher  from  the  chest,  and  gravely  said 
to  him,  "Do  not  forget,  Master  Doctor,  to  put  this  feminine 
trick  into  your  collection." 

"Madame,"  said  I  to  the 'duchess,  "I  understand!  If  I 
marry,  I  am  bound  to  be  unexpectedly  outwitted  by  some 
infernal  trick  or  other ;  but  I  shall  in  that  case,  you  may  be 
quite  sure,  furnish  a  model  household  for  the  admiration  of 
my  contemporaries." 

PABIS,  1824-29. 


PETTY  TROUBLES  OF  MARRIED  LIFE. 

PAET  FIRST. 
PREFACED 

IN  WHICH  EVERY  ONE  WILL  FIND  His  OWN  IMPRESSIONS 
CF  MARRIAGE. 

A  FRIEND,  in  speaking  to  you  of  a  young  woman,  says :  "Good 
family,  well  bred,  pretty,  and  three  hundred  thousand  in  her 
own  right."  You  have  expressed  a  desire  to  meet  this  charm- 
ing creature. 

Usually,  chance  interviews  are  premeditated.  And  you 
speak  with  this  object,  who  has  now  become  very  timid. 

You.— "A  delightful  evening  I" 

SHE.— "Oh !  yes,  sir." 

You  are  allowed  to  become  the  suitor  of  this  young  person. 

THE  MOTHER-IN-LAW  (to  the  intended  groom). — "You 
can't  imagine  how  susceptible  the  dear  girl  is  of  attachment." 

Meanwhile  there  is  a  delicate  pecuniary  question  to  be 
discussed  by  the  two  families. 

YOUR  FATHER  (to  the  mother-in-law). — "My  property  is 
valued  at  five  hundred  thousand  francs,  my  dear  madame !" 

YOUR  FUTURE  MOTHER-IN-LAW. — "And  our  house,  my  dear 
sir,  is  on  a  corner  lot." 

A  contract  follows,  drawn  up  by  two  hideous  notaries,  a 
small  one,  and  a  big  one. 

Then  the  two  families  judge  it  necessary  to  convoy  you  to 
the  civil  magistrate's  and  to  the  church,  before  conducting 
the  bride  to  her  chamber. 

Then  what  ?  .  .  .  .  Why,  then  come  a  crowd  of  petty 
unforeseen  troubles,  like  the  following: 

331 


332  PETTY  TROUBLES 

THE  UNKINDEST  CUT  OP  ALL. 

Is  it  a  petty  or  a  profound  trouble  ?  I  know  not ;  it  is  pro- 
found for  your  sons-in-law  or  daughters-in-law,  but  exceed- 
ingly petty  for  you. 

"Petty!  you  must  be  joking;  why,  a  child  costs  terribly 
dear !"  exclaims  a  ten-times-too-happy  husband,  at  the  baptism 
of  his  eleventh,  called  the  little  last  newcomer, — a  phrase  with 
which  women  beguile  their  families. 

"What  trouble  is  this  ?"  you  ask  me.  Well !  this  is,  like 
many  petty  troubles  of  married  life,  a  blessing  for  some  one. 

You  have,  four  months  since,  married  off  your  daughter, 
whom  we  will  call  by  the  sweet  name  of  CAKOLINE,  and  whom 
we  will  make  the  type  of  all  wives.  Caroline  is,  like  all  other 
young  ladies,  very  charming,  and  you  have  found  for  her  a 
husband  who  is  either  a  lawyer,  a  captain,  an  engineer,  a 
judge,  or  perhaps  a  young  viscount.  But  he  is  more  likely 
to  be  what  sensible  families  most  seek, — the  ideal  of  their 
desires — the  only  son  of  a  rich  landed  proprietor.  (See  the 
Preface,) 

This  phoenix  we  will  call  ADOLPHE,  whatever  may  be  his 
position  in  the  world,  his  age,  and  the  color  of  his  hair. 

The  lawyer,  the  captain,  the  engineer,  the  judge,  in  short, 
the  son-in-law,  Adolphe,  and  his  family,  have  seen  in  Miss 
Caroline : 

I. — Miss  Caroline; 

II. — The  only  daughter  of  your  wife  and  you. 

Here,  as  in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  we  are  compelled  to 
call  for  a  division  of  the  house : 

1. — As  to  your  wife. 

Your  wife  is  to  inherit  the  property  of  a  maternal  uncle, 
a  gouty  old  fellow  whom  she  humors,  nurses,  caresses,  and 
muffles  up ;  to  say  nothing  of  her  father's  fortune.  Caroline 
has  always  adored  her  uncle, — her  uncle  who  trotted  her  on 
his  knee,  her  uncle  who — her  uncle  whom — her  uncle,  in 
abort, — whose  property  is  estimated  at  two  hundred  thousand. 

Further,  your  wife  is  well  preserved,  though  her  age  has 
been  the  subject  of  mature  reflection  on  the  part  of  your  son- 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  333 

in-law's  grandparents  and  other  ancestors.  After  many 
skirmishes  between  the  mothers-in-law,  they  have  at  last  con- 
fided to  each  other  the  little  secrets  peculiar  to  women  of  ripe 
years. 

"How  is  it  with  you,  my  dear  madame  ?" 

"I,  thank  heaven,  have  passed  the  period ;  and  you  ?" 

"I  really  hope  I  have,  too !"  says  your  wife. 

"You  can  marry  Caroline/'  says  Adolphe's  mother  to  your 
future  son-in-law;  "Caroline  will  be  the  sole  heiress  of  her 
mother,  of  her  uncle,  and  her  grandfather/* 

2. — As  to  yourself. 

You  are  also  the  heir  of  your  maternal  grandfather,  a  good 
old  man  whose  possessions  will  surely  fall  to  you,  for  he  has 
grown  imbecile,  and  is  therefore  incapable  of  making  a  will. 

You  are  an  amiable  man,  but  you  have  been  very  dissipated 
in  your  youth.  Besides,  you  are  fifty-nine  years  old,  and  your 
head  is  bald,  resembling  a  bare  knee  in  the  middle  of  a  gray 
wig. 

III. — A  dowry  of  three  hundred  thousand. 

IV. — Caroline's  only  sister,  a  little  dunce  of  twelve,  a  sickly 
child,  who  bids  fair  to  fill  an  early  grave. 

V. — Your  own  fortune,  father-in-law  (in  certain  kinds  of 
society  they  say  papa  father-in-law)  yielding  an  income  of 
twenty  thousand,  and  which  will  soon  be  increased  by  an  in- 
heritance. 

VI. — Your  wife's  fortune,  which  will  be  increased  by  two 
inheritances — from  her  uncle  and  her  grandfather.  In  all, 
thus: 

Three  inheritances  and  interest,  750,000 

Your  fortune,  250,000 

Your  wife's  fortune,  250,000 


Total,  1,250,000  franca 

which  surely  cannot  take  wing! 

Such  is  the  autopsy  of  all  those  brilliant  marriages  that 
conduct  their  processions  of  dancers  and  eaters,  in  white 
gloves,  flowering  at  the  button-hole,  with  bouquets  of  orange 


334  PETTY  TROUBLES 

flowers,  furbelows,  veils,  coaches  and  coach-drivers,  from  the 
magistrate's  to  the  church,  from  the  church  to  the  banquet, 
from  the  banquet  to  the  dance,  from  the  dance  to  the  nuptial 
chamber,  to  the  music  of  the  orchestra  and  the  accompani- 
ment of  the  immemorial  pleasantries  uttered  by  relics  of 
dandies,  for  are  there  not,  here  and  there  in  society,  relics  of 
dandies,  as  there  are  relics  of  English  horses  ?  To  be  sure, 
and  such  is  the  osteology  of  the  most  amorous  intent. 

The  majority  of  the  relatives  have  had  a  word  to  say  about 
this  marriage. 

Those  on  the  side  of  the  bridegroom : 

"Adolphe  has  made  a  good  thing  of  it." 

Those  on  the  side  of  the  bride : 

"Caroline  has  made  a  splendid  match.  Adolphe  is  an  only 
son,  and  will  have  an  income  of  sixty  thousand,  some  day  or 
other!" 

Some  time  afterwards,  the  happy  judge,  the  happy  engineer, 
the  happy  captain,  the  happy  lawyer,  the  happy  only  son  of  a 
rich  landed  proprietor,  in  short  Adolphe,  comes  to  dine  with 
you,  accompanied  by  his  family. 

Your  daughter  Caroline  is  exceedingly  proud  of  the  some- 
what rounded  form  of  her  waist.  All  women  display  an  inno- 
cent artfulness,  the  first  time  they  find  themselves  facing 
motherhood.  Like  a  soldier  who  makes  a  brilliant  toilet  for 
his  first  battle,  they  love  to  play  the  pale,  the  suffering ;  they 
rise  in  a  certain  manner,  and  walk  with  the  prettiest  affecta- 
tion. While  yet  flowers,  they  bear  a  fruit;  they  enjoy  their 
maternity  by  anticipation.  All  these  little  ways  are  exceed- 
ingly charming — the  first  time. 

Your  wife,  now  the  mother-in-law  of  Adolphe,  subjects 
herself  to  the  pressure  of  tight  corsets.  When  her  daughter 
laughs,  she  weeps ;  when  Caroline  wishes  her  happiness  public, 
she  tries  to  conceal  hers.  After  dinner,  the  discerning  eye 
of  the  co-mother-in-law  divines  the  work  of  darkness. 

Your  wife  also  is  an  expectant  mother !  The  news  spreads 
like  lightning,  and  your  oldest  college  friend  says  to  you 
laughingly :  "Ah !  so  you  are  trying  to  increase  the  population 
again !" 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  335 

You  have  some  hope  in  a  consultation  that  is  to  take  place 
to-inorrow.  You,  kind-hearted  man  that  you  are,  you  turn 
red,  you  hope  it  is  merely  the  dropsy ;  but  the  doctors  confirm 
the  arrival  of  a  little  last  one  ! 

In  such  circumstances  some  timorous  husbands  go  to  the 
country  or  make  a  journey  to  Italy.  In  short,  a  strange  con- 
fusion reigns  in  your  household ;  both  you  and  your  wife  are  in 
a  false  position. 

"Why,  you  old  rogue,  you,  you  ought  to  be  ashamed  of 
yourself !"  says  a  friend  to  you  on  the  Boulevard. 

"Well !  do  as  much  if  you  can,"  is  your  angry  retort. 

"It's  as  bad  as  being  robbed  on  the  highway !"  says  your 
son-in-law's  family.  "Kobbed  on  the  highway"  is  a  nattering 
expression  for  the  mother-in-law. 

The  family  hopes  that  the  child  which  divides  the  expected 
fortune  in  three  parts,  will  be,  like  all  old  men's  children, 
scrofulous,  feeble,  an  abortion.  Will  it  be  likely  to  live? 
The  family  awaits  the  delivery  of  your  wife  with  an  anxiety 
like  that  which  agitated  the  house  of  Orleans  during  the  con- 
finement of  the  Duchess  de  Berri:  a  second  son  would  secure 
the  throne  to  the  younger  branch  without  the  onerous  condi- 
tions of  July ;  Henry  V.  would  easily  seize  the  crown.  Prom 
that  moment  the  house  of  Orleans  was  obliged  to  play  double 
or  quits :  the  event  gave  them  the  game. 

The  mother  and  the  daughter  are  put  to  bed  nine  days 
apart. 

Caroline's  first  child  is  a  pale,  cadaverous  little  girl  that  will 
not  live. 

Her  mother's  last  child  is  a  splendid  boy,  weighing  twelve 
pounds,  with  two  teeth  and  luxuriant  hair. 

For  sixteen  years  you  have  desired  a  son.  This  conjugal 
annoyance  is  the  only  one  that  makes  you  beside  yourself  with 
joy.  For  your  rejuvenated  wife  has  attained  what  must  be 
called  the  Indian  Summer  of  women:  she  nurses,  she  has  a 
full  breast  of  milk !  her  complexion  is  fresh,  her  color  is  pure 
pink  and  white.  In  her  forty-second  year,  she  affects  the 
young  woman,  buys  little  baby  stockings,  walks  about  followed 


336  PETTY  TROUBLES 

by  a  nurse,  embroiders  caps  and  tries  on  the  cunningest  head- 
dresses. Alexandrine  has  resolved  to  instruct  her  daughter 
by  her  example;  she  is  delightful  and  happy.  And  yet  this 
is  a  trouble,  a  petty  one  for  you,  a  serious  one  for  your  son- 
in-law.  This  annoyance  is  of  the  two  sexes,  it  is  common  to 
you  and  y6ur  wife.  In  short,  in  this  instance,  your  paternity 
renders  you  all  the  more  proud  from  the  fact  that  it  is  incon- 
testable, my  dear  sir! 

EEVELATIONS. 

Generally  speaking,  a  young  woman  does  not  exhibit  her 
true  character  till  she  has  been  married  two  or  three  years. 
She  hides  her  faults,  without  intending  it,  in  the  midst  of  her 
first  joys,  of  her  first  parties  of  pleasure.  She  goes  into 
society  to  dance,  she  visits  her  relatives  to  show  you  off,  she 
journeys  on  with  an  escort  of  love's  first  wiles ;  she  is  gradually 
transformed  from  girlhood  to  womanhood.  Then  she  becomes 
mother  and  nurse,  and  in  this  situation,  full  of  charming 
pangs,  that  leaves  neither  a  word  nor  a  moment  for  observa- 
tion, such  are  its  multiplied  cares,  it  is  impossible  to  judge  of 
a  woman.  You  require,  then,  three  or  four  years  of  intimate 
life  before  you  discover  an  exceedingly  melancholy  fact,  one 
that  gives  you  cause  for  constant  terror. 

Your  wife,  the  young  lady  in  whom  the  first  pleasures  of 
life  and  love  supplied  the  place  of  grace  and  wit,  so  arch,  so 
animated,  so  vivacious,  whose  least  movements  spoke  with 
delicious  eloquence,  has  cast  off,  slowly,  one  by  one,  her  natural 
artifices.  At  last  you  perceive  the  truth!  You  try  to  dis- 
believe it,  you  think  yourself  deceived ;  but  no :  Caroline  lacks 
intellect,  she  is  dull,  she  can  neither  joke  nor  reason,  some- 
times she  has  little  tact.  You  are  frightened.  You  find 
yourself  forever  obliged  to  lead  this  darling  through  thorny 
paths,  where  you  must  perforce  leave  your  self-esteem  in 
tatters. 

You  have  already  been  annoyed  several  times  by  replies  that, 
in  society,  were  politely  received:  people  have  held  their 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  337 

tongues  instead  of  smiling;  but  you  were  certain  that  after 
your  departure  the  women  looked  at  each  other  and  said: 
"Did  you  hear  Madame  Adolphe  ?" 

"Poor  little  woman,  she  is — " 

"A  regular  cabbage-head." 

"How  could  he,  who  is  certainly  a  man  of  sense,  choose —  ?" 

"He  should  educate,  teach  his  wife,  or  make  her  hold  her 
tongue." 

AXIOMS. 

Axiom. — In  our  system  of  civilization  a  man  is  entirely 
responsible  for  his  wife. 

Axiom. — The  husband  does  not  mould  the  wife. 

Caroline  has  one  day  obstinately  maintained,  at  the  house 
of  Madame  de  Fischtaminel,  a  very  distinguished  lady,  that 
her  little  last  one  resembled  neither  its  father  nor  its  mother, 
but  looked  like  a  certain  friend  of  the  family.  She  perhaps  en- 
lightens Monsieur  de  Fischtaminel,  and  overthrows  the  labors 
of  three  years,  by  tearing  down  the  scaffolding  of  Madame 
de  Fischtaminel's  assertions,  who,  after  this  visit,  will  treat 
you  with  coolness,  suspecting,  as  she  does,  that  you  have  been 
making  indiscreet  remarks  to  your  wife. 

On  another  occasion,  Caroline,  after  having  conversed  with 
a  writer  about  his  works,  counsels  the  poet,  who  is  already  a 
prolific  author,  to  try  to  write  something  likely  to  live.  Some- 
times she  complains  of  the  slow  attendance  at  the  tables  of 
people  who  have  but  one  servant  and  have  put  themselves  to 
great  trouble  to  receive  her.  Sometimes  she  speaks  ill  of 
widows  who  marry  again,  before  Madame  Deschars  who  has 
married  a  third  time,  and  on  this  occasion,  an  ex-notary,  Nico- 
las- Jean- Jerome-Nepomucene-Ange-Marie- Victor- Joseph  Des- 
chars, a  friend  of  your  father's. 

In  short,  you  are  no  longer  yourself  when  you  are  in  society 
with  your  wife.  Like  a  man  who  is  riding  a  skittish  horse 
and  glares  straight  between  the  beast's  two  ears,  you  are 


338  PETTY  TROUBLES 

absorbed  by  the  attention  with  which  you  listen  to  your  Caro- 
line. 

In  order  to  compensate  herself  for  the  silence  to  which 
young  ladies  are  condemned,  Caroline  talks ;  or  rather  babbles. 
She  wants  to  make  a  sensation,  and  she  does  make  a  sensa- 
tion: nothing  stops  her.  She  addresses  the  most  eminent 
men,  the  most  celebrated  women.  She  introduces  herself,  and 
puts  you  on  the  rack.  Going  into  society  is  going  to  the  stake. 

She  begins  to 'think  you  are  cross-grained,  moody.  The 
fact  is,  you  are  watching  her,  that's  all !  In  short,  you  keep 
her  within  a  small  circle  of  friends,  for  she  has  already 
embroiled  you  with  people  on  whom  your  interests  depended. 

How  many  times  have  you  recoiled  from  the  necessity  of  a 
remonstrance,  in  the  morning,  on  awakening,  when  you  had 
put  her  in  a  good  humor  for  listening !  A  woman  rarely  lis- 
tens. How  many  times  have  you  recoiled  from  the  burthen 
of  your  imperious  obligations ! 

The  conclusion  of  your  ministerial  communication  can  be 
no  other  than :  "You  have  no  sense."  You  foresee  the  effect 
of  your  first  lesson.  Caroline  will  say  to  herself:  "Ah!  I 
have  no  sense!  haven't  I  though?" 

No  woman  ever  takes  this  in  good  part.  Both  of  you  must 
draw  the  sword  and  throw  away  the  scabbard.  Six  weeks  after, 
Caroline  may  prove  to  you  that  she  has  quite  sense  enough  to 
minotaurize  you  without  your  perceiving  it. 

Frightened  at  such  a  prospect,  you  make  use  of  all  the  elo- 
quent phrases  to  gild  this  pill.  In  short,  you  find  the  means 
of  flattering  Caroline's  various  self-loves,  for : 

Axiom. — A  married  woman  has  several  self-loves. 

You  say  that  you  are  her  best  friend,  the  only  one  well  situ- 
ated to  enlighten  her;  the  more  .careful  you  are,  the  more 
watchful  and  puzzled  she  is.  At  this  moment  she  has  plenty 
of  sense. 

You  ask  your  dear  Caroline,  whose  waist  you  clasp,  how  she, 
who  is  so  brilliant  when  alone  with  you,  who  retorts  so  charm- 


OF  MAR1UED  LIFE  339 

ingly  (you  remind  her  of  sallies  that  she  has  never  made, 
which  you  put  in  her  mouth,  and,  which  she  smilingly 
accepts),  how  she  can  say  this,  that,  and  the  other,  in  society. 
She  is,  doubtless,  like  many  ladies,  timid  in  company. 

"I  know,"  you  say,  "many  very  distinguished  men  who  are 
just  the  same." 

You  cite  the  case  of  some  who  are  admirable  tea-party 
oracles,  but  who  cannot  utter  half  a  dozen  sentences  in  the 
tribune.  Caroline  should  keep  watch  over  herself;  you  vaunt 
silence  as  the  surest  method  of  being  witty.  In  society,  a  good 
listener  is  highly  prized. 

You  have  broken  the  ice,  though  you  have  not  even  scratched 
its  glossy  surface :  you  have  placed  your  hand  upon  the  croup 
of  the  most  ferocious  and  savage,  the  most  wakeful  and  clear- 
sighted, the  most  restless,  the  swiftest,  the  most  jealous,  the 
most  ardent  and  violent,  the  simplest  and  most  elegant,  the 
most  unreasonable,  the  most  watchful  chimera  of  the  moral 

WOrld — THE  VANITY  OF  A  WOMAN  ! 

Caroline  clasps  you  in  her  arms  with  a  saintly  embrace, 
thanks  you  for  your  advice,  and  loves  you  the  more  for  it ;  she 
wishes  to  be  beholden  to  you  for  every  thing,  even  for  her  intel- 
lect ;  she  may  be  a  dunce,  but,  what  is  better  than  saying  fine 
things,  she  knows  how  to  do  them  !  But  she  desires  also  to  be 
your  pride !  It  is  not  a  question  of  taste  in  dress,  of  elegance 
and  beauty;  she  wishes  to  make  you  proud  of  her  intelligence. 
You  are  the  luckiest  of  men  in  having  successfully  managed 
to  escape  from  this  first  dangerous  pass  in  conjugal  life. 

"We  are  going  this  evening  to  Madame  Deschars',  where 
they  never  know  what  to  do  to  amuse  themselves;  they  play 
all  sorts  of  forfeit  games  on  account  of  a  troop  of  young 
women  and  girls  there ;  you  shall  see !"  she  says. 

You  are  so  happy  at  this  turn  of  affairs,  that  you  hum  airs 
and  carelessly  chew  bits  of  straw  and  thread,  while  still  in 
your  shirt  and  drawers.  You  are  like  a  hare  frisking  on  a 
flowering  dew-perfumed  meadow.  You  leave  off  your  morn- 
ing gown  till  the  last  extremity,  when  breakfast  is  on  the 
table.  During  the  day,  if  you  meet  a  friend  and  he  happens 


840  PETTY  TROUBLES 

to  speak  of  women,  you  defend  them;  you  consider  women 
charming,  delicious;  there  is  something  divine  about  them. 

How  often  are  our  opinions  dictated  to  us  by  the  unknown 
events  of  our  life ! 

You  take  your  wife  to  Madame  Deschars'.  Madame  Des- 
chars  is  a  mother  and  is  exceedingly  devout.  You  never  see 
any  newspapers  at  her  house :  she  keeps  watch  over  her  daugh- 
ters by  three  different  husbands,  and  keeps  them  all  the  more 
closely  from  the  fact  that  she  herself  has,  it  is  said,  some  little 
things  to  reproach  herself  with  during  the  career  of  her  two 
former  lords.  At  her  house,  no  one  dares  risk  a  jest.  Everything 
there  is  white  and  pink  and  perfumed  with  sanctity,  as  at  the 
houses  of  widows  who  are  approaching  the  confines  of  their 
third  youth.  It  seems  as  if  every  day  were  Sunday  there. 

You,  a  young  husband,  join  the  juvenile  society  of  young 
women  and  girls,  misses  and  young  people,  in  the  chamber 
of  Madame  Deschars.  The  serious  people,  politicians,  whist- 
players,  and  tea-drinkers,  are  in  the  parlor. 

In  Madame  Deschars'  room  they  are  playing  a  game  which 
consists  in  hitting  upon  words  with  several  meanings,  to  fit 
the  answers  that  each  player  is  to  make  to  the  following 
questions : 

How  do  you  like  it? 

What  do  you  do  with  it? 

Where  do  you  put  it? 

Your  turn  comes  to  guess  the  word,  you  go  into  the  parlor, 
take  part  in  a  discussion,  and  return  at  the  call  of  a  smiling 
young  lady.  They  have  selected  a  word  that  may  be  applied  to 
the  most  enigmatical  replies.  Everybody  knows  that,  in  order 
to  puzzle  the  strongest  heads,  the  best  way  is  to  choose  a  very 
ordinary  word,  and  to  invent  phrases  that  will  send  the  parlor 
CEdipus  a  thousand  leagues  from  each  of  his  previous 
thoughts. 

This  game  is  a  poor  substitute  for  lansquenet  or  dice,  but 
it  is  not  very  expensive. 

The  word  MAL  has  been  made  the  Sphinx  of  this  particular 
occasion.  Every  one  has  determined  to  put  you  off  the  scent. 


OF  MARRIEDuFE  341 

The  word,  among  other  acceptations  has  that  of  mal  [evil], 
a  substantive  that  signifies,  in  gesthetio^  the  opposite  of  good; 
of  mal  [pain,  disease,  complaint],  a  sx^gtautive  that  enters 
into  a  thousand  pathological  expressions ;*;hen  malle  [a  mail- 
bag],  and  finally  malle  [a  trunk],  that  box  of  various  forms, 
covered  with  all  kinds  of  skin,  made  of  everj  ^ort  of  leather, 
with  handles,  that  journeys  rapidly,  for  it  serves  to  carry 
traveling  effects  in,  as  a  man  of  Delille's  school  would  say. 

For  you,  a  man  of  some  sharpness,  the  Sphin:  displays  his 
wiles;  he  spreads  his  wings  and  folds  them  up  again;  he  shows 
you  his  lion's  paws,  his  woman's  neck,  his  horse's  loins,  and  his 
intellectual  head;  he  shakes  his  sacred  fillets,  he  strikes  an 
attitude  and  runs  away,  he  comes  and  goes,  and  sweeps  the 
place  with  his  terrible  equine  tail ;  he  shows  his  shining  claws, 
and  draws  them  in ;  he  smilec,  frisks,  and  murmurs\  He  puts 
on  the  looks  of  a  joyous  child  and  those  of  a  matron;  he  is, 
above  all,  there  to  make  fun  of  you. 

You  ask  the  group  collectively,  "How  do  you  like  it?" 

"I  like  it  for  love's  sake,"  says  one. 

"I  like  it  regular,"  says  another. 

"I  like  it  with  a  long  mane." 

"I  like  it  with  a  spring  lock." 

"I  like  it  unmasked." 

"I  like  it  on  horseback." 

"I  like  it  as  coming  from  God,"  says  Madame  Deschars. 

"How  do  you  like  it?"  you  say  to  your  wife. 

"I  like  it  legitimate." 

This  response  of  your  wife  is  not  understood,  and  sends  you 
a  journey  into  the  constellated  fields  of  the  infinite,  where  the 
mind,  dazzled  by  the  multitude  of  creations,  finds  it  impossible 
to  make  a  choice. 

"Where  do  you  put  it?" 

"In  a  carriage." 

"In  a  garret." 

"In  a  steamboat." 

"In  the  closet." 

"On  a  cart." 


342  PETTX  TROUBLES 

"In  prison." 
"In  the  ears/' 
"In  a  shop/' 

Your  wife  says  if  you  last  of  all:  "In  bed." 
You  were  on  the  point  of  guessing  it,  but  you  know  no  word 
that  fits  this  iixswer,  Madame  Deschars  not  being  likely  to 
have  allowed  I  anything  improper. 

"What  do  V>u  do  with  it?" 

"I  make  i/  my  sole  happiness,"  says  your  wife,  after  the 
answers  of  aa  the  rest,  who  have  sent  you  spinning  through  a 
whole  worlcyof  linguistic  suppositions. 

This  response  strikes  everybody,  and  you  especially ;  so  you 
persist  in  seeking  the  meaning  of  it.  You  think  of  the  bottle 
of  hot  wattr  that  your  wife  has  put  to  her  feet  when  it  is  cold, 
— of  the  warming  pan,  above  all !  now  of  her  night-cap, — of 
her  handkerchief, — of  her  curling  paper, — of  the  hem  of  her 
chemise, — of  her  embroidery, — of  her  flannel  jacket, — of  your 
bandanna, — of  the  pillow. 

In  short,  as  the  greatest  pleasure  of  the  respondents  is  to 
see  their  (Edipus  mystified,  as  each  word  guessed  by  you 
throws  them  into  fits  of  laughter,  superior  men,  perceiving 
no  vord  that  will  fit  all  the  explanations,  will  sooner  give  it 
up  than  make  three  unsuccessful  attempts.  According  to  the 
law  of  this  innocent  game  you  are  condemned  to  return  to 
the  parlor  after  leaving  a  forfeit ;  but  you  are  so  exceedingly 
puzzled  by  your  wife's  answers,  that  you  ask  what  the  word 
was. 

"Mai,"  exclaims  a  young  miss. 

You  comprehend  everything  but  your  wife's  replies :  she  has 
not  played  the  game.  Neither  Madame  Deschars,  nor  any  one 
of  the  young  women,  understand.  She  has  cheated.  You 
revolt,  there  is  an  insurrection  among  the  girls  and  young 
women.  They  seek  and  are  puzzled.  You  want  an  explana- 
tion, and  every  one  participates  in  your  desire. 

"In  what  sense  did  you  understand  the  word,  my  dear?" 
you  say  to  Caroline. 

"Why,  male!"  [male]. 


OF  FARMED  LIFE  343 

Madame  Deschars  bits  her  lips  and  manifests  the  greatest 
displeasure;  the  younr  .vomen  blush  and  drop  their  eyes;  the 
little  girls  open  their>,  nudge  each  other  and  prick  up  their 
ears.  Your  feet  are  giied  to  the  carpet,  and  you  have  so  much 
salt  in  your  throat  thaiyou  believe  in  a  repetition  of  the  event 
which  delivered  Lot  frun  his  wife. 

You  see  an  infern^  life  before  you:  society  is  out  of  the 
question. 

To  remain  at  home  \\ith  this  triumphant  stupidity  is  equiva- 
lent to  condemnation  t>  the  state's  prison. 
\ 

Axiom. — Moral  fortunes  exceed  physical  sufferings  by  all 
the  difference  which  exists  between  the  soul  and  the  body. 

You  give  up  your  plan  of  enlightening  your  wife. 

Caroline  is  a  second  edition  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  for,  like 
the  royal  chrysalis,  she  will  toon  pass  from  the  mildness  of 
the  beast  to  the  ferocity  of  the  imperial  purple. 

THE  ATTENTIONS  OF  A  WIFE. 

Among  the  keenest  pleasures  of  bachelor  life,  every  man 
reckons  the  independence  of  his  getting  up.  The  fancies  of 
the  morning  compensate  for  the  glooms  of  evening.  A  bache- 
lor turns  over  and  over  in  his  bed:  he  is  free  to  gape  loud 
enough  to  justify  apprehensions  of  murder,  and  to -scream  at 
a  pitch  authorizing  the  suspicion  of  joys  untold.  He  can 
forget  his  oaths  of  the  day  before,  let  the  fire  bum  upon  the 
hearth  and  the  candle  sink  to  its  socket, — in  short,  go  to 
sleep  again  in  spite  of  pressing  work.  He  can  curse  the  expect- 
ant boots  which  stand  holding  their  black  mouths  open  at  him 
and  pricking  up  their  ears.  He  can  pretend  not  to  see  the 
steel  hooks  which  glitter  in  a  sunbeam  which  has  stolen 
through  the  curtains,  can  disregard  the  sonorous  summons  of 
the  obstinate  clock,  can  bury  himself  in  a  soft  place,  saying: 
<r5Tes,  I  was  in  a  hurry,  yesterday,  but  am  so  no  longer  to-day. 
Yesterday  was  a  dotard.  To-day  is  a  sage:  between  them 


344  PETTY  TROUBJ 

stands  the  night  which  brings  wisdon  the  night  which  gives 
light.  I  ought  to  go,  I  ought  to  do  iil  promised  I  would — 
I  am  weak,  I  know.  But  how  can  I  raist  the  downy  creases 
of  my  bed  ?  My  feet  feel  flaccid,  I  thin^I  must  be  sick,  I  am 
too  happy  just  here.  I  long  to  see  the  ethereal  horizon  of  my 
dreams  again,  those  women  without  clavs,  those  winged  beings 
and  their  obliging  ways.  In  short,  lhave  fo\md  the  grain 
of  salt  to  put  upon  the  tail  of  that  bird  that  was  always  flying 
away:  the  coquette's  feet  are  caught  ii  the  line.  I  have  her 
now — 

Your  servant,  meantime,  reads  yorr  newspaper,  half -opens 
your  letters,  and  leaves  you  to  yoursflf.  And  you  go  to  sleep 
again,  lulled  by  the  rumbling  of  the  morning  wagons.  Those 
terrible,  vexatious,  quivering  teams,  laden  with  meat,  those 
trucks  with  big  tin  teats  bursting  with  milk,  though  they  make 
a  clatter  most  infernal  and  even  crush  the  paving  stones,  seem 
to  you  to  glide  over  cotton,  an<i  vaguely  remind  you  of  the 
orchestra  of  Napoleon  Musard  Though  your  house  trembles 
in  all  its  timbers  and  shakes  apon  its  keel,  you  think  yourself 
a  sailor  cradled  by  a  zephyr. 

You  alone  have  the  right  to  bring  these  joys  to  an  end  by 
throwing  away  your  night-cap  as  you  twist  up  your  napkin 
after  dinner,  and  by  sitting  up  in  bed.  Then  you  take  your- 
self to  task  with  such  reproaches  as  these:  "Ah,  mercy  on 
me,  I  must  get  up!"  "Early  to  bed  and  early  to  rise,  makes 
a  man  healthy—  I"  "Get  up,  lazy  bones !" 

All  this  time  you  remain  perfectly  tranquil.  You  look 
round  your  chamber,  you  collect  your  wits  together.  Finally, 
you  emerge  from  the  bed,  spontaneously!  courageously!  of 
your  own  accord!  You  go  to  the  fireplace,  you  consult  the 
most  obliging  of  timepieces,  you  utter  hopeful  sentences  thus 
couched :  "Whatshisname  is  a  lazy  creature,  I  guess  I  shall  find 
him  in.  I'll  run.  I'll  catch  him  if  he's  gone.  He's  sure  to 
wait  for  me.  There  is  a  quarter  of  an  hour's  grace  in  all 
appointments,  even  between  debtor  and  creditor." 

You  put  on  your  boots  with  fury,  you  dress  yourself  as  if 
you  were  afraid  of  being  caught  half-dressed,  you  have  the 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  345 

delight  of  being  in  a  hurry,  you  call  your  buttons  into  action, 
you  finally  go  out  like  a  conqueror,  whistling,  brandishing 
your  cane,  pricking  up  your  ears  and  breaking  into  a  canter. 

After  all,  you  say  to  yourself,  you  are  responsible  to  no  one, 
you  are  your  own  master ! 

But  you,  poor  married  man,  you  were  stupid  enough  to  say 
to  your  wife,  "To-morrow,  my  dear"  (sometimes  she  knows 
it  two  days  beforehand),  "I  have  got  to  get  up  early/'  Un- 
fortunate Adolphe,  you  have  especially  proved  the  importance 
of  this  appointment :  "It's  to — and  to — and  above  all  to — in 
short  to — 

Two  hours  before  dawn,  Caroline  wakes  you  up  gently  and 
says  to  you  softly:  "Adolphy  dear,  Adolphy  love!" 

"What's  the  matter?    Fire?" 

"No,  go  to  sleep  again,  T'v'e  made  a  mistake;  but  the  hour 
hand  was  on  it,  any  way !  It's  only  four,  you  can  sleep  two 
hours  more." 

Is  not  telling  a  man,  "You've  only  got  two  hours  to  sleep," 
the  same  thing,  on  a  small  scale,  as  saying  to  a  criminal,  "It's 
five  in  the  morning,  the  ceremony  will  be  performed  at  half- 
past  seven"?  Such  sleep  is  troubled  by  an  idea  dressed  in 
grey  and  furnished  with  wings,  which  comes  and  flaps,  like  a 
bat,  upon  the  windows  of  your  brain. 

A  woman  in  a  case  like  this  is  as  exact  as  a  devil  coming  to 
claim  a  soul  he  has  purchased.  When  the  clock  strikes  five, 
your  wife's  voice,  too  well  known,  alas !  resounds  in  your  ear : 
she  accompanies  the  stroke,  and  says  with  an  atrocious  calm- 
ness, "Adolphe,  it's  five  o'clock,  get  up,  dear." 

"Ye-e-e-s,  ah-h-h-h !" 

"Adolphe,  you'll  be  too  late  for  your  business,  you  said  so 
yourself." 

"Ah-h-h-h,  ye-e-e-e-s."    You  turn  over  in  despair. 

"Come,  come.  love.  I  got  everything  ready  last  night ; 
now  you  must,  my  dear;  do  you  want  to  miss  him?  There, 
up,  I  say;  it's  broad  daylight." 

Caroline  throws  off  the  blankets  and  gets  up :  she  wants  to 
show  you  that  she  can  rise  without  making  a  fuss.  She  opens 


346  PETTY  TROUBLES 

the  blinds,  she  lets  in  the  sun,  the  morning  air,  the  noise -of 
the  street,  and  then  comes  back. 

"Why,  Adolphe,  you  must  get  up!  Who  ever  would  have 
supposed  you  had  no  energy !  But  it's  just  like  you  men ! 
I  am  only  a  poor,  weak  woman,  but  when  I  say  a  thing,  I  do 
it." 

You  get  up  grumbling,  execrating  the  sacrament  of  mar- 
riage. There  is  not  the  slightest  merit  in  your  heroism;  it 
wasn't  you,  but  your  wife,  that  got  up.  Caroline  gets  you 
everything  you  want  with  provoking  promptitude;  she  fore- 
sees everything,  she  gives  you  a  muffler  in  winter,  a  blue- 
striped  cambric  shirt  in  summer,  she  treats  you  like  a  child; 
you  are  still  asleep,  she  dresses  you  and  has  all  the  trouble. 
She  finally  thrusts  you  out  of  doors.  Without  her  nothing 
would  go  straight !  She  calls  you  back  to  give  you  a  paper,  a 
pocketbook,  you  had  forgotten.  You  don't  think  of  anything, 
she  thinks  of  everything ! 

You  return  five  hours  afterwards  to  breakfast,  between 
eleven  and  noon.  The  chambermaid  is  at  the  door,  or  on  the 
stairs,  or  on  the  landing,  talking  with  somebody's  valet:  she 
runs  in  on  hearing  or  seeing  you.  Your  servant  is  laying  the 
cloth  in  a  most  leisurely  style,  stopping  to  look  out  of  the 
window  or  to  lounge,  and  coming  and  going  like  a  person 
who  knows  he  has  plenty  of  time.  You  ask  for  your  wife, 
supposing  that  she  is  up  and  dressed. 

"Madame  is  still  in  bed,"  says  the  maid. 

You  find  your  wife  languid,  lazy,  tired  and  asleep.  She 
had  been  awake  all  night  to  wake  you  in  the  morning,  so 
she  went  to  bed  again,  and  is  quite  hungry  now. 

You  are  the  cause  of  all  these  disarrangements.  If  break- 
fast is  not  ready,  she  says  it's  because  you  went  out.  If  she 
is  not  dressed,  and  if  everything  is  in  disorder,  it's  all  your 
fault.  For  everything  which  goes  awry  she  has  this  answer  : 
"Well,  you  would  get  up  so  early!"  "He  would  get  up  so 
early!"  is  the  universal  reason.  She  makes  you  go  to  bed 
early,  because  you  got  up  early.  She  can  do  nothing  all  day, 
because  you  would  get  up  so  unusually  early. 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  347 

Eighteen  months  afterwards,  she  still  maintains,  "Without 
me,  you  would  never  get  up !"  To  her  friends  she  says,  "My 
husband  get  up !  If  it  weren't  for  me,  he  never  would  get 
up  I" 

To  this  a  man  whose  hair  is  beginning  to  whiten,  replies, 
"A  graceful  compliment  to  you,  madame !"  This  slightly 
indelicate  comment  puts  an  end  to  her  boasts. 

This  petty  trouble,  repeated  several  times,  teaches  you  to 
live  alone  in  the  bosom  of  your  family,  not  to  tell  all  you 
know,  and  to  have  no  confidant  but  yourself :  and  it  often  seems 
to  you  a  question  whether  the  inconveniences  of  the  married 
state  do  not  exceed  its  advantages. 

SMALL  VEXATIONS. 

You  have  made  a  transition  from  the  frolicsome  allegretto 
of  the  bachelor  to  the  heavy  andante  of  the  father  of  a  family. 

Instead  of  that  fine  English  steed  prancing  and  snorting 
between  the  polished  shafts  of  a  tilbury  as  light  as  your  own 
heart,  and  moving  his  glistening  croup -under  the  quadruple 
network  of  the  reins  and  ribbons  that  you  so  skillfully  man- 
age with  what  grace  and  elegance  the  Champs  Elys6es  can 
bear  witness — you  drive  a  good  solid  Norman  horse  with  a 
steady,  family  gait. 

You  have  learned  what  paternal  patience  is,  and  you  let 
no  opportunity  slip  of  proving  it.  Your  countenance,  there- 
fore, is  serious. 

By  your  side  is  a  domestic,  evidently  for  two  purposes  like 
the  carriage.  The  vehicle  is  four-wheeled  and  hung  upon 
English  springs :  it  is  corpulent  and  resembles  a  Eouen  scow : 
it  has  glass  windows,  and  an  infinity  of  economical  arrange- 
ments. It  is  a  barouche  in  fine  weather,  and  a  brougham 
when  it  rains.  It  is  apparently  light,  but,  when  six  persons 
are  in  it,  it  is  heavy  and  tires  out  your  only  horse. 

On  the  back  seat,  spread  out  like  flowers,  is  your  young 
wife  in  full  bloom,  with  her  mother,  a  big  marshmallow  with 
a  great  many  leaves.  These  two  flowers  of  the  female  species 


348  PETTY  TROUBLES 

twitteringly  talk  of  you,  though  the  noise  of  the  wheels  anfl 
your  attention  to  the  horses,  joined  to  your  fatherly  caution, 
prevent  you  from  hearing  what  they  say. 

On  the  front  seat,  there  is  a  nice  tidy  nurse  holding  a  little 
girl  in  her  lap:  by  her  side  is  a  boy  in  a  red  plaited  shirt, 
who  is  continually  leaning  out  of  the  carriage  and  climbing 
upon  the  cushions,  and  who  has  a  thousand  times  drawn  down 
upon  himself  those  declarations  of  every  mother,  which  he 
knows  to  be  threats  and  nothing  else :  "Be  a  good  boy,  Adolphe, 
or  else — "  "I  declare  I'll  never  bring  you  again,  so  there !" 

His  mamma  is  secretly  tired  to  death  of  this  noisy  little 
boy :  he  has  provoked  her  twenty  times,  and  twenty  times  the 
face  of  the  little  girl  asleep  has  calmed  her. 

"I  am  his  mother,"  she  says  to  herself.  And  so  she  finally 
manages  to  keep  her  little  Adolphe  quiet. 

You  have  put  your  triumphant  idea  of  taking  your  family 
to  ride  into  execution.  You  left  your  house  in  the  morn- 
ing, all  the  opposite  neighbors  having  come  to  their  windows, 
envying  you  the  privilege  which  your  means  give  you  of  going 
to  the  country  and  coming  back  again  without  undergoing 
the  miseries  of  a  public  conveyance.  So  you  have  dragged 
your  unfortunate  Norman  horse  through  Paris  to  Vincennes, 
from  Vincennes  to  Saint  Maur,  from  Saint  Maur  to  Chareri- 
ton,  from  Charenton  opposite  some  island  or  other  which 
struck  your  wife  and  mother-in-law  as  being  prettier  than 
all  the  landscapes  through  which  you  had  driven  them. 

"Let's  go  to  Maison's !"  somebody  exclaims. 

So  you  go  to  Maison's,  near  Alf  ort.  You  come  home  by  the 
left  bank  of  the  Seine,  in  the  midst  of  a  cloud  of  very  black 
Olympian  dust.  The  horse  drags  your  family  wearily  along. 
But  alas !  your  pride  has  fled,  and  you  look  without  emotion 
upon  his  sunken  flanks,  and  upon  two  bones  which  stick  out 
on  each  side  of  his  belly.  His  coat  is  roughened  by  the  sweat 
which  has  repeatedly  come  out  and  dried  upon  him,  and 
which,  no  less  than  the  dust,  has  made  him  gummy,  sticky  and 
shaggy.  The  horse  looks  like  a  wrathy  porcupine:  you  are 
afraid  he  will  be  foundered,  and  you  caress  him  with  the  whip- 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  349 

lash  in  a  melancholy  way  that  he  perfectly  understands,  for 
he  moves  his  head  about  like  an  omnibus  horse,  tired  of  his 
deplorable  existence. 

You  think  a  good  deal  of  this  horse;  you  consider  him 
an  excellent  one  and  he  cost  you  twelve  hundred  francs. 
When  a  man  has  the  honor  of  being  the  father  of  a  family, 
he  thinks  as  much  of  twelve  hundred  francs  as  you  think 
of  this  horse.  You  see  at  once  the  frightful  amount  of  your 
extra  expenses,  in  case  Coco  should  have  to  lie  by.  For  two 
days  you  will  have  to  take  hackney  coaches  to  go  to  your 
business.  Your  wife  will  pout  if  she  can't  go  out:  but  she 
will  go  out,  and  take  a  carriage.  The  horse  will  cause  the 
purchase  of  numerous  extras,  which  you  will  find  in  your 
coachman's  bill, — your  only  coachman,  a  model  coachman, 
whom  you  watch  as  you  do  a  model  anybody. 

To  these  thoughts  you  give  expression  in  the  gentle  move- 
ment of  the  whip  as  it  falls  upon  the  animal's  ribs,  up  to  his 
knees  in  the  black  dust  which  lines  the  road  in  front  of  La 
Verrerie. 

At  this  moment,  little  Adolphe,  who  doesn't,  know  what  to 
do  in  this  rolling  box,  has  sadly  twisted  himself  up  into  a 
corner,  and  his  grandmother  anxiously  asks  him,  "What  is 
the  matter?" 

"I'm  hungry,"  says  the  child. 

"He's  hungry,"  says  the  mother  to  her  daughter. 

"And  why  shouldn't  he  be  hungry?  It  is  half-past  five, 
we  are  not  at  the  barrier,  and  we  started  at  two !" 

"Your  husband  might  have  treated  us  to  dinner  in  the 
country." 

"He'd  rather  make  his  horse  go  a  couple  of  leagues  further, 
and  get  back  to  the  house." 

"The  cook  might  have  had  the  day  to  herself.  But  Adolphe 
is  right,  after  all:  it's  cheaper  to  dine  at  home,"  adds  the 
mother-in-law. 

"Adolphe,"  exclaims  your  wife,  stimulated  by  the  word 
"cheaper,"  "we  go  so  slow  that  I  shall  be  seasick,  and  you  keep 
driving  right  in  this  nasty  dust.  What  are  you  thinking  of? 
My  gown  and  hat  will  be  ruined !" 


350  PETTY  TROUBLES 

"Would  you  rather  ruin  the  horse?"  you  ask,  with  the  ait 
of  a  man  who  can't  be  answered. 

"Oh,  no  matter  for  your  horse ;  just  think  of  your  son  who 
is  dying  of  hunger:  he  hasn't  tasted  a  thing  for  seven  hours. 
Whip  up  your  old  horse !  One  would  really  think  you  cared 
more  for  your  nag  than  your  child !" 

You  dare  not  give  your  horse  a  single  crack  with  the  whip, 
for  he  might  still  have  vigor  enough  left  to  break  into  a  gallop 
and  run  away. 

"No,  Adolphe  tries  to  vex  me,  he's  going  slower,"  says  the 
young  wife  to  her  mother.  "My  dear,  go  as  slow  as  you  like, 
But  I  know  you'll  say  I  am  extravagant  when  you  see  me 
buying  another  hat." 

Upon  this  you  utter  a  series  of  remarks  which  are  lost  in 
the  racket  made  by  the  wheels. 

"What's  the  use  of  replying  with  reasons  that  haven't  got 
an  ounce  of  common-sense?"  cries  Caroline. 

You  talk,  turning  your  face  to  the  carriage  and  then  turn- 
ing back  to  the  horse,  to  avoid  an  accident. 

"That's  right,  run  against  somebody  and  tip  us  over,  do, 
you'll  be  rid  of  us.  Adolphe,  your  son  is  dying  of  hunger. 
See  how  pale  he  is !" 

"But  Caroline,"  puts  in  the  mother-in-law,  'Tie's  doing  the 
best  he  can." 

Nothing  annoys  you  so  much  as  to  have  your  mother-in- 
law  take  your  part.  She  is  a  hypocrite  and  is  delighted  to  see 
your  quarreling  with  her  daughter.  Gently  and  with  infinite 
precaution  she  throws  oil  on  the  fire. 

When  you  arrive  at  the  barrier,  your  wife  is  mute.  •  She 
says  not  a  word,  she  sits  with  her  arms  crossed,  and  will  not 
look  at  you.  You  have  neither  soul,  heart,  nor  sentiment.  No 
one  but  you  could  have  invented  such  a  party  of  pleasure.  If 
you  are  unfortunate  enough  to  remind  Caroline  that  it  was 
she  who  insisted  on  the  excursion,  that  morning,  for  her  chil- 
dren's sake,  and  in  behalf  of  her  milk— she  nurses  the  baby— 
you  will  be  overwhelmed  by  an  avalanche  of  frigid  and  sting- 
ing reproaches. 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  351 

You  bear  it  all  so  as  "not  to  turn  the  milk  of  a  nursing 
mother,  for  whose  sake  you  must  overlook  some  little  things/' 
as  your  atrocious  mother-in-law  whispers  in  your  ear. 

All  the  furies  of  Orestes  are  rankling  in  your  heart. 

In  reply  to  the  sacramental  words  pronounced  by  the  officer 
of  the  customs,  "Have  you  anything  to  declare?"  your  wife 
says,  "I  declare  a  great  deal  of  ill-humor  and  dust." 

She  laughs,  the  officer  laughs,  and  you  feel  a  desire  to  tip 
your  family  into  the  Seine. 

Unluckily  for  you,  you  suddenly  remember  the  joyous  and 
perverse  young  woman  who  wore  a  pink  bonnet  and  who  made 
merry  in  your  tilbury  six  years  before,  as  you  passed  this  spot 
on  your  way  to  the  chop-house  on  the  river's  bank.  What  a 
reminiscence !  Was  Madame  Schontz  anxious  about  babies, 
about  her  bonnet,  the  lace  of  which  was  torn  to  pieces  in  the 
bushes  ?  No,  she  had  no  care  for  anything  whatever,  not  even 
for  her  dignity,  for  she  shocked  the  rustic  police  of  Vincennes 
by  the  somewhat  daring  freedom  of  her  style  of  dancing. 

You  return  home,  you  have  frantically  hurried  your  Nor- 
man horse,  and  have  neither  prevented  an  indisposition  of  the 
animal,  nor  an  indisposition  of  your  wife. 

That  evening,  Caroline  has  very  little  milk.  If  the  baby 
cries  and  if  your  head  is  split  in  consequence,  it  is  all  your 
fault,  as  you  preferred  the  health  of  your  horse  to  that  of  your 
son  who  was  dying  of  hunger,  and  of  your  daughter  whose 
supper  has  disappeared  in  a  discussion  in  which  your  wife  was 
right,  as  she  always  is. 

"Well,  well,"  she  says,  "men  are  not  mothers !" 

As  you  leave  the  chamber,  you  hear  your  mother-in-law 
consoling  her  daughter  by  these  terrible  words:  "Come,  bo 
calm,  Caroline:  that's  the  way  with  them  all:  they  are  a 
selfish  lot :  your  father  was  just  like  that !" 

THE  ULTIMATUM. 

It  is  eight  o'clock;  you  make  your  appearance  in  the  bed- 
room of  your  wife.  There  is  a  brilliant  light.  The  chamber- 


352  PETTY  TROUBLES 

maid  and  the  cook  hover  lightly  about,  The  furniture  is  cov- 
ered with  dresses  and  flowers  tried  on  and  laid  aside. 

The  hair-dresser  is  there,  an  artist  par  excellence,  a  sove- 
reign authority,  at  once  nobody  and  everything.  You  hear  the 
other  domestics  going  and  coming:  orders  are  given  and 
recalled,  errands  are  well  or  ill  performed.  The  disorder  is 
at  its  height.  This  chamber  is  a  studio  from  whence  is  to  issue 
a  parlor  Venus. 

Your  wife  desires  to  be  the  fairest  at  the  ball  which  you 
are  to  attend.  Is  it  still  for  your  sake,  or  only  for  herself,  or 
is  it  for  somebody  else  ?  Serious  questions  these. 

The  idea  does  not  even  occur  to  you. 

You  are  squeezed,  hampered,  harnessed  in  your  ball  accou- 
trement :  you  count  your  steps  as  you  .walk,  you  look  around, 
you  observe,  you  contemplate  talking  business  on  neutral 
ground  with  a  stock-broker,  a  notary  or  a  banker,  to  whom  you 
would  not  like  to  give  an  advantage  over  you  by  calling  at 
their  house. 

A  singular  fact  which  all  have  probably  observed,  but  the 
causes  of  which  can  hardly  be  determined,  is  the  peculiar 
repugnance  which  men  dressed  and  ready  to  go  to  a  party  have 
for  discussions  or  to  answer  questions.  At  the  moment  of 
starting,  there  are  few  husbands  who  are  not  taciturn  and 
profoundly  absorbed  in  reflections  which  vary  with  their 
characters.  Those  who  reply  give  curt  and  peremptory 
answers. 

But  women,  at  this  time,  are  exceedingly  aggravating.  They 
consult  you,  they  ask  your  advice  upon  the  best  way  of  con- 
cealing the  stem  of  a  rose,  of  giving  a  graceful  fall  to  a  bunch 
of  briar,  or  a  happy  turn  to  a  scarf.  As  a  neat  English  expres- 
sion has  it,  "they  fish  for  compliments,"  and  sometimes  for 
better  than  compliments. 

A  boy  just  out  of  school  would  discern  the  motive  concealed 
behind  the  willows  of  these  pretexts :  but  your  wife  is  so  well 
known  to  you,  and  you  have  so  often  playfully  joked  upon 
her  moral  and  physical  perfections,  that  you  are  harsh  enough 
to  give  your  opinion  briefly  and  conscientiously:  you  thus 


Copyright,  1902,  by  J.  D.  A 


Caroline   and   Adolphe. 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  353 

force  Caroline  to  put  that  decisive  question,  so  cruel  to  women, 
even  those  who  have  been  married  twenty  years: 

"So  I  don't  suit  you  then  ?" 

Drawn  upon  the  true  ground  by  this  inquiry,  you  bestow 
upon  her  such  little  compliments  as  you  can  spare  and  which 
are,  as.it  were,  the  small  change,  the  sous,  the  liards  of  your 
purse. 

"The  best  gown  you  ever  wore  I"  "I  never  saw  you  so  well 
dressed."  "Blue,  pink,  yellow,  cherry  [take  your  pick], 
becomes  you  charmingly."  "Your  head-dress  is  quite  orig- 
inal." "As  you  go  in,  every  one  will  admire  you."  "You  will 
not  only  be  the  prettiest,  but  the  best  dressed."  "They'll  all 
be  mad  not  to  have  your  taste."  "Beauty  is  a  natural  gift: 
taste  is  like  intelligence,  a  thing  that  we  may  be  proud  of." 

"Do  you  think  so?    Are  you  in  earnest,  Adolphe?" 

Your  wife  is  coquetting  with  you.  She  chooses  this  moment 
to  force  from  you  your  pretended  opinion  of  one  and  another 
of  her  friends,  and  to  insinuate  the  price  of  the  articles  of  her 
dress  you  so  much  admire.  Nothing  is  too  dear  to  please  you. 
She  sends  the  cook  out  of  the  room. 

"Let's  go,"  you  say. 

She  sends  the  chambermaid  out  after  having  dismissed  the 
hair-dresser,  and  begins  to  turn  round  and  round  before  her 
glass,  showing  off  to  you  her  most  glorious  beauties. 

"Let's  go,"  you  say. 

"You  are  in  a  hurry,"  she  returns. 

And  she  goes  on  exhibiting  herself  with  all  her  little  airs, 
setting  herself  off  like  a  fine  peach  magnificently  exhibited 
in  a  fruiterer's  window.  But  since  you  have  dined  rather 
heartily,  you  kiss  her  upon  the  forehead  merely,  not  feeling 
able  to  countersign  your  opinions.  Caroline  becomes  serious. 

The  carriage  waits.  All  the  household  looks  at  Caroline 
as  she  goes  out :  she  is  the  masterpiece  to  which  all  have  con- 
tributed, and  everybody  admires  the  common  work. 

Your  wife  departs  highly  satisfied  with  herself,  but  a  good 
deal  displeased  with  you.  She  proceeds  loftily  to  the  ball, 
just  as  a  picture,  caressed  by  the  painter  and  minutely 


354  PETTY  TROUBLES 

retouched  in  the  studio,  is  sent  to  the  annual  exhibition  in  the 
vast  bazaar  of  the  Louvre.  Your  wife,  alas !  sees  fifty  women 
handsomer  than  herself:  they  have  invented  dresses  of  the 
most  extravagant  price,  and  more  or  less  original:  and  that 
which  happens  at  the  Louvre  to  the  masterpiece,  happens  to 
the  object  of  feminine  labor :  your  wife's  dress  seems  pale  by 
the  side  of  another  very  much  like  it,  but  the  livelier  color  of 
which  crushes  it.  Caroline  is  nobody,  and  is  hardly  noticed. 
When  there  are  sixty  handsome  women  in  a  room,  the  senti- 
ment of  beauty  is  lost,  beauty  is  no  longer  appreciated.  Your 
wife  becomes  a  very  ordinary  affair.  The  petty  stratagem  of 
her  smile,  made  perfect  by  practice,  has  no  meaning  in  the 
midst  of  countenances  of  noble  expression,  of  self-possessed 
women  of  lofty  presence.  She  is  completely  put  down,  and  no 
one  asks  her  to  dance.  She  tries  to  force  an  expression  of  pre- 
tended satisfaction,  but,  as  she  is  not  satisfied,  she  hears  people 
say,  "Madame  Adolphe  is  looking  very  ill  to-night."  Women 
hypocritically  ask  her  if  she  is  indisposed  and  "Why  don't  you 
dance?"  They  have  a  whole  catalogue  of  malicious  remarks 
veneered  with  sympathy  and  electroplated  with  charity, 
enough  to  damn  a  saint,  to  make  a  monkey  serious,  and  to  give 
the  devil  the  shudders. 

You,  who  are  innocently  playing  cards  or  walking  back- 
wards and  forwards,  and  so  have  not  seen  one  of  the  thousand 
pin-pricks  with  which  your  wife's  self-love  has  been  tattooed, 
you  come  and  ask  her  in  a  whisper,  "What  is  the  matter  ?" 

"Order  my  carriage !" 

This  my  is  the  consummation  of  marriage.  For  two  years 
she  has  said  "my  husband's  carriage,"  "the  carriage,"  "our 
carriage,"  and  now  she  says  "my  carriage." 

You  are  in  the  midst  of  a  game,  you  say,  somebody  wants  his 
revenge,  or  you  must  get  your  money  back. 

Here,  Adolphe,  we  allow  that  you  have  sufficient  strength 
of  mind  to  say  yes,  to  disappear,  and  not  to  order  the  carriage. 

You  have  a  friend,  you  send  him  to  dance  with  your  wife, 
for  you  have  commenced  a  system  of  concessions  which  will 
ruin  you.  You  already  dimly  perceive  the  advantage  of  a 
friend. 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  355 

Finally,  you  order  the  carriage.  Your  wife  gets  in  with 
concentrated  rage,  she  hurls  herself  into  a  corner,  covers  her 
face  with  her  hood,  crosses  her  arms  under  her  pelisse,  and 
says  not  a  word. 

0  husbands !  learn  this  fact ;  you  may,  at  this  fatal  moment, 
repair  and  redeem  everything :  and  never  does  the  impetuosity 
of  lovers  who  have  been  caressing  each  other  the  whole  even- 
ing with  flaming  gaze  fail  to  do  it !  Yes,  you  can  bring  her 
home  in  triumph,  she  has  now  nobody  but  you,  you  have  one 
more  chance,  that  of  taking  your  wife  by  storm!  But  no, 
idiot,  stupid  and  indifferent  that  you  are,  you  ask  her,  "What 
is  the  matter?" 


Axiom. — A  husband  should  always  know  what  is  the  matter 
with  his  wife,  for  she  always  knows  what  is  not. 

"I'm  cold,"  she  says. 

"The  ball  was  splendid." 

"Pooh !  nobody  of  distinction !  People  have  the  mania, 
nowadays,  to  invite  all  Paris  into  a  hole.  There  were  women 
even  on  the  stairs:  their  gowns  were  horribly  smashed,  and 
mine  is  ruined." 

"We  had  a  good  time." 

"Ah,  you  men,  you  play  and  that's  the  whole  of  it.  Once 
married,  you  care  about  as  much  for  your  wives  as  a  lion  does 
for  the  fine  arts." 

"How  changed  you  are;  you  were  so  gay,  so  happy,  so 
charming  when  we  arrived." 

"Oh,  you  never  understand  us  women.  I  begged  you  to  go 
home,  and  you  left  me  there,  as  if  a  woman  ever  did  anything 
without  a  reason.  You  are  not  without  intelligence,  but  now 
and  then  you  are  so  queer  I  don't  know  what  you  are  thinking 
about." 

Once  upon  this  footing,  the  quarrel  becomes  more  bitter. 
When  you  give  your  wife  your  hand  to  lift  her  from  the  car- 
riage, you  grasp  a  woman  of  wood:  she  gives  you  a  "thank 


356  PETTY  TROUBLES 

you"  which  puts  you  in  the  same  rank  as  her  servant.  You 
understood  your  wife  no  better  before  than  you  do  after  the 
ball :  you  find  it  difficult  to  follow  her,  for  instead  of  going  up 
stairs,  she  flies  up.  The  rupture  is  complete. 

The  chambermaid  is  involved  in  your  disgrace:  she  is 
received  with  blunt  No's  and  Yes's,  as  dry  as  Brussells  rusks, 
which  she  swallows  with  a  slanting  glance  at  you.  "Monsieur's 
always  doing  these  things,"  she  mutters. 

You  alone  might  have  changed  Madame's  temper.  She 
goes  to  bed ;  she  has  her  revenge  to  take :  you  did  not  compre- 
hend her.  Now  she  does  not  comprehend  you.  She  deposits 
herself  on  her  side  of  the  bed  in  the  most  hostile  and  offensive 
posture:  she  is  wrapped  up  in  her  chemise,  in  her  sack,  in  her 
night-cap,  like  a  bale  of  clocks  packed  for  the  East  Indies. 
She  says  neither  good-night,  nor  good-day,  nor  dear,  nor 
Adolphe :  you  don't  exist,  you  are  a  bag  of  wheat. 

Your  Caroline,  so  enticing  five  hours  before  in  this  very 
chamber  where  she  frisked  about  like  an  eel,  is  now  a  junk  of 
lead.  Were  you  the  Tropical  Zone  in  person,  astride  of  the 
Equator,  you  could  not  melt  the  ice  of  this  little  personified 
Switzerland  that  pretends  to  be  asleep,  and  who  could  freeze 
you  from  head  to  foot,  if  she  liked.  Ask  her  one  hundred 
times  what  is  the  matter  with  her,  Switzerland  replies  by  an 
ultimatum,  like  the  Diet  or  the  Conference  of  London. 

Nothing  is  the  matter  with  her :  she  is  tired :  she  is  going  to 
sleep. 

The  more  you  insist,  the  more  she  erects  bastions  of  ignor- 
ance, the  more  she  isolates  herself  by  chevaux-de-frise.  If 
you  get  impatient,  Caroline  begins  to  dream !  You  grumble, 
you  are  lost. 

Axiom. — Inasmuch  as  women  are  always  willing  and  able 
to  explain  their  strong  points,  they  leave  us  to  guess  at  their 
weak  ones. 

Caroline  will  perhaps  also  condescend  to  assure  you  that  she 
does  not  feel  well.  But  she  laughs  in  her  night-cap  when 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  357 

you  have  fallen  asleep,  and  hurls  imprecations  upon  your 
slumbering  body. 

WOMEN'S  LOGIC. 

You  imagine  you  have  married  a  creature  endowed  with 
reason :  you  are  wof ully  mistaken,  my  friend. 

Axiom. — Sensitive  beings  are  not  sensible  beings. 

Sentiment  is  not  argument,  reason  is  not  pleasure,  and 
pleasure  is  certainly  not  a  reason. 

"Oh !  sir !"  she  says. 

Eeply  "Ah !  yes !  Ah  !"  You  must  bring  forth  this  "ah !" 
from  the  very  depths  of  your  thoracic  cavern,  as  you  rush  in 
a  rage  from  the  house,  or  return,  confounded,  to  your  study. 

Why  ?  How  ?  Who  has  conquered,  killed,  overthrown  you ! 
Your  wife's  logic,  which  is  not  the  logic  of  Aristotle,  nor  that 
of  Eamus,  nor  that  of  Kant,  nor  that  of  Condillac,  nor  that 
of  Robespierre,  nor  that  of  Napoleon:  but  which  partakes 
of  the  character  of  all  these  logics,  and  which  we  must  call  the 
universal  logic  of  women,  the  logic  of  English  women  as  it  is 
that  of  Italian  women,  of  the  women  of  Normandy  and  Brit- 
tany (ah,  these  last  are  unsurpassed !),  of  the  women  of  Paris, 
in  short,  that  of  the  women  in  the  moon,  if  there  are  women 
in  that  nocturnal  land,  with  which  the  women  of  the  earth 
have  an  evident  understanding,  angels  that  they  are ! 

The  discussion  began  after  breakfast.  Discussions  can 
never  take  place  in  a  household  save  at  this  hour.  A  man  could 
hardly  have  a  discussion  with  his  wife  in  bed,  even  if  he 
wanted  to :  she  has  too  many  advantages  over  him,  and  can  too 
easily  reduce  him  to  silence.  On  leaving  the  nuptial  chamber 
with  a  pretty  woman  in  it,  a  man  is  apt  to  be  hungry,  if  he  is 
young.  Breakfast  is  usually  a  cheerful  meal,  and  cheerfulness 
is  not  given  to  argument.  In  short,  you  do  not  open  the  busi- 
ness till  you  have  had  your  tea  or  your  coffee. 


358  PETTY  TROUBLES 

You  have  taken  it  into  your  head,  for  instance,  to  send  your 
son  to  school.  All  fathers  are  hypocrites  and  are  never  willing 
to  confess  that  their  own  flesh  and  blood  is  very  troublesome 
when  it  walks  about  on  two  legs,  lays  its  dare-devil  hands  on 
everything,  and  is  everywhere  at  once  like  a  frisky  pollywog. 
Your  son  barks,  mews,  and  sings :  he  breaks,  smashes  and  soils 
the  furniture,  and  furniture  is  dear :  he  makes  toys  of  every- 
thing, he  scatters  your  papers,  and  he  cuts  paper  dolls  out  of 
the  morning's  newspaper  before  you  have  read  it. 

His  mother  says  to  him,  referring  to  anything  of  yours: 
"Take  it!"  but  in  reference  to  anything  of  hers  she  says: 
"Take  care !" 

She  cunningly  lets  him  have  your  things  that  she  may  be 
left  in  peace.  Her  bad  faith  as  a  good  mother  seeks  shelter 
behind  her  child,  your  son  is  her  accomplice.  Both  are  leagued 
against  you  like  Robert  Macaire  and  Bertrand  against  the  sub- 
scribers to  their  joint  stock  company.  The  boy  is  an  axe  with 
which  foraging  excursions  are  performed  in  your  domains. 
He  goes  either  boldly  or  slyly  to  maraud  in  your  wardrobe: 
he  reappears  caparisoned  in  the  drawers  you  laid  aside  that 
morning,  and  brings  to  the  light  of  day  many  articles  con- 
demned to  solitary  confinement.  He  brings  the  elegant  Ma- 
dame Fischtaminel,  a  friend  whose  good  graces  you  cultivate, 
your  girdle  for  checking  corpulency,  bits  of  cosmetic  for  dye- 
ing your  moustache,  old  waistcoats  discolored  at  the  arm-holes, 
stockings  slightly  soiled  at  the  heels  and  somewhat  yellow  at 
the  toes.  It  is  quite  impossible  to  remark  that  these  stains 
are  caused  by  the  leather ! 

Your  wife  looks  at  your  friend  and  laughs ;  you  dare  not  be 
angry,  so  you  laugh  too,  but  what  a  laugh !  The  unfortunate 
all  know  that  laugh. 

Your  son,  moreover,  gives  you  a  cold  sweat,  if  your  razors 
happen  to  be  out  of  their  place.  If  you  are  angry,  the  little 
rebel  laughs  and  shows  his  two  rows  of  pearls:  if  you  scold 
him,  he  cries.  His  mother  rushes  in!  And  what  a  mother 
she  is !  A  mother  who  will  detest  you  if  you  don't  give  him 
the  razor !  With  women  there  is  no  middle  ground ;  a  man  ijt 
either  a  monster  or  a  model. 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  359 

At  certain  times  you  perfectly  understand  Herod  and  his 
famous  decrees  relative  to  the  Massacre  of  the  Innocents, 
which  have  only  been  surpassed  by  those  of  the  good  Charles 
X! 

Your  wife  has  returned  to  her  sofa,  you  walk  up  and  down, 
you  stop,  and  you  boldly  introduce  the  subject  by  this  inter- 
jjectional  remark : 

"Caroline,  we  must  send  Charles  to  boarding  school." 

"Charles  cannot  go  to  boarding  school/'  she  returns  in  a 
mild  tone. 

"Charles  is  six  years  old,  the  age  at  which  a  boy's  education 
begins/' 

"In  the  first  place,"  she  replies,  "it  begins  at  seven.  The 
royal  princes  are  handed  over  to  their  governor  by  their  gov- 
erness when  they  are  seven.  That's  the  law  and  the  prophets. 
I  don't  see  why  you  shouldn't  apply  to  the  children  of  private 
people  the  rule  laid  down  for  the  children  of  princes.  Is  your 
son  more  forward  than  theirs  ?  The  king  of  Rome — " 

"The  king  of  Rome  is  not  a  case  in  point." 

"What !  Is  not  the  king  of  Rome  the  son  of  the  Emperor  ? 
[Here  she  changes  the  subject.]  Well,  I  declare,  you  accuse 
the  Empress,  do  you?  Why,  Doctor  Dubois  himself  was 
present,  besides — " 

"I  said  nothing  of  the  kind." 

"How  you  do  interrupt,  Adolphe." 

"I  say  that  the  king  of  Rome  [here  you  begin  to  raise  your 
voice]  the  king  of  Rome,  who  was  hardly  four  years  old  when 
he  left  France,  is  no  example  for  ns." 

"That  doesn't  prevent  the  fact  of  the  Duke  de  Bordeaux's 
having  been  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Duke  de  Riviere,  his 
tutor,  at  seven  years."  [Logic.] 

"The  case  of  the  young  Duke  of  Bordeaux  is  different." 

"Then  you  confess  that  a  boy  can't  be  sent  to  school  before 
he  is  seven  years  old  ?"  she  says  with  emphasis.  [More  logic.] 

"No,  my  dear,  I  don't  confess  that  at  all.  There  is  a  great 
deal  of  difference  between  private  and  public  education." 

"That's  precisely  why  I  don't  want  to  send  Charles  to  school 
yet.  He  ought  to  be  much  stronger  than  he  is,  to  go  there." 


360  PETTY  TROUBLES 

"Charles  is  very  strong  for  his  age." 

"Charles  ?  That's  the  way  with  men !  Why,  Charles  has 
a  very  weak  constitution;  he  takes  after  you.  [Here  she 
changes  from  tu  to  vous.']  But  if  you  are  determined  to  get 
rid  of  your  son,  why  put  him  out  to  board,  of  course.  I  have 
noticed  for  some  time  that  the  dear  child  annoys  you." 

"Annoys  me  ?  The  idea !  But  we  are  answerable  for  our 
children,  are  we  not?  It  is  time  Charles'  education  was 
began :  he  is  getting  very  bad  habits  here,  he  obeys  no  one,  he 
thinks  himself  perfectly  free  to  do  as  he  likes,  he  hits  every- 
body and  nobody  dares  to  hit  him  back.  He  ought  to  be  placed 
in  the  midst  of  his  equals,  or  he  will  grow  up  with  the  most 
detestable  temper." 

"Thank  you :  so  I  am  bringing  Charles  up  badly !" 

"I  did  not  say  that:  but  you  will  always  have  excellent 
reasons  for  keeping  him  at  home." 

Here  the  vous  becomes  reciprocal  and  the  discussion  takes 
a  bitter  turn  on  both  sides.  Your  wife  is  very  willing  to 
wound  you  by  saying  vous,  but  she  feels  cross  when  it  becomes 
mutual. 

"The  long  and  the  short  of  it  is  that  you  want  to  get  my 
child  away,  you  find  that  he  is  between  us,  you  are  jealous  of 
your  son,  you  want  to  tyrannize  over  me  at  your  ease,  and  you 
sacrifice  your  boy!  Oh,  I  am  smart  enough  to  see  through 
you !" 

"You  make  me  out  like  Abraham  with  his  knife!  One 
would  think  there  were  no  such  things  as  schools!  So  the 
schools  are  empty ;  nobody  sends  their  children  to  school !" 

"You  are  trying  to  make  me  appear  ridiculous,"  she  retorts. 
"I  know  that  there  are  schools  well  enough,  but  people  don't 
send  boys  of  six  there,  and  Charles  shall  not  start  now." 

"Don't  get  angry,  my  dear." 

"As  if  I  ever  did  get  angry !  I  am  a  woman  and  know  how 
to  suffer  in  silence." 

"Come,  let  us  reason  together." 

"You  have  talked  nonsense  enough." 

"It  is  time  that  Charles  should  learn  to  read  and  write; 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  361 

later  in  life,  he  would  find  difficulties  sufficient  to  disgust 
him." 

Here,  you  talk  for  ten  minutes  without  interruption,  and 
you  close  with  an  appealing  "Well  ?"  armed  with  an  intonation 
which  suggests  an  interrogation  point  of  the  most  crooked 
kind. 

"Well !"  she  replies,  "it  is  not  yet  time  for  Charles  to  go 
to  school." 

You  have  gained  nothing  at  all. 

"But,  my  dear,  Monsieur  Deschars  certainly  sent  his  little 
Julius  to  school  at  six  years.  Go  and  examine  the  schools 
and  you  will  find  lots  of  little  boys  of  six  there." 

You  talk  for  ten  minutes  more  without  the  slightest  inter- 
ruption, and  when  you  ejaculate  another  "Well?" 

"Little  Julius  Deschars  came  home  with  chilblains,"  she 
says. 

"But  Charles  has  chilblains  here." 

"Never,"  she  replies,  proudly. 

In  a  quarter  o.f  an  hour,  the  main  question  is  blocked  by  a 
side  discussion  on  this  point :  "Has  Charles  had  chilblains  or 
not?" 

You  bandy  contradictory  allegations ;  you  no  longer  believe 
each  other;  you  must  appeal  to  a  third  party. 

Axiom. — Every  household  has  its  Court  of  Appeals  which 
takes  no  notice  of  the  merits,  but  judges  matters  of  form  only, 

The  nurse  is  sent  for.  She  comes,  and  decides  in  favor  of 
your  wife.  It  is  fully  decided  that  Charles  has  never  had 
chilblains. 

Caroline  glances  triumphantly  at  you  and  utters  these 
monstrous  words:  "There,  you  see  Charles  can't  possibly  go 
to  school !" 

You  go  out  breathless  with  rage.  There  is  no  earthly  means 
of  convincing  your  wife  that  there  is  not  the  slightest  reason 
for  your  son's  not  going  to  school  in  the  fact  that  he  has 
never  had  chilblains. 


362  PETTY  TROUBLES 

That  evening,  after  dinner,  you  hear  this  atrocious  creature 
finishing  a  long  conversation  with  a  woman  with  these  words : 
"He  wanted  to  send  Charles  to  school,  hut  I  made  him  see  that 
he  would  have  to  wait." 

Some  husbands,  at  a  conjuncture  like  this,  burst  out  before 
everybody;  their  wives  take  their  revenge  six  weeks  after, 
but  the  husbands  gain  this  by  it,  that  Charles  is  sent  to  school 
the  very  day  he  gets  into  any  mischief.  Other  husbands  break 
the  crockery,  and  keep  their  rage  to  themselves.  The  know- 
ing ones  say  nothing  and  bide  their  time. 

A  woman's  logic  is  exhibited  in  this  way  upon  the  slightest 
occasion,  about  a  promenade  or  the  proper  place  to  put  a  sofa. 
This  logic  is  extremely  simple,  inasmuch  as  it  consists  in  never 
expressing  but  one  idea,  that  which  contains  the  expression  of 
their  will.  Like  everything  pertaining  to  female  nature,  this 
system  may  be  resolved  into  two  algebraic  terms — Yes:  No. 
There  are  also  certain  little  movements  of  the  head  which 
mean  so  much  that  they  may  take  the  place  of  either. 

THE  JESUITISM  OF  WOMEN. 

The  most  Jesuitical  Jesuit  of  Jesuits  is  yet  a  thousand  times 
less  Jesuitical  than  the  least  Jesuitical  woman, — so  you  may 
judge  what  Jesuits  women  are !  They  are  so  Jesuitical  that 
the  cunningest  Jesuit  himself  could  never  guess  to  what  extent 
of  Jesuitism  a  woman  may  go,  for  there  are  a  thousand  ways 
of  being  Jesuitical,  and  a  woman  is  such  an  adroit  Jesuit,  that 
she  has  the  knack  of  being  a  Jesuit  without  having  a  Jesuitical 
look.  You  can  rarely,  though  you  can  sometimes,  prove  to  a 
Jesuit  that  he  is  one :  but  try  once  to  demonstrate  to  a  woman 
that  she  acts  or  talks  like  a  Jesuit.  She  would  be  cut  to 
pieces  rather  than  confess  Herself  one. 

She,  a  Jesuit !  the  very  soul  of  honor  and  loyalty !  She,  a 
Jesuit !  What  do  you  mean  by  "Jesuit"  ?  She  does  not  know 
what  a  Jesuit  is:  what  is  a  Jesuit?  She  has  never  seen  or 
heard  of  a  Jesuit !  It's  you  who  are  a  Jesuit !  And  she  proves 
with  Jesuitical  demonstration  that  you  are  a  subtle  Jesuit. 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  363 

Here  is  one  of  the  thousand  examples  of  a  woman's  Jesuit- 
ism, and  this  example  constitutes  the  most  terrible  of  the  petty 
troubles  of  married  life;  it  is  perhaps  the  most  .serious. 

Induced  by  a  desire  the  thousandth  time  expressed  by  Caro- 
line, who  complained  that  she  had  to  go  on  foot  or  that  she 
could  not  buy  a  new  hat,  a  new  parasol,  a  new  dress,  or  any 
other  article  of  dress,  often  enough : 

That  she  could  not  dress  her  baby  as  a  sailor,  as  a  lancer,  as 
an  artilleryman  of  the  National  Guard,  as  a  Highlander  with 
naked  legs  and  a  cap  and  feather,  in  a  jacket,  in  a  roundabout, 
in  a  velvet  sack,  in  boots,  in  trousers :  that  she  could  not  buy 
him  toys  enough,  nor  mechanical  moving  mice  and  Noah's 
Arks  enough : 

That  she  could  not  return  Madame  Deschars  or  Madame  de 
Fischtaminel  their  civilities,  a  ball,  a  party,  a  dinner:  nor 
take  a  private  box  at  the  theatre,  thus  avoiding  the  necessity 
of  sitting  cheek  by  jowl  with  men  who  are  either  too  polite 
or  not  enough  so,  and  of  calling  a  cab  at  the  close  of  the  per- 
formance ;  apropos  of  which  she  thus  discourses : 

"You  think  it  cheaper,  but  you  are  mistaken :  men  are  all 
the  same !  I  soil  my  shoes,  I  spoil  my  hat,  my  shawl  gets  wet 
and  my  silk  stockings  get  muddy.  You  economize  twenty 
francs  by  not  having  a  carriage, — no  not  twenty,  sixteen,  for 
you  pay  four  for  the  cab — and  you  lose  fifty  francs'  worth  of 
dress,  besides  being  wounded  in  your  pride  on  seeing  a  faded 
bonnet  on  my  head :  you  don't  see  why  it's  faded,  but  it's  those 
horrid  cabs.  I  say  nothing  of  the  annoyance  of  being  tumbled 
and  jostled  by  a  crowd  of  men,  for  it  seems  you  don't  care  for 
that !" 

That  she  could  not  buy  a  piano  instead  of  hiring  one,  nor 
keep  up  with  the  fashions;  (there  are  some  women,  she  says, 
who  have  all  the  new  styles,  but  just  think  what  they  give  in 
return !  She  would  rather  throw  herself  out  of  the  window 
than  imitate  them !  She  loves  you  too  much.  Here  she 
sheds  tears.  She  does  not  understand  such  women).  That 
she  could  not  ride  in  the  Champs  Elysees,  stretched  out  in  her 
own  carriage,  like  Madame  de  Fischtaminel.  (There's  a 


364  PETTY  TROUBLES 

woman  who  understands  life :  and  who  has  a  well-taught,  well- 
disciplined  and  very  contented  husband:  his  wife  would  go 
through  fire  and  water  for  him  !) 

Finally,  beaten  in  a  thousand  conjugal  scenes,  beaten  by  the 
most  logical  arguments  (the  late  logicians  Tripier  and  Merlin 
were  nothing  to  her,  as  the  preceding  chapter  has  sufficiently 
shown  you),  beaten  by  the  most  tender  caresses,  by  tears,  by 
your  own  words  turned  against  you,  for  under  circumstances 
like  these,  a  woman  lies  in  wait  in  her  house  like  a  jaguar  in 
the  jungle;  she  does  not  appear  to  listen  to  you,  or  to  heed 
you ;  but  if  a  single  word,  a  wish,  a  gesture,  escapes  you,  she 
arms  herself  with  it,  she  whets  it  to  an  edge,  she  brings  it  to 
bear  upon  you  a  hundred  times  over;  beaten  by  such  graceful 
tricks  as  "If  you  will  do  so  and  so,  I  will  do  this  and  that ;" 
for  women,  in  these  cases,  become  greater  bargainers  than  the 
Jews  and  Greeks  (those,  I  mean,  who  sell  perfumes  and  little 
girls),  than  the  Arabs  (those,  I  mean,  who  sell  little  boys 
and  horses),  greater  higglers  than  the  Swiss  and  the  Genevese, 
than  bankers,  and,  what  is  worse  than  all,  than  the  Genoese ! 

Finally,  beaten  in  a  manner  which  may  be  called  beaten, 
you  determine  to  risk  a  certain  portion  of  your  capital  in  a 
business  undertaking.  One  evening,  at  twilight,  seated  side 
by  side,  or  some  morning  on  awakening,  while  Caroline,  half 
asleep,  a  pink  bud  in  her  white  linen,  her  face  smiling  in  her 
lace,  is  beside  you,  you  say  to  her,  "You  want  this,  you  say,  or 
you  want  that :  you  told  me  this  or  you  told  me  that :"  in  short, 
you  hastily  enumerate  the  numberless  fancies  by  which  she  has 
over  and  over  again  broken  your  heart,  for  there  is  nothing 
more  dreadful  than  to  be  unable  to  satisfy  the  desires  of  a 
beloved  wife,  and  you  close  with  these  words : 

"Well,  my  dear,  an  opportunity  offers  of  quintupling  a  hun- 
dred thousand  francs,  and  I  have  decided  to  make  the  ven- 
ture/' 

She  is  wide  awake  now,  she  sits  up  in  bed,  and  gives  you  a 
kiss,  ah !  this  time,  a  real  good  one ! 

"You  are  a  dear  boy !"  is  her  first  word. 

We  will  not  mention  her  last,  for  it  is  an  enormous  and 
unpronounceable  onomatope. 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  365 

"Now,"  she  says,  "tell  me  all  about  it." 

You  try  to  explain  the  nature  of  the  affair.  But  in  the 
first  place,  women  do  not  understand  business,  and  in  the  next 
they  do  not  wish  to  seem  to  understand  it.  Your  dear,  de- 
lighted Caroline  says  you  were  wrong  to  take  her  desires,  her 
groans,  her  sighs  for  new  dresses,  in  earnest.  She  is  afraid 
of  your  venture,  she  is  frightened  at  the  directors,  the  shares, 
and  above  all,  at  the  running  expenses,  and  doesn't  exactly  see 
where  the  dividend  comes  in. 

Axiom. — Women  are  always  afraid  of  things  that  have  to  be 
divided. 

In  short,  Caroline  suspects  a  trap :  but  she  is  delighted  to 
know  that  she  can  have  her  carriage,  her  box,  the  numerous 
styles  of  dress  for  her  baby,  and  the  rest.  While  dissuading 
you  from  engaging  in  the  speculation,  she  is  visibly  glad  to 
see  you  investing  your  money  in  it. 

FIRST  PERIOD. — "Oh,  I  am  the  happiest  woman  on  the  face 
of  the  earth !  Adolphe  has  just  gone  into  the  most  splendid 
venture.  I  am  going  to  have  a  carriage,  oh !  ever  so  much 
handsomer  than  Madame  de  Fischtaminel's ;  hers  is  out  of 
fashion.  Mine  will  have  curtains  with  fringes.  My  horses 
shall  be  mouse-colored,  hers  are  bay, — they  are  as  common  as 
coppers." 

"What  is  this  venture,  madame?" 

"Oh,  it's  splendid — the  stock  is  going  up;  he  explained  it 
to  me  before  he  went  into  it,  for  Adolphe  never  does  anything 
without  consulting  me." 

"You  are  very  fortunate." 

"Marriage  would  be  intolerable  without  entire  confidence, 
and  Adolphe  tells  me  everything." 

Thus,  Adolphe,  you  are  the  best  husband  in  Paris,  you  are 
adorable,  you  are  a  man  of  genius,  you  are  all  heart,  an  angel. 
You  are  petted  to  an  uncomfortable  degree.  You  bless  the 
marriage  tie.  Caroline  extols  men,  calling  them  "kings  of 


366  PETTY  TROUBLES 

creation/'  women  were  made  for  them,  man  is  naturally  gen- 
erous, and  matrimony  is  a  delightful  institution. 

For  three,  sometimes  six,  months,  Caroline  executes  the 
most  brilliant  concertos  and  solos  upon  this  delicious  theme : 
"I  shall  be  rich !  I  shall  have  a  thousand  a  month  for  my 
dress :  I  am  going  to  keep  my  carriage !" 

If  your  son  is  alluded  to,  it  is  merely  to  ask  about  the  school 
to  which  he  shall  be  sent. 

SECOND  PERIOD. — "Well,  dear,  how  is  your  business  getting 
on? — What  has  become  of  it? — How  about  that  speculation 
which  was  to  give  me  a  carriage,  and  other  things? — It  is 
high  time  that  affair  should  come  to  something. — It  is  a 
good  while  cooking. — When  will  it  begin  to  pay?  Is  the 
stock  going  up? — There's  nobody  like  you  for  hitting  upon 
ventures  that  never  amount  to  anything." 

One  day  she  says  to  you,  "Is  there  really  an  affair  ?" 

If  you  mention  it  eight  or  ten  months  after,  she  returns : 

"Ah!     Then  there  really  is  an  affair!" 

This  woman,  whom  you  thought  dull,  begins  to  show  signs 
of  extraordinary  wit,  when  her  object  is  to  make  fun  of  you. 
During  this  period,  Caroline  maintains  a  compromising  silence 
when  people  speak  of  you,  or  else  she  speaks  disparagingly  of 
men  in  general :  "Men  are  not  what  they  seem :  to  find  them 
out  you  must  try  them."  "Marriage  has  its  good  and  its  bad 
points."  "Men  never  can  finish  anything." 

THIRD  PERIOD. — Catastrophe. — This  magnificent  affair 
which  was  to  yield  five  hundred  per  cent,  in  which  the  most 
cautious,  the  best  informed  persons  took  part — peers,  deputies, 
bankers — all  of  them  Knights  of  the  Legion  of  Honor — this 
venture  has  been  obliged  to  liquidate!  The  most  sanguine 
expect  to  get  ten  per  cent  of  their  capital  back.  You  are 
discouraged. 

Caroline  has  often  said  to  you,  "Adolphe,  what  is  the  mat- 
ter ?  Adolphe,  there  is  something  wrong." 

Finally,  you  acquaint  Caroline  with  the  fatal  result:  she 
begins  by  consoling  you. 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  367 

"One  hundred  thousand  francs  lost!  We  shall  have  to 
practice  the  strictest  economy,"  you  imprudently  add. 

The  Jesuitism  of  woman  bursts  out  at  this  word  "economy." 
It  sets  fire  to  the  magazine. 

"Ah!  that's  what  comes  of  speculating!  How  is  it  that 
you,  ordinarily  so  prudent,  could  go  and  risk  a  hundred  thou- 
sand francs !  You  know  I  was  against  it  from  the  beginning ! 

BUT  YOU  WOULD  NOT  LISTEN  TO  ME  !" 

Upon  this,  the  discussion  grows  bitter. 

You  are  good  for  nothing — you  have  no  business  capacity; 
women  alone  take  clear  views  of  things.  You  have  risked 
your  children's  bread,  though  she  tried  to  dissuade  you  from 
it. — You  cannot  say  it  was  for  her.  Thank  God,  she  has 
nothing  to  reproach  herself  with.  A  hundred  times  a  month 
she  alludes  to  your  disaster :  "If  my  husband  had  not  thrown 
away  his  money  in  such  and  such  a  scheme,  I  could  have  had 
this  and  that."  "The  next  time  you  want  to  go  into  an 
affair,  perhaps  you'll  consult  me !"  Adolphe  is  accused  and 
convicted  of  having  foolishly  lost  one  hundred  thousand 
francs,  without  an  object  in  view,  like  a  dolt,  and  without  hav- 
ing consulted  his  wife.  Caroline  advises  her  friends  not  to 
marry.  She  complains  of  the  incapacity  of  men  who  squander 
the  fortunes  of  their  wives.  Caroline  is  vindictive,  she  makes 
herself  generally  disagreeable.  Pity  Adolphe!  Lament,  ye 
husbands !  0  bachelors,  rejoice  and  be  exceeding  glad ! 

MEMORIES  AND  REGRETS. 

After  several  years  of  wedded  life,  your  love  has  become 
so  placid,  that  Caroline  sometimes  tries,  in  the  evening,  to 
wake  you  up  by  various  little  coquettish  phrases.  There  is 
about  you  a  certain  calmness  and  tranquillity  which  always 
exasperates  a  lawful  wife.  Women  see  in  it  a  sort  of  in- 
solence: they  look  upon  the  indifference  of  happiness  as  the 
fatuity  of  confidence,  for  of  course  they  never  imagine  their 
inestimable  qualities  can  be  regarded  with  disdain :  their  vir- 
tue is  therefore  enraged  at  being  so  cordially  trusted  in. 


368  PETTY  TROUBLES 

In  this  situation,  which  is  what  every  couple  must  come  to, 
and  which  both  husband  and  wife  must  expect,  no  nusoand 
dares  confess  that  the  constant  repetition  of  the  same  dish  has 
become  wearisome ;  but  his  appetite  certainly  requires  the  con- 
diments of  dress,  the  ideas  excited  by  absence,  the  stimulus 
of  an  imaginary  rivalry. 

In  short,  at  this  period,  yo«i  walk  very  comfortably  with 
your  wife  on  your  arm,  without  pressing  hers  against  your 
heart  with  the  solicitous,  and  watchful  cohesion  of  a  miser 
grasping  his  treasure.  You  gaze  carelessly  round  upon  the 
curiosities  in  the  btreet,  leading  your  wife  in  a  loose  and  dis- 
tracted way,  as  if  you  were  towing  a  Norman  scow.  Come  now, 
be  frank !  If,  on  passing  your  wife,  an  admirer  were  gently  to 
press  her,  accidentally  or  purposely,  would  you  have  the  slight- 
est desire  to  discover  his  motives?  Besides,  you  say,  no 
woman  would  seek  to  bring  about  a  quarrel  for  such  a  trifle. 
Confess  this,  too,  that  the  expression  "such  a  trifle"  is  exceed- 
ingly flattering  to  both  of  you. 

You  are  in  this  position,  but  you  have  as  yet  proceeded  no 
farther.  Still,  you  have  a  horrible  thought  which  you  bury 
in  the  depths  of  your  heart  and  conscience :  Caroline  has  not 
come  up  to  your  expectations.  Caroline  has  imperfections, 
which,  during  the  high  tides  of  the  honey-moon,  were  con- 
cealed under  the  water,  but  which  the  ebb  of  the  gall-moon 
has  laid  bare.  You  have  several  times  run  against  these 
breakers,  your  hopes  have  been  often  shipwrecked  upon  them, 
more  than  once  your  desires — those  of  a  young  marrying  man 
—  (where,  alas,  is  that  time!)  have  seen  their  richly  laden 
gondolas  go  to  pieces  there:  the  flower  of  the  cargo  went  to 
the  bottom,  the  ballast  of  marriage  remained.  In  short,  to 
make  use  of  a  colloquial  expression,  as  you  talk  over  your 
marriage  with  yourself  you  say,  as  you  look  at  Caroline, 
"She  is  not  what  I  took  her  to  be!" 

Some  evening,  at  a  ball,  in  society,  at  a  friend's  house,  no 
matter  where,  you  meet  a  sublime  young  woman,  beautiful, 
intellectual  and  kind :  with  a  soul,  oh  !  a  soul  of  celestial  purify, 
and  of  miraculous  beauty !  Yes,  there  is  that  unchangeable 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  369 

oval  cut  of  face,  those  features  which  time  will  never  impair, 
that  graceful  and  thoughtful  brow.  The  unknown  is  rich, 
well-educated,  of  noble  birth :  she  will  always  be  what  she 
should  be,  she  knows  when  to  shine,  when  to  remain  in  the 
background :  she  appears  in  all  her  glory  and  power,  the 
being  you  have  dreamed  of,  your  wife  that  should  have  been, 
she  whom  you  feel  you  could  love  forever.  She  would  always 
have  flattered  your  little  vanities,  she  would  understand  and 
admirably  serve  your  interests.  She  is  tender  and  gay,  too, 
this  young  lady  who  reawakens  all  your  better  feelings,  who 
rekindles  your  slumbering  desires. 

You  look  at  Caroline  with  gloomy  despair,  and  here  are  the 
phantom-like  thoughts  which  tap,  with  the  wings  of  a  bat,  the 
beak  of  a  vulture,  the  body  of  a  death's-head  moth,  upon  the 
walls  of  the  palace,  in  which,  enkindled  by  desire,  glows  your 
brain  like  a  lamp  of  gold : 

FIRST  STANZA.  Ah,  dear  me,  why  did  I  get  married  ?  Fatal  idea! 
I  allowed  myself  to  be  caught  by  a  small  amount  of  cash.  And  is 
it  really  over  ?  Cannot  I  have  another  wife?  Ah,  the  Turks  manage 
things  better  !  It  is  plain  enough  that  the  author  of  the  Koran 
lived  in  the  desert  ! 

SECOND  STANZA.  My  wife  is  sick,  she  sometimes  coughs  in  the 
morning.  If  it  is  the  design  of  Providence  to  remove  her  from  the 
world,  let  it  be  speedily  done  for  her  sake  and  for  mine.  The  angel 
has  lived  long  enough. 

THIRD  STANZA.  I  am  a  monster  !  Caroline  is  the  mother  of  my 
children ! 

You  go  home,  that  night,  in  a  carriage  with  your  wife :  you 
think  her  perfectly  horrible:  she  speaks  to  you,  but  you 
answer  in  monosyllables.  She  says,  "What  is  the  matter?" 
and  you  answer,  "Nothing."  She  coughs,  you  advise  her  to 
see  the  doctor  in  the  morning.  Medicine  has  its  hazards. 

FOURTH  STANZA.  I  have  been  told  that  a  physician,  poorly  paid  by 
the  heirs  of  his  deceased  patient,  imprudently  exclaimed,  "What! 
they  cut  down  my  bill,  when  they  owe  me  forty  thousand  a  year." 
/  would  not  haggle  over  fees  ! 


870  PETTY  TROUBLES 

"Caroline,"  you  say  to  her  aloud,  "you  must  take  care  of 
yourself ;  cross  your  shawl,  be  prudent,  my  darling  angel." 

Your  wife  is  delighted  with  you  since  you 'seem  to  take  such 
an  interest  in  her.  While  she  is  preparing  to  retire,  you  lie 
stretched  out  upon  the  sofa.  You  contemplate  the  divine 
apparition  which  opens  to  you  the  ivory  portals  of  your  castles 
in  the  air.  Delicious  ecstasy  !  Tis  the  sublime  young  woman 
that  you  see  before  you !  She  is  as  white  as  the  sail  of  the 
treasure-laden  galleon  as  it  enters  the  harbor  of  Cadiz.  Your 
wife,  happy  in  your  admiration,  now  understands  your  former 
taciturnity.  You  still  see,  with  closed  eyes,  the  sublime 
young  woman ;  she  is  the  burden  of  your  thoughts,  and  you  say 
aloud : 

FTFTH  AND  LAST  STANZA.  Divine  !  Adorable  !  Can  there  be 
another  woman  like  her  ?  Rose  of  Night  !  Column  of  ivory  !  Celes- 
tial maiden  !  Morning  and  Evening  Star  ! 

Every  one  says  his  prayers ;  you  have  said  four. 

The  next  morning,  your  wife  is  delightful,  she  coughs  no 
more,  she  has  no  need  of  a  doctor;  if  she  dies,  it  will  be  of 
good  health;  you  launched  four  maledictions  upon  her,  in  the 
name  of  your  sublime  young  woman,  and  four  times  she 
blessed  you  for  it.  Caroline  does  not  know  that  in  the  depths 
of  your  heart  there  wriggles  a  little  red  fish  like  a  crocodile, 
concealed  beneath  conjugal  love  like  the  other  would  be  hid 
in  a  basin. 

A  few  days  before,  your  wife  had  spoken  of  you  in  rather 
equivocal  terms  to  Madame  de  Fischtaminel :  your  fair  friend 
comes  to  visit  her,  and  Caroline  compromises  you  by  a  long 
and  humid  gaze;  she  praises  you  and  says  she  never  was 
happier. 

^ou  rush  out  in  a  rage,  }rou  are  beside  yourself,  and  are 
glad  to  meet  a  friend,  that  you  may  work  off  your  bile. 

"Don't  you  ever  marry,  George ;  it's  better  to  see  your  heirs 
carrying  away  your  furniture  while  the  death-rattle  is  in  your 
throat,  better  to  go  through  an  agony  of  two  hours  without 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  371 

a  drop  to  cool  your  tongue,  better  to  be  assassinated  by  in- 
quiries about  your  will  by  a  nurse  like  the  one  in  Henry 
Monnier's  terrible  picture  of  a  'Bachelor's  Last  Moments!' 
Never  marry  under  any  pretext  I" 

Fortunately  you  see  the  sublime  young  woman  no  more. 
You  are  saved  from  the  tortures  to  which  a  criminal  passion 
was  leading  you.  You  fall  back  again  into  the  purgatory  of 
your  married  bliss ;  but  you  begin  to  be  attentive  to  Madame 
de  Fischtaminel,  with  whom  you  were  dreadfully  in  love, 
without  being  able  to  get  near  her,  while  you  were  a  bachelor. 

OBSERVATIONS. 

When  you  have  arrived  at  this  point  in  the  latitude  or 
longitude  of  the  matrimonial  ocean,  there  appears  a  slight 
chronic,  intermittent  affection,  not  unlike  the  toothache.  Here, 
I  see,  you  stop  me  to  ask,  "How  are  we  to  find  the  longitude 
in  this  sea  ?  When  can  a  husband  be  sure  he  has  attained  this 
nautical  point  ?  And  can  the  danger  be  avoided  ?" 

You  may  arrive  at  this  point,  look  you,  as  easily  after  ten 
months  as  ten  years  of  wedlock;  it  depends  upon  the  speed 
of  the  vessel,  its  style  of  rigging,  upon  the  trade  winds,  the 
force  of  the  currents,  and  especially  upon  the  composition  of 
the  crew.  You  have  this  advantage  over  the  mariner,  that  he 
has  but  one  method  of  calculating  his  position,  while  husbands 
have  at  least  a  thousand  of  reckoning  theirs. 

EXAMPLE  :  Caroline,  your  late  darling,  your  late  treasure, 
who  is  now  merely  your  humdrum  wife,  leans  much  too 
heavily  upon  your  arm  while  walking  on  the  boulevard,  or  else 
says  it  is  much  more  elegant  not  to  take  your  arm  at  all ; 

Or  else  she  notices  men,  older  or  younger  as  the  case  may 
be,  dressed  with  more  or  less  taste,  whereas  she  formerly  saw 
no  one  whatever,  though  the  sidewalk  was  black  with  hats  and 
traveled  by  more  boots  than  slippers ; 

Or,  when  you  come  home,  she  says,  "It's  no  one  but  my 
husband :"  instead  of  saying  "Ah !  'tis  Adolphe !"  as  she  used 


372  PETTY  TROUBLES 

to  say  with  a  gesture,  a  look,  an  accent  which  caused  her 
admirers  to  think,  "Well,  here's  a  happy  woman  at  last!" 
This  last  exclamation  of  a  woman  is  suitable  for  two  eras, — 
first,  while  she  is  sincere;  second,  while  she  is  hypocritical, 
with  her  "Ah !  'tis  Adolphe  !"  When  she  exclaims,  "It's  only 
my  husband,"  she  no  longer  deigns  to  play  a  part. 

Or,  if  you  come  home  somewhat  late — at  eleven,  or  at  mid- 
night— you  find  her — snoring !  Odious  symptom  ! 

Or  else  she  puts  on  her  stockings  in  your  presence.  Among 
English  couples,  this  never  happens  but  once  in  a  lady's  mar- 
ried life ;  the  next  day  she  leaves  for  the  Continent  with  some 
captain  or  other,  and  no  longer  thinks  of  putting  on  her 
stockings  at  all. 

Or  else — but  let  us  stop  here. 

This  is  intended  for  the  use  of  mariners  and  husbands  who 
are  weatherwise. 

THE  MATRIMONIAL   GADFLY. 

Very  well!  In  this  degree  of  longitude,  not  far  from  a 
tropical  sign  upon  the  name  of  which  good  taste  forbids  us  to 
make  a  jest  at  once  coarse  and  unworthy  of  this  thoughtful 
work,  a  horrible  little  annoyance  appears,  ingeniously  called 
the  Matrimonial  Gadfly,  the  most  provoking  of  all  gnats,  mos- 
quitoes, blood-suckers,  fleas  and  scorpions,  for  no  net  was  ever 
yet  invented  that  could  keep  it  off.  The  gadfly  does  not 
immediately  sting  you ;  it  begins  by  buzzing  in  your  ears,  and 
you  do  not  at  first  know  what  it  is 

Thus,  apropos  of  nothing,  in  the  most  natural  way  in  the 
world,  Caroline  says:  "Madame  Deschars  had  a  lovely  dress 
on,  yesterday." 

"She  is  a  woman  of  taste,"  returns  Adolphe,  though  he  is 
far  from  thinking  so. 

"Her  husband  gave  it  to  her,"  resumes  Caroline,  with  a 
shrug  of  her  shoulders. 

"Ah!" 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  373 

"Yes,  a  four  hundred  franc  dress!  It's  the  very  finest 
quality  of  velvet." 

"Four  hundred  francs!"  cries  Adolphe,  striking  the  atti- 
tude of  the  apostle  Thomas. 

"But  then  there  are  two  extra  breadths  and  enough  for  a 
high  waist !" 

"Monsieur  Deschars  does  things  on  a  grand  scale/'  replies 
Adolphe.  taking  refuge  in  a  jest. 

"All  men  don't  pay  such  attentions  to  their  wives,"  says 
Caroline,  curtly. 

"What  attentions?" 

"Why,  Adolphe,  thinking  of  extra  breadths  and  of  a  waist 
to  make  the  dress  good  again,  when  it  is  no  longer  fit  to  be 
worn  low  in  the  neck." 

Adolphe  says  to  himself,  "Caroline  wants  a  dress." 

Poor  man  I 

Some  time  afterward,  Monsieur  Deschars  furnishes  his 
wife's  chamber  anew.  Then  he  has  his  wife's  diamonds  set 
in  the  prevailing  fashion.  Monsieur  Deschars  never  goes 
out  without  his  wife,  and  never  allows  his  wife  to  go  out  with- 
out offering  her  his  arm. 

If  you  bring  Caroline  anything,  no  matter  what,  it  is  never 
equal  to  what  Monsieur  Deschars  has  done.  If  you  allow 
yourself  the  slightest  gesture  or  expression  a  little  livelier 
than  usual,  if  you  speak  a  little  bit  loud,  you  hear  the  hissing 
and  viper-like  remark: 

"You  wouldn't  see  Monsieur  Deschars  behaving  like  this! 
Why  don't  you  take  Monsieur  Deschars  for  a  model  ?" 

In  short,  this  idiotic  Monsieur  Deschars  is  forever  looming 
up  in  your  household  on  every  conceivable  occasion. 

The  expression — "Do  you  suppose  Monsieur  Deschars  ever 
allows  himself" — is  a  sword  of  Damocles,  or  what  is  worse, 
a  Damocles  pin :  and  your  self-love  is  the  cushion  into  which 
your  wife  is  constantly  sticking  it,  pulling  it  out,  and  sticking 
it  in  again,  under  a  variety  of  unforeseen  pretexts,  at  the 
same  time  employing  the  most  winning  terms  of  endearment, 
and  with  the  most  agreeable  little  ways. 


374  PETTY  TROUBLES 

Adolphe,  stung  till  he  finds  himself  tattooed,  finally  does 
what  is  done  by  police  authorities,  by  officers  of  government, 
by  military  tacticians.  He  casts  his  eye  on  Madame  de 
Fischtaminel,  who  is  still  young,  elegant  and  a  little  bit 
coquettish,  and  places  her  (this  had  been  the  rascal's  intention 
for  some  time)  like  a  blister  upon  Caroline's  extremely  tick- 
lish skin. 

0  you,  who  often  exclaim,  "I  don't  know  what  is  the  matter 
with  my  wife !"  you  will  kiss  this  page  of  transcendent  philos- 
ophy, for  you  will  find  in  it  the  key  to  every  woman's  char- 
acter! But  as  to  knowing  women  as  well  as  I  know  them,  it 
will  not  be  knowing  them  much ;  they  don't  know  themselves ! 
In  fact,  as  you  well  know,  God  was  Himself  mistaken  in  the 
only  one  that  He  attempted  to  manage  and  to  whose  manu- 
facture He  had  given  personal  attention. 

Caroline  is  very  willing  to  sting  Adolphe  at  all  hours,  but 
this  privilege  of  letting  a  wasp  off  now  and  then  upon  one's 
consort  (the  legal  term),  is  exclusively  reserved  to  the  wife. 
Adolphe  is  a  monster  if  he  starts  off  a  single  fly  at  Caroline. 
On  her  part,  it  is  a  delicious  joke,  a  new  jest  to  enliven  their 
married  life,  and  one  dictated  by  the  purest  intentions ;  while 
on  Adolphe's  part,  it  is  a  piece  of  cruelty  worthy  a  Carib,  a 
disregard  of  his  wife's  heart,  and  a  deliberate  plan  to  give 
her  pain.  But  that  is  nothing. 

"So  you  are  really  in  love  with  Madame  de  Fischtaminel  ?" 
Caroline  asks.  "What  is  there  so  seductive  in  the  mind  or  the 
manners  of  the  spider?" 

"Why,  Caroline—" 

"Oh,  don't  undertake  to  deny  your  eccentric  taste,"  she  re- 
turns, checking  a  negation  on  Adolphe's  lips.  "I  have  long 
seen  that  you  prefer  that  Maypole  [Madame  de  Fischtaminel 
is  thin]  to  me.  Very  well!  go  on;  you  will  soon  see  the 
difference." 

Do  you  understand?  You  cannot  suspect  Caroline  of  the 
slightest  inclination  for  Monsieur  Deschars,  a  low,  fat,  red- 
faced  man,  formerly  a  notary,  while  you.  are  in  love  with  Ma- 
dame de  Fischtaminel!  Then  Caroline,  the  Caroline  whose 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  375 

simplicity  caused  you  such  agon}-,  Caroline  who  has  become 
familiar  with  society,  Caroline  becomes  acute  and  witty:  you 
have  two  gadflies  instead  of  one. 

The  next  day  she  asks  you,  with  a  charming  air  of  inter- 
est, "How  are  you  coming  on  with  Madame  de  Fischtaminel  ?" 

When  you  go  out,  she  says :  "Go  and  drink  something  calm- 
ing, my  dear."  For,  in  their  anger  with  a  rival,  all  women, 
duchesses  even,  will  use  invectives,  and  even  venture  into  the 
domain  of  Billingsgate;  they  make  an  offensive  weapon  of 
anything  and  everything. 

To  try  to  convince  Caroline  that  she  is  mistaken  and  that 
you  are  indifferent  to  Madame  de  Fischtaminel,,  would  cost 
you  dear.  This  is  a  blunder  that  no  sensible  man  commits; 
he  would  lose  his  power  and  spike  his  own  guns. 

Oh !  Adolphe,  you  have  arrived  unfortunately  at  that  sea- 
son so  ingeniously  called  the  Indian  Summer  of  Marriage. 

You  must  now — pleasing  task  ! — win  your  wife,  your  Caro- 
line, over  again,  seize  her  by  the  waist  again,  and  become  the 
best  of  husbands  by  trying  to  guess  at  things  to  please  her,  so 
as  to  act  according  to  her  whims  instead  of  according  to  your 
will.  This  is  the  whole  question  henceforth. 

HARD  LABOR. 

Let  us  admit  this,  which,  in  our  opinion,  is  a  truism  made 
as  good  as  new : 

Axiom. — 'Most  men  have  some  of  the  wit  required  by  a 
difficult  position,  when  they  have  not  the  whole  of  it. 

As  for  those  husbands  who  are  not  up  to  their  situation,  it 
is  impossible  to  consider  their  case  here :  without  any  struggle 
whatever  they  simply  enter  the  numerous  class  of  the  Re- 
signed. 

Adolphe  says  to  himself :  "Women  are  children :  offer  them 
a  lump  of  sugar,  and  you  Mall  easily  get  them  to  dance  all 
the  dances  that  greedy  children  dance ;  but  you  must  always 


376  PETTY  TROUBLES 

have  a  sugar  plum  in  hand,  hold  it  up  pretty  high,  and — take 
care  that  their  fancy  for  sweetmeats  does  not  leave  them. 
Parisian  women — and  Caroline  is  one — are  very  vain,  and  as 
for  their  voracity — don't  speak  of  it.  Now  you  cannot  govern 
men  and  make  friends  of  them,  unless  you  work  upon  them 
through  their  vices,  and  flatter  their  passions:  my  wife  is 
mine !" 

Some  days  afterward,  during  which  Adolphe  has  been 
unusually  attentive  to  his  wife,  he  discourses  to  her  as  follows : 

"Caroline,  dear,  suppose  we  have  a  bit  of  fun :  you'll  put  on 
your  new  gown — the  one  like  Madame  Deschars ! — and  we'll 
go  to  see  a  farce  at  the  Varieties." 

This  kind  of  proposition  always  puts  a  wife  in  the  best 
possible  humor.  So  away  you  go!  Adolphe  has  ordered  a 
dainty  little  dinner  for  two,  at  Borrel's  Rocher  de  Cancale. 

"As  we  are  going  to  the  Varieties,  suppose  we  dine  at  the 
tavern,"  exclaims  Adolphe,  on  the  boulevard,  with  the  air 
of  a  man  suddenly  struck  by  a  generous  idea. 

Caroline,  delighted  with  this  appearance  of  good  fortune, 
enters  a  little  parlor  where  she  finds  the  cloth  laid  and  that 
neat  little  service  set,  which  Borrel  places  at  the  disposal  of 
those  who  are  rich  enough  to  pay  for  the  quarters  intended  for 
the  great  ones  of  the  earth,  who  make  themselves  small  for 
an  hour. 

Women  eat  little  at  a  formal  dinner:  their  concealed  har- 
ness hampers  them,  they  are  laced  tightly,  and  they  are  in 
the  presence  of  women  whose  eyes  and  whose  tongues  are 
equally  to  be  dreaded.  They  prefer  fancy  eating  to  good 
eating,  then:  they  will  suck  a  lobster's  claw,  swallow  a  quail 
or  two,  punish  a  woodcock's  wing,  beginning  with  a  bit  of 
fresh  fish,  flavored  by  one  of  those  sauces  which  are  the  glory 
of  French  cooking.  France  is  everywhere  sovereign  in  matters 
of  taste:  in  painting,  fashions,  and  the  like.  Gravy  is  the  tri- 
umph of  taste,  in  cooker}r.  So  that  grisettes,  shopkeepers'  wives 
and  duchesses  are  delighted  with  a  tasty  little  dinner  washed 
down  with  the  choicest  wines,  of  which,  however,  they  drink 
but  little,  the  whole  concluded  by  fruit  such  as  can  only  be  had 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  377 

a'f  Paris ;  and  especially  delighted  when  they  go  to  the  theatre 
to  digest  the  little  dinner,  and  listen,  in  a  comfortable  box,  to 
the  nonsense  uttered  upon  the  stage,  and  to  that  whispered  in 
their  ears  to  explain  it.  But  then  the  bill  of  the  restaurant 
is  one  hundred  francs,  the  box  costs  thirty,  the  carriage,  dress, 
gloves,  bouquet,  as  much  more.  This  gallantry  amounts  to 
the  sum  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  francs,  which  is  hard  upon 
four  thousand  francs  a  month,  if  you  go  often  to  the  Comic, 
the  Italian,  or  the  Grand,  Opera.  Four  thousand  francs  a 
month  is  the  interest  of  a  capital  of  two  millions.  But  then  the 
honor  of  being  a  husband  is  fully  worth  the  price !  - 

Caroline  tells  her  friends  things  which  she  thinks  exceed- 
ingly flattering,  but  which  cause  a  sagacious  husband  to  make 
a  wry  face. 

"Adolphe  has  been  delightful  for  some  time  past.  I  don't 
know  what  I  have  done  to  deserve  so  much  attention,  but  he 
overpowers  me.  He  gives  value  to  everything  by  those  deli- 
cate ways  which  have  such  an  effect  upon  us  women.  After 
taking  me  Monday  to  the  Rocker  de  Cancale  to  dine,  he  de- 
clared that  Very  was  as  good  a  cook  as  Borrel,  and  he  gave 
me  the  little  party  of  pleasure  that  I  told  you  of  all  over, 
again,  presenting  me  at  dessert  with  a  ticket  for  the  opera. 
They  sang  'William  Tell,'  which,  you  know,  is  my  craze/' 

"You  are  lucky  indeed,"  returns  Madame  Deschars  with 
evident  jealousy. 

"Still,  a  wife  who  discharges  all  her  duties,  deserves  such 
luck,  it  seems  to  me." 

When  this  terrible  sentiment  fall?  from  the  lips  of  a  married 
woman,  it  is  clear  that  she  does  her  duty,  after  the  manner  of 
school-boys,  for  the  reward  she  expects.  At  school,  a  prize  is 
the  object:  in  marriage,  a  shawl  or  a  piece  of  jewelry.  No 
more  love,  then ! 

"As  for  me," — Madame  Deschars  is  piqued — "I  am  reason- 
able. Deschars  committed  such  follies  once,  hut  I  put  a  stop 
to  it.  You  see,  my  dear,  we  have  two  children,  and  I  confess 
that  one  or  two  hundred  francs  are  quite  a  consideration  for 
me,  as  the  mother  of  a  family." 


378  PETTY  TROUBLES 

"Dear  me,  madame,"  says  Madame  de  Fischtaminel,  "it's 
better  that  our  husbands  should  have  cosy  little  times  with 
us  than  with — " 

"Deschars! — "  suddenly  puts  in  Madame  Deschars,  as  she 
gets  up  and  says  good-bye. 

The  individual  known  as  Deschars  (a  man  nullified  by  his 
wife)  does  not  hear  the  end  of  the  sentence,  by  which  he 
might  have  learned  that  a  man  may  spend  his  money  with 
other  women. 

Caroline,  flattered  in  every  one  of  her  vanities,  abandons 
herself  to  the  pleasures  of  pride  and  high  living,  two  delicious 
capital  sins.  Adolphe  is  gaming  ground  again,  but  alas ! 
(this  reflection  is  worth  a  whole  sermon  in  Lent)  sin,  like  all 
pleasure,  contains  a  spur.  Vice  is  like  an  Autocrat,  and  let 
a  single  harsh  fold  in  a  rose-leaf  irritate  it,  it  forgets  a  thou- 
sand charming  bygone  flatteries.  With  Vice  a  man's  course 
must  always  be  crescendo ! — and  forever. 

Axiom. — Vice,  Courtiers,  Misfortune  and  Love,  care  only 
for  the  PRESENT. 

At  the  end  of  a  period  of  time  difficult  to  determine,  Caro- 
line looks  in  the  glass,  at  dessert,  and  notices  two  or  three 
pimples  blooming  upon  her  cheeks,  and  upon  the  sides,  lately 
so  pure,  of  her  nose.  She  is  out  of  humor  at  the  theatre,  and 
you  do  not  know  why,  you,  so  proudly  striking  an  attitude  in 
your  cravat,  you,  displaying  your  figure  to  the  best  advan- 
tage, as  a  complacent  man  should. 

A  few  days  after,  the  dressmaker  arrives.  She  tries  on  a 
gown,  she  exerts  all  her  strength,  but  cannot  make  the  hooks 
and  eyes  meet.  The  waiting  maid  is  called.  After  a  two 
horse-power  pull,  a  regular  thirteenth  labor  of  Hercules,  a 
hiatus  of  two  inches  manifests  itself.  The  inexorable  dress- 
maker cannot  conceal  from  Caroline  the  fact  that  her  form  is 
altered.  Caroline,  the  aerial  Caroline,  threatens  to  become 
like  Madame  Deschars.  In  vulgar  language,  she  is  getting 
stout.  The  maid  leaves  her  in  a  state  of  consternation. 

"What !  am  I  to  have,  like  that  fat  Madame  Deschars,  cas- 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  379 

cades  of  flesh  a  la  Eubens?  That  Adolphe  is  an  awful 
scoundrel.  Oh,  I  see,  he  wants  to  make  me  an  old  mother 
Gigogne,  and  destroy  my  powers  of  fascination  I" 

Thenceforward  Caroline  is  willing  to  go  to  the  opera,  she 
'  accepts  two  seats  in  a  box,  but  she  considers  it  very  distingue 
to  eat  sparingly,  and  declines  the  dainty  dinners  of  her  hus- 
band. 

"My  dear,"  she  says,  "a  well-bred  woman  should  not  go 
often  to  these  places;  you  may  go  once  for  a  joke;  but  as 
for  making  a  habitual  thing  of  it — fie,  for  shame !" 

Borrel  and  Very,  those  masters  of  the  art,  lose  a  thousand 
francs  a  day  by  not  having  a  private  entrance  for  carriages. 
If  a  coach  could  glide  beneath  an  archway,  and  go  out  by  an- 
other door,  after  leaving  its  fair  occupants  on  the  threshold 
of  an  elegant  staircase,  how  many  of  them  would  bring  the 
landlord  fine,  rich,  solid  old  fellows  for  customers ! 

Axiom. — Vanity  is  the  death  of  good  living. 

Caroline  very  soon  gets  tired  of  the  theatre,  and  the  devil 
alone  can  tell  the  cause  of  her  disgust.  Pray  excuse  Adolphe ! 
A  husband  is  not  the  devil. 

Fully  one-third  of  the  women  of  Paris  are  bored  by  the 
theatre.  Many  of  them  are  tired  to  death  of  music,  and  go 
to  the  opera  for  the  singers  merely,  or  rather  to  notice  the 
difference  between  them  in  point  of  execution.  What  sup- 
ports the  theatre  is  this :  the  women  are  a  spectacle  before  and 
after  the  play.  Vanity  alone  will  pay  the  exorbitant  price  of 
forty  francs  for  three  hours  of  questionable  pleasure,  in  a  bad 
atmosphere  and  at  great  expense,  without  counting  the  colds 
caught  in  going  out.  But  to  exhibit  themselves,  to  see  and  be 
seen,  to  be  the  observed  of  five  hundred  observers!  What  a 
glorious  mouthful !  as  Rabelais  would  say. 

To  obtain  this  precious  harvest,  garnered  by  self-love,  a 
woman  must  be  looked  at.  Now  a  woman  with  her  husband  is 
very  little  looked  at.  Caroline  is  chagrined  to  see  the  audience 
entirely  taken  up  with  women  who  are  not  with  their  husbands, 
with  eccentric  women,  in  short.  Now,  as  the  very  slight 


380  PETTY  TROUBLES 

return  she  gets  from  her  efforts,  her  dresses,  and  her  attitudes, 
does  not  compensate,  in  her  eyes,  for  her  fatigue,  her  display 
and  her  weariness,  it  is  very  soon  the  same  with  the  theatre  as 
it  was  with  the  good  cheer;  high  living  made  her  fat,  the 
theatre  is  making  her  yellow. 

Here  Adolphe — or  any  other  man  in  Adolphe's  place — re- 
sembles a  certain  Languedocian  peasant  who  suffered  agonies 
from  an  agacin,  or,  in  French,  corn, — but  the  term  in  Lan- 
guedoc  is  so  much  prettier,  don't  you  think  so  ?  This  peasant 
drove  his  foot  at  each  step  two  inches  into  the  sharpest  stones 
along  the  roadside,  saying  to  the  agacin,  "Devil  take  you! 
Make  me  suffer  again,  will  you  ?" 

"Upon  my  word,"  says  Adolphe,  profoundly  disappointed, 
the  day  when  he  receives  from  his  wife  a  refusal,  "I  should 
like  very  much  to  know  what  would  please  you !" 

Caroline  looks  loftily  down  upon  her  husband,  and  says, 
after  a  pause  worthy  of  an  actress,  "I  am  neither  a  Strasburg 
goose  nor  a  giraffe !" 

1  'Tis  true,  I  might  lay  out  four  thousand  francs  a  month 
to  better  effect,"  returns  Adolphe. 

"What  do  you  mean?" 

"With  the  quarter  of  that  sum,  presented  to  estimable 
burglars,  youthful  jail-birds  and  honorable  criminals,  I  might 
become  somebody,  a  Man  in  the  Blue  Cloak  on  a  small  scale; 
and  then  a  young  woman  is  proud  of  her  husband,"  Adolphe 
replies. 

This  answer  is  the  grave  of  love,  and  Caroline  takes  it  in 
very  bad  part.  An  explanation  follows.  This  must  be 
classed  among  the  thousand  pleasantries  of  the  following  chap- 
ter, the  title  of  which  ought  to  make  lovers  smile  as  well  as 
husbands.  If  there  are  yellow  rays  of  light,  why  should  there 
not  be  whole  days  of  this  extremely  matrimonial  color  ? 

FORCED  SMILES. 

On  your  arrival  in  this  latitude,  you  enjoy  numerous  little 
scenes,  which,  in  the  grand  opera  of  marriage,  represent  the 
intermezzos,  and  of  which  the  following  is  a  type : 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  381 

You  are  one  evening  alone  after  dinner,  and  you  have  been 
so  often  alone  already  that  you  feel  a  desire  to  say  sharp  little 
things  to  each  other,  like  this,  for  instance: 

"Take  care,  Caroline,"  says  Adolphe,  who  has  not  for- 
gotten his  many  vain  efforts  to  please  her.  "I  think  your  nose 
has  the  impertinence  to  redden  at  home  quite  as  well  as  at  the 
restaurant." 

"This  is  not  one  of  your  amiable  days !" 

General  Eule. — No  man  has  ever  yet  discovered  the  way  to 
give  friendly  advice  to  any  woma/n,  not  even  to  his  own 
wife. 

"Perhaps  it's  because  you  are  laced  too  tight.  Women  make 
themselves  sick  that  way." 

The  moment  a  man  utters  these  words  to  a  woman,  no  mat- 
ter whom,  that  woman, — who  knows  that  stays  will  bend, — 
seizes  her  corset  by  the  lower  end,  and  bends  it  out,  saying, 
with  Caroline: 

"Look,  you  can  get  your  hand  in!     I  never  lace  tight." 

"Then  it  must  be  your  stomach." 

"What  has  the  stomach  got  to  do  with  the  nose?" 

"The  stomach  is  a  centre  which  communicates  with  all  the 
organs." 

"So  the  nose  is  an  organ,  is  it?" 

"Yes." 

"Your  organ  is  doing  you  a  poor  service  at  this  moment." 
She  raises  her  eyes  and  shrugs  her  shoulders.  "Come, 
Adolphe,  what  have  I  done?" 

"Nothing,  I'm  only  joking,  and  I  am  unfortunate  enough 
not  to  please  you,"  returns  Adolphe,  smiling. 

"My  misfortune  is  being  your  wife!  Oh,  why  am  I  not 
somebody  else's !" 

"That's  what  I  say !" 

"If  I  were,  and  if  I  had  the  innocence  to  say  to  you,  like  a 
coquette  who  wishes  to  know  how  far  she  has  got  with  a  man, 
'the  redness  of  my  nose  really  gives  me  anxiety/  you  would 


382  PETTY  TROUBLES 

look  at'  me  in  the  glass  witH  all  the  affectations  of  an  ape,  and 
would  reply,  '0  madame,  you  do  yourself  injustice;  in  the 
first  place,  nobody  sees  it:  besides,  it  harmonizes  with  your 
complexion ;  then  again  we  are  all  so  after  dinner !'  and  from 
this  you  would  go  on  to  flatter  me.  Do  I  ever  tell  you  that 
you  are  growing  fat,  that  you  are  getting  the  color  of  a  stone- 
cutter, and  that  I  prefer  thin  and  pale  men  ?" 

They  say  in  London,  "Don't  touch  the  axe !"  In  France 
we  ought  to  say,  "Don't  touch  a  woman's  nose." 

"And  all  this  about  a  little  extra  natural  vermilion!"  ex- 
claims Adolphe.  "Complain  about  it  to  Providence,  whose 
office  it  is  to  put  a  little  more  color  in  one  place  than  another, 
not  to  me,  who  loves  you,  who  desires  you  to  be  perfect,  and 
who  merely  says  to  you,  take  care !" 

"You  love  me  too  much,  then,  for  you've  been  trying,  for 
some  time  past,  to  find  disagreeable  things  to  say  to  me.  You 
want  to  run  me  down  under  the  pretext  of  making  me  perfect 
— people  said  I  was  perfect,  five  years  ago." 

"I  think  you  are  better  than  perfect,  you  are  stunning ! 

"With  too  much  vermilion?" 

Adolphe,  who  sees  the  atmosphere  of  the  north  pole  upon 
his  wife's  face,  sits  down  upon  a  chair  by  her  side.  Caroline, 
unable  decently  to  go  away,  gives  her  gown  a  sort  of  flip  on  one 
side,  as  if  to  produce  a  separation.  This  motion  is  performed 
by  some  women  with  a  provoking  impertinence :  but  it  has  two 
significations ;  it  is,  as  whist  players  would  say,  either  a  signal 
for  trumps  or  a  renounce.  At  this  time,  Caroline  renounces. 

"What  is  the  matter?"  says  Adolphe. 

"Will  you  have  a  glass  of  sugar  and  water?"  asks  Caroline, 
busying  herself  about  your  health,  and  assuming  the  part  of  a 
servant. 

"What  for?" 

"You  are  not  amiable  while  digesting,  you  must  be  in  pain. 
Perhaps  you  would  like  a  drop  of  brandy  in  your  sugar  and 
water?  The  doctor  spoke  of  it  as  an  excellent  remedy." 

"How  anxious  you  are  about  my  stomach !" 

"It's  a  centre,  it  communicates  with  the  other  organs,  it 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  383 

act  upon  your  heart,  and  through  that  perhaps  upon  your 
tongue." 

Adolphe  gets  up  and  walks  about  without  saying  a  word, 
but  he  reflects  upon  the  acuteness  which  his  wife  is  acquiring : 
he  sees  her  daily  gaining  in  strength  and  in  acrimony :  she  is 
getting  to  display  an  art  in  vexation  and  a  military  capacity 
for  disputation  which  reminds  him  of  Charles  XII.  and  the 
Russians.  Caroline,  during  this  time,  is  busy  with  an  alarm- 
ing piece  of  mimicry :  she  looks  as  if  she  were  going  to  faint. 

"Are  you  sick?"  asks  Adolphe,  attacked  in  his  generosity, 
the  place  where  women  always  have  us. 

"It  makes  me  sick  at  my  stomach,  after  dinner,  to  see  a 
man  going  back  and  forth  so,  like  the  pendulum  of  a  clock. 
But  it's  just  like  you :  you  are  always  in  a  fuss  about  some- 
thing. You  are  a  queer  set :  all  men  are  more  or  less  cracked." 

Adolphe  sits  down  by  the  fire  opposite  to  his  wife,  and  re- 
mains there  pensive :  marriage  appears  to  him  like  an  immense 
dreary  plain,  with  its  crop  of  nettles  and  mullen  stalks. 

"What,  are  you  pouting?"  asks  Caroline,  after  a  quarter 
of  an  hour's  observation  of  her  husband's  countenance. 

"No,  I  am  meditating,"  replies  Adolphe. 

"Oh,  what  an  infernal  temper  you've  got!"  she  returns, 
with  a  shrug  of  the  shoulders.  "Is  it  for  what  I  said  about 
your  stomach,  your  shape  and  your  digestion?  Don't  you 
see  that  I  was  only  paying  you  back  for  your  vermilion? 
You'll  make  me  think  that  men  are  as  vain  as  women. 
[Adolphe  remains  frigid.]  It  is  really  quite  kind  in  you 
to  take  our  qualities.  [Profound  silence.]  I  made  a  joke 
and  you  got  angry  [she  looks  at  Adolphe] ,  for  you  are  angry. 
I  am  not  like  you:  I  cannot  bear  the  idea  of  having  given 
you  pain !  Nevertheless,  it's  an  idea  that  a  man  never  would 
have  had,  that  of  attributing  your  impertinence  to  something 
wrong  in  your  digestion.  It's  not  my  Dolph,  it's  his  stomach 
that  was  bold  enough  to  speak.  I  did  not  know  you  were  a 
ventriloquist,  that's  all." 

Caroline  looks  at  Adolphe  and  smiles:  Adolphe  is  as  stiff 
as  if  he  were  glued. 


384  PETTY  TROUBLES 

"No,  he  won't  laugh !  And,  in  your  jargon,  you  call  this 
having  character.  Oh,  how  much  better  we  are  I" 

She  goes  and  sits  down  in  Adolphe's  lap,  and  Adolphe 
cannot  help  smiling.  This  smile,  extracted  as  if  hy  a  steam 
engine,  Caroline  has  been  on  the  watch  for,  in  order  to  make  a 
weapon  of  it. 

"Come,  old  fellow,  confess  that  you  are  wrong,"  she  says. 
"Why  pout  ?  Dear  me,  I  like  you  just  as  you  are :  in  my  eyes 
you  are  as  slender  as  when  I  married  you,  and  slenderer  per- 
haps." 

"Caroline,  when  people  get  to  deceive  themselves  in  these 
little  matters,  where  one  makes  concessions  and  the  other  does 
not  get  angry,  do  you  know  what  it  means?" 

"What  does  it  mean?"  asks  Caroline,  alarmed  at  Adolphe's 
dramatic  attitude. 

"That  they  love  each  other  less." 

"Oh !  you  monster,  I  understand  you :  you  were  angry  so  as 
to  make  me  believe  you  loved  me !" 

Alas !  let  us  confess  it,  Adolphe  tells  the  truth  in  the  only 
way  he  can — by  a  laugh. 

"Why  give  me  pain?"  she  says.  "If  I  am  wrong  in  any- 
thing, isn't  it  better  to  tell  me  of  it  kindly,  than  brutally  to 
say  [here  she  raises  her  voice],  'Your  nose  is  getting  red!' 
No,  that  is  not  right !  To  please  you,  I  will  use  an  expres- 
sion of  the  fair  Fischtaminel,  'It's  not  the  act  of  a  gentle- 
man !'  * 

Adolphe  laughs  and  pays  the  expenses  of  the  reconciliation  J 
but  instead  of  discovering  therein  what  will  please  Caroline 
and  what  will  attach  her  to  him,  he  finds  out  what  attaches 
him  to  her. 


Is  it  advantageous  for  a  man  not  to  know  what  will  please 
his  wife  after  their  marriage?  Some  women  (this  still  occurs 
in  the  country)  are  innocent  enough  to  tell  promptly  what  they 
want  and  what  they  like.  But  in  Paris,  nearly  every  woman 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  385 

feels  a  kind  of  enjoyment  in  seeing  a  man  wistfully  obedient 
to  her  heart,  her  desires,  her  caprices — three  expressions  for 
the  same  thing ! — and  anxiously  going  round  and  round,  half 
crazy  and  desperate,  like  a  dog  that  has  lost  his  master. 

They  call  this  being  loved,  poor  things !  And  a  good  many 
of  them  say  to  themselves,  as  did  Caroline,  "How  will  he 
manage  ?" 

Adolphe  has  come  to  this.  In  this  situation  of  things,  the 
worthy  and  excellent  Deschars,  that  model  of  the  citizen  hus- 
band, invites  the  couple  known  as  Adolphe  and  Caroline  to 
help  him  and  his  wife  inaugurate  a  delightful  country 
house.  It  is  an  opportunity  that  the  Deschars  have  seized  upon, 
the  folly  of  a  man  of  letters,  a  charming  villa  upon  which 
he  lavished  one  hundred  thousand  francs  and  which  has  been 
sold  at  auction  for  eleven  thousand.  Caroline  has  a  new  dress 
to  air,  or  a  hat  with  a  weeping  willow  plume — things  which 
a  tilbury  will  set  off  to  a  charm.  Little  Charles  is  left  with  his 
grandmother.  The  servants  have  a  holiday.  The  youthful 
pair  start  beneath  the  smile  of  a  blue  sky,  flecked  with  milk- 
white  clouds  merely  to  heighten  the  effect.  They  breathe  the 
pure  air,  through  which  trots  the  heavy  Norman  horse,  ani- 
mated by  the  influence  of  spring.  They  soon  reach  Marnes, 
beyond  Ville  d'Avray,  where  the  Deschars  are  spreading  them- 
selves in  a  villa  copied  from  one  at  Florence,  and  surrounded 
by  Swiss  meadows,  though  without  all  the  objectionable  feat- 
ures of  the  Alps. 

"Dear  me  !  what  a  delightful  thing  a  country  house  like  this 
must  be!"  exclaims  Caroline,  as  she  walks  in  the  admirable 
wood  that  skirts  Marnes  and  Ville  d'Avray.  "It  makes  your 
eyes  as  happy  as  if  they  had  a  heart  in  them." 

Caroline,  having  no  one  to  take  but  Adolphe,  takes  Adolphe, 
who  becomes  her  Adolphe  again.  And  then  you  should  see 
her  run  about  like  a  fawn,  and  act  once  more  the  sweet,  pretty, 
innocent,  adorable  school-girl  that  she  was !  Her  braids  come 
down !  She  takes  off  her  bonnet,  and  holds  it  by  the  strings ! 
She  is  young,  pink  and  white  again.  Her  eyes  smile,  her 
mouth  is  a  pomegranate  endowed  with  sensibility,  with  a  sensi- 
bility which  seems  quite  fresh. 


386  PETTY  TROUBLES 

"So  a  country  house  would  please  you  very  much,  would 
it,  darling?"  says  Adolphe,  clasping  Caroline  round  the  waist, 
and  noticing  that  she  leans  upon  him  as  if  to  show  the  flexi- 
bility of  her  form. 

"What,  will  you  be  such  a  love  as  to  buy  me  one?  But 
remember,  no  extravagance!  Seize  an  opportunity  like  the 
Deschars." 

"To  please  you  and  to  find  out  what  is  likely  to  give  you 
pleasure,  such  is  the  constant  study  of  your  own  Dolph." 

They  are  alone,  at  liberty  to  call  each  other  their  little  names 
of  endearment,  and  run.  over  the  whole  list  of  their  secret 
caresses. 

"Does  he  really  want  to  please  his  little  girly  ?"  says  Caro- 
line, resting  her  head  on  the  shoulder  of  Adolphe,  who  kisses 
her  forehead,  saying  to  himself,  "Gad !  I've  got  her  now !" 

Axiom. — When  a  husband  and  a  wife  have  got  each  other, 
the  devil  only  knows  which  has  got  the  other. 

The  young  couple  are  captivating,  whereupon  the  stout 
Madame  Deschars  gives  utterance  to  a  remark  somewhat 
equivocal  for  her,  usually  so  stern,  prudish  and  devout. 

"Country  air  has  one  excellent  property :  it  makes  husbands 
very  amiable." 

M.  Deschars  points  out  an  opportunity  for  Adolphe  to  seize. 
A  house  is  to  be  sold  at  Ville  d'Avray,  for  a  song,  of  course. 
Now,  the  country  house  is  a  weakness  peculiar  to  the  inhabi- 
tant of  Paris.  This  weakness,  or  disease,  has  its  course  and  its 
cure.  Adolphe  is  a  husband,  but  not  a  doctor.  He  buys  the 
house  and  takes  possession  with  Caroline,  who  has  become  once 
more  his  Caroline,  his  Carola,  his  fawn,  his  treasure,  his  girly 
girl. 

The  following  alarming  symptoms  now  succeed  each  other 
with  frightful  rapidity:  a  cup  of  milk,  baptized,  costs  five 
sous;  when  it  is  anhydrous,  as  the  chemists  say,  ten  sous. 
Meat  costs  more  at  Sevres  than  at  Paris,  if  you  carefully 
examine  the  qualities.  Fruit  cannot  be  had  at  any  price  A 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  387 

fine  pear  costs  more  in  the  country  than  in  the  (anhydrous!) 
garden  that  blooms  in  Chevet's  window. 

Before  being  able  to  raise  fruit  for  oneself,  from  a  Swiss 
meadow  measuring  two  square  yards,  surrounded  by  a  few 
green  trees  which  look  as  if  they  were  borrowed  from  the  scenic 
illusions  of  a  theatre,  the  most  rural  authorities,  being  con- 
sulted on  the  point,  declare  that  you  must  spend  a  great  deal 
of  money,  and — wait  five  years!  Vegetables  dash  out  of  the 
husbandman's  garden  to  reappear  at  the  city  market.  Madame 
Deschars,  who  possesses  a  gate-keeper  that  is  at  the  same  time 
a  gardener,  confesses  that  the  vegetables  raised  on  her  land, 
beneath  her  glass  frames,  by  dint  of  compost  and  top-soil,  cost 
her  twice  as  much  as  those  she  used  to  buy  at  Paris,  of  a 
woman  who  had  rent  and  taxes  to  pay,  and  whose  husband  was 
an  elector.  Despite  the  efforts  and  pledges  of  the  gate-keeper- 
gardener,  early  peas  and  things  at  Paris  are  a  month  in 
advance  of  those  in  the  country. 

From  eight  in  the  evening  to  eleven  our  couple  don't  know 
what  to  do,  on  account  of  the  insipidity  of  the  neighbors,  their 
small  ideas,  and  the  questions  of  self-love  which  arise  out  of 
the  merest  trifles. 

Monsieur  Deschars  remarks,  with  that  profound  knowledge 
of  figures  which  distinguishes  the  ex-notary,  that  the  cost  of 
going  to  Paris  and  back,  added  to  the  interest  of  the  cost  of 
his  villa,  to  the  taxes,  wages  of  the  gate-keeper  and  his  wife, 
are  equal  to  a  rent  of  three  thousand  francs  a  year.  He  does 
not  see  how  he,  an  ex-notary,  allowed  himself  to  be  so  caught ! 
For  he  has  often  drawn  up  leases  of  chateaux  with  parks  and 
out-houses,  for  three  thousand  a  year. 

It  is  agreed  by  everybody  in  the  parlor  of  Madame  Deschars, 
that  a  country  house,  so  far  from  being  a  pleasure,  is  an 
unmitigated  nuisance. 

"I  don't  see  how  they  sell  a  cabbage  for  one  sou  at  market, 
which  has  to  be  watered  every  day  from  its  birth  to  the  time 
you  eat  it,"  says  Caroline. 

"The  way  to  get  along  in  the  country,"  replies  a  little  retired 
grocer,  "is  to  stay  there,  to  live  there,  to  become  country-folks, 
and  then  everything  changes." 


388  PETTY  TROUBLES 

On  going  home,  Caroline  says  to  her  poor  Adolphe,  "What 
an  idea  that  was  of  yours,  to  buy  a  country  house !  The  best 
way  to  do  about  the  country  is  to  go  there  on  visits  to  other 
people." 

Adolphe  remembers  an  English  proverb,  which  says,  "Don't 
have  a  newspaper  or  a  country  seat  of  your  own:  there  are 
plenty  of  idiots  who  will  have  them  for  you." 

"Bah  I"  returns  Adolphe,  who  was  enlightened  once  for  all 
upon  women's  logic  by  the  Matrimonial  Gadfly,  "you  are 
right :  but  then  you  know  the  baby  is  in  splendid  health,  here." 

Though  Adolphe  has  become  prudent,  this  reply  awakens 
Caroline's  susceptibilities.  A  mother  is  very  willing  to  think 
exclusively  of  her  child,  but  she  does  not  want  him  to  be  pre- 
ferred to  herself.  She  is  silent ;  the  next  day,  she  is  tired  to 
death  of  the  country.  Adolphe  being  absent  on  business,  she 
waits  for  him  from  five  o'clock  to  seven,  and  goes  alone  with 
little  Charles  to  the  coach  office.  She  talks  for  three-quarters 
of  an  hour  of  her  anxieties.  She  was  afraid  to  go  from  the 
house  to  the  office.  Is  it  proper  for  a  young  woman  to  be  left 
alone,  so?  She  cannot  support  such  an  existence. 

The  country  house  now  creates  a  very  peculiar  phase;  one 
which  deserves  a  chapter  to  itself. 

TROUBLE  WITHIN  TROUBLE. 
Axiom. — There  are  parentheses  in  worry. 

! 

EXAMPLE. — A  great  deal  of  evil  has  been  said  of  the  stitch 
in  the  side;  but  it  is  nothing  to  the  stitch  to  which  we  now 
refer,  which  the  pleasures  of  the  matrimonial  second  crop  are 
everlastingly  reviving,  like  the  hammer  of  a  note  in  the  piano. 
This  constitutes  an  irritant,  which  never  flourishes  except  at 
the  period  when  the  young  wife's  timidity  gives  place  to  that 
fatal  equality  of  rights  which  is  at  once  devastating  France 
and  the  conjugal  relation.  Every  season  has  its  peculiar 
vexation. 

Caroline,  after  a  week  spent  in  taking  note  of  her  husband's 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  389 

absences,  perceives  that  he  passes  seven  hours  a  day  away  from 
her.  At  last,  Adolphe,  who  comes  home  as  gay  as  an  actor 
who  has  been  applauded,  observes  a  slight  coating  of  hoar  frost 
upon  Caroline's  visage.  After  making  sure  that  the  coldness 
of  her  manner  has  been  observed,  Caroline  puts  on  a  counter- 
feit air  of  interest, — the  well-known  expression  of  which 
possesses  the  gift  of  making  a  man  inwardly  swear, — and  says : 
"You  must  have  had  a  good  deal  of  business  to-day,  dear  ?" 

"Oh,  lots  I" 

"Did  you  take  many  cabs?" 

"I  took  seven  francs'  worth." 

"Did  you  find  everybody  in?" 

"Yes,  those  with  whom  I  had  appointments." 

"When  did  you  make  appointments  with  them?  The  ink 
in  your  inkstand  is  dried  up ;  it's  like  glue ;  I  wanted  to  write, 
and  spent  a  whole  hour  in  moistening  it,  and  even  then  only 
produced  a  thick  mud  fit  to  mark  bundles  with  for  the  East 
Indies." 

Here  any  and  every  husband  looks  suspiciously  at  his  better 
half. 

"It  is  probable  that  I  wrote  to  them  at  Paris — " 

"What  business  was  it,  Adolphe  ?" 

"Why,  I  thought  you  knew.  Shall  I  run  over  the  list? 
First,  there's  Chaumontel's  affair — 

"I  thought  Monsieur  Chaumontel  was  in  Switzerland — " 

"Yes,  but  he  has  representatives,  a  lawyer — " 

"Didn't  you  do  anything  else  but  business  ?"  asks  Caroline, 
interrupting  Adolphe. 

Here  she  gives  him  a  direct,  piercing  look,  by  which  she 
plunges  into  her  husband's  eyes  when  he  least  expects  it:  a 
sword  in  a  heart. 

"What  could  I  have  done  ?  Made  a  little  counterfeit  money, 
run  into  debt,  or  embroidered  a  sampler?" 

"Oh,  dear,  I  don't  know.  And  I  can't  even  guess.  I  am  too 
dull,  you've  told  me  so  a  hundred  times." 

"There  you  go,  and  take  an  expression  of  endearment  in 
bad  part.  How  like  a  woman  that  is!" 


390  PETTY  TROUBLES 

"Have  you  concluded  anything?"  she  asks,  pretending  to 
take  an  interest  in  business. 

"No,  nothing.5' 

"How  many  persons  have  you  seen?" 

"Eleven,  without  counting  those  who  were  walking  in  the 
streets." 

"How  you  answer  me!" 

"Yes,  and  how  you  question  me !  As  if  you'd  been  follow- 
ing the  trade  of  an  examining  judge  for  the  last  ten  years !" 

"Come,  tell  me  all  you've  done  to-day,  it  will  amuse  me. 
You  ought  to  try  to  please  me  while  you  are  here !  I'm  dull 
enough  when  you  leave  me  alone  all  day  long." 

"You  want  me  to  amuse  you  by  telling  you  about  business  ?" 

"Formerly,  you  told  me  everything — 

This  friendly  little  reproach  disguises  the  certitude  that 
Caroline  wishes  to  enjoy  respecting  the  serious  matters  which 
Adolphe  wishes  to  conceal.  Adolphe  then  undertakes  to  nar- 
rate how  he  has  spent  the  day.  Caroline  affects  a  sort  of  dis- 
traction sufficiently  well  played  to  induce  the  belief  that  she 
is  not  listening. 

"But  you  said  just  now,"  she  exclaims,  at  the  moment  when 
Adolphe  is  getting  into  a  snarl,  "that  you  had  paid  seven 
francs  for  cabs,  and  you  now  talk  of  a  hack !  You  took  it  by 
the  hour,  I  suppose  ?  Did  you  do  your  business  in  a  hack  ?"  she 
asks,  railingly. 

"Why  should  hacks  be  interdicted?"  inquires  Adolphe, 
resuming  his  narrative. 

"Haven't  you  been  to  Madame  de  Fischtaminel's  ?"  she 
asks  in  the  middle  of  an  exceedingly  involved  explanation, 
insolently  taking  the  words  out  of  your  mouth. 

"Why  should  I  have  been  there  ?" 

"It  would  have  given  me  pleasure:  I  wanted  to  know 
whether  her  parlor  is  done." 

"It  is." 

"Ah!  then  you  have  been  there?" 

"No,  her  upholsterer  told  me." 

"Do  you  know  her  upholsterer?" 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  391 

"Yes." 

"Who  is  it?" 

"Braschon." 

"So  you  met  the  upholsterer?" 

"Yes." 

"You  said  you  only  went  in  carriages." 

"Yes,  my  dear,  but  to  get  carriages,  you  have  to  go  and — " 

"Pooh!  I  dare  say  Braschon  was  in  the  carriage,  or  the 
parlor  was — one  or  the  other  is  equally  probable." 

"You  won't  listen,"  exclaims  Adolphe,  who  thinks  that  a 
long  story  will  lull  Caroline's  suspicions. 

"I've  listened  too  much  already.  You've  been  lying  for  the 
last  hour,  worse  than  a  drummer." 

"Well,  I'll  say  nothing  more." 

"I  know  enough.  I  know  all  I  wanted  to  know.  You  say 
you've  seen  lawyers,  notaries,  bankers :  now  you  haven't  seen 
one  of  them !  Suppose  I  were  to  go  to-morrow  to  see  Madame 
de  Fischtaminel,  do  you  know  what  she  would  say  ?" 

Here,  Caroline  watches  Adolphe  closely :  but  Adolphe  affects 
a  delusive  calmness,  in  the  middle  of  which  Caroline  throws 
out  her  line  to  fish  up  a  clue. 

"Why,  she  would  say  that  she  had  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
you  !  How  wretched  we  poor  creatures  are  !  We  never  know 
what  you  are  doing :  here  we  are  stuck,  chained  at  home,  while 
you  are  off  at  your  business !  Fine  business,  truly !  If  I 
were  in  your  place,  I  would  invent  business  a  little  bit  better 
put  together  than  yours !  Ah,  you  set  us  a  worthy  example ! 
They  say  women  are  perverse.  Who  perverted  them  ?" 

Here  Adolphe  tries,  by  looking  fixedly  at  Caroline,  to  arrest 
the  torrent  of  words.  Caroline,  like  a  horse  who  has  just  been 
touched  up  by  the  lash,  starts  off  anew,  and  with  the  anima- 
tion of  one  of  Eossini's  codas: 

"Yes,  it's  a  very  neat  idea,  to  put  your  wife  out  in  the  coun- 
try so  that  you  may  spend  the  day  as  you  like  at  Paris.  So 
this  is  the  cause  of  your  passion  for  a  country  house !  Snipe 
that  I  was,  to  be  caught  in  the  trap  !  You  are  right,  sir,  a  villa 
is  very  convenient:  it  serves  two  objects.  But  the  wife  can 


392  PETTY  TROUBLES 

get  along  with  it  as  well  as  the  husband.  You  may  take  Paris 
and  its  hacks !  I'll  take  the  woods  and  their  shady  groves ! 
Yes,  Adolphe,  I  am  really  satisfied,  so  let's  say  no  more  about 
it." 

Adolphe  listens  to  sarcasm  for  an  hour  by  the  clock. 

"Have  you  done,  dear  ?"  he  asks,  profiting  by  an  instant  in 
which  she  tosses  her  head  after  a  pointed  interrogation. 

Then  Caroline  concludes  thus:  "I've  had  enough  of  the 
villa,  and  I'll  never  set  foot  in  it  again.  But  I  know  what 
will  happen:  you'll  keep  it,  probably,  and  leave  me  in  Paris. 
Well,  at  Paris,  I  can  at  least  amuse  myself,  while  you  go  with 
Madame  de  Fischtaminel  to  the  woods.  What  is  a  Villa 
Adolphini  where  you  get  nauseated  if  you  go  six  times  round 
the  lawn?  where  they've  planted  chair-legs  and  broom-sticks 
on  the  pretext  of  producing  shade  ?  It's  like  a  furnace :  the 
walls  are  six  inches  thick !  and  my  gentleman  is  absent  seven 
hours  a  day !  That's  what  a  country  seat  means  !" 

"Listen  to  me,  Caroline." 

"I  wouldn't  so  much  mind,  if  you  would  only  confess  what 
you  did  to-day.  You  don't  know  me  yet:  come,  tell  me,  I 
won't  scold  you.  I  pardon  you  beforehand  for  all  that  you've 
done." 

Adolphe,  who  knows  the  consequences  of  a  confession  too 
well  to  make  one  to  his  wife,  replies — "Well,  I'll  tell  you." 

"That's  a  good  fellow — I  shall  love  you  better." 

"I  was  three  hours — " 

"I  was  sure  of  it — at  Madame  de  Fischtaminel's !" 

"No,  at  our  notary's,  as  he  had  got  me  a  purchaser ;  but  we 
could  not  come  to  terms:  he  wanted  our  villa  furnished. 
When  I  left  there,  I  went  to  Braschon's,  to  see  how  much  we 
owed  him — " 

"You  made  up  this  romance  while  I  was  talking  to  you! 
Look  me  in  the  face !  I"ll  go  to  see  Braschon  to-morrow." 

Adolphe  cannot  restrain  a  nervous  shudder. 

"You  can't  help  laughing,  you  monster!" 

"I  laugh  at  your  obstinacy." 

"I'll  go  to-morrow  to  Madame  de  Fischtaminel's." 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  893 

"Oh,  go  wherever  you  like  I" 

"What  brutality  V  says  Caroline,  rising  and  going  awajf 
with  her  handkerchief  at  her  eyes. 

The  country  house,  so  ardently  longed  for  by  Caroline,  hag 
now  become  a  diabolical  invention  of  Adolphe's,  a  trap  into 
which  the  fawn  has  fallen. 

Since  Adolphe's  discovery  that  it  is  impossible  to  reason  with 
Caroline,  he  lets  her  say  whatever  she  pleases. 

Two  months  after,  he  sells  the  villa  which  cost  him  twenty- 
two  thousand  francs  for  seven  thousand!  But  he  gains  this 
by  the  adventure — he  finds  out  that  the  country  is  not  the 
thing  that  Caroline  wants. 

The  question  is  becoming  serious.  Nature,  with  its  woods, 
its  forests,  its  valleys,  the  Switzerland  of  the  environs  of  Paris, 
the  artificial  rivers,  have  amused  Caroline  for  barely  six 
months.  Adolphe  is  tempted  to  abdicate  and  take  Caroline's 
part  himself. 

A  HOUSEHOLD  EEVOLUTION. 

One  morning,  Adolphe  is  seized  by  the  triumphant  idea  of 
letting  Caroline  find  out  for  herself  what  she  wants.  He  gives 
up  to  her  the  control  of  the  house,  saying,  "Do  as  you  like." 
He  substitutes  the  constitutional  system  for  the  autocratic 
system,  a  responsible  ministry  for  an  absolute  conjugal  mon- 
archy. This  proof  of  confidence — the  object  of  much  secret 
envy — is,  to  women,  a  field-marshal's  baton.  Women  are  then, 
so  to  speak,  mistresses  at  home. 

After  this,  nothing,  not  even  the  memory  of  the  honey- 
moon, can  be  compared  to  Adolphe's  happiness  for  several 
days.  A  woman,  under  such  circumstances,  is  all  sugar.  She 
is  too  sweet :  she  would  invent  the  art  of  petting  and  cosseting 
and  of  coining  tender  little  names,  if  this  matrimonial  sugar- 
plummery  had  not  existed  ever  since  the  Terrestrial  Para- 
dise. At  the  end  of  the  month,  Adolphe's  condition  is  like  that 
of  children  towards  the  close  of  New  Year's  week.  So  Caroline 
is  beginning  to  say,  not  in  words,  but  in  acts,  in  manner,  in 


394  PETTY  TROUBLES 

mimetic  expressions:   "It's  difficult  to  tell  what  to  do  to 
please  a  man  I" 

Giving  up  the  helm  of  the  boat  to  one's  wife,  is  an  exceed- 
ingly ordinary  idea,  and  would  hardly  deserve  the  qualification 
of  "triumphant,"  which  we  have  given  it  at  the  commence- 
ment of  this  chapter,  if  it  were  not  accompanied  by  that  of 
taking  it  back  again.  Adolphe  was  seduced  by  a  wish,  which 
invariably  seizes  persons  who  are  the  prey  of  misfortune,  to 
know  how  far  an  evil  will  go ! — to  try  how  much  damage  fire 
will  do  when  left  to  itself,  the  individual  possessing,  or  think- 
ing he  possesses,  the  power  to  arrest  it.  This  curiosity  pur- 
sues us  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave.  Then,  after  his  plethora 
of  conjugal  felicity,  Adolphe,  who  is  treating  himself  to  a 
farce  in  his  own  house,  goes  through  the  following  phases : 

FIRST  EPOCH.  Things  go  on  altogether  too  well.  Caro- 
line buys  little  account  books  to  keep  a  list  of  her  expenses 
in,  she  buys  a  nice  little  piece  of  furniture  to  store  her  money 
in,  she  feeds  Adolphe  superbly,  she  is  happy  in  his  approbation, 
she  discovers  that  very  many  articles  are  needed  in  the  house. 
It  is  her  ambition  to  be  an  incomparable  housekeeper. 
Adolphe,  who  arrogates  to  himself  the  right  of  censorship, 
no  longer  finds  the  slightest  suggestion  to  make. 

When  he  dresses  himself,  everything  is  ready  to  his  hands. 
Not  even  in  Armide's  garden  was  more  ingenious  tenderness 
displayed  than  that  of  Caroline.  For  her  phcenix  husband, 
she  renews  the  wax  upon  his  razor  strap,  she  substitutes  new 
suspenders  for  old  ones.  None  of  his  button-holes  are  ever 
widowed.  His  linen  is  as  well  cared  for  as  that  of  the  con- 
fessor of  the  devotee,  all  whose  sins  are  venial.  His  stockings 
are  free. from  holes.  At  table,  his  tastes,  his  caprices  even, 
are  studied,  consulted :  he  is  getting  fat !  There  is  ink  in  his 
inkstand,  and  the  sponge  is  always  moist.  He  never  has 
occasion  to  say,  like  Louis  XIV.,  "I  came  near  having  to  wait !" 
In  short,  he  hears  himself  continually  called  a  love  of  a  man. 
He  is  obliged  to  reproach  Caroline  for  neglecting  herself :  she 
does  not  pay  sufficient  attention  to  her  own  needs.  Of  this 
gentle  reproach  Caroline  takes  note. 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  395 

SECOND  EPOCH.  The  scene  changes,  at  table.  Everything 
is  exceedingly  dear.  Vegetables  are  beyond  one's  means. 
Wood  sells  as  if  it  came  from  Campeche.  Fruit  ?  Oh !  as  to 
fruit,  princes,  bankers  and  great  lords  alone  can  eat  it. 
Dessert  is  a  cause  of  ruin.  Adolphe  often  hears  Caroline  say 
to  Madame  Deschars:  "How  do  you  manage?"  Conferences 
are  held  in  your  presence  upon  the  proper  way  to  keep  cooks 
under  the  thumb. 

A  cook  who  entered  your  service  without  effects,  without 
clothes,  and  without  talent,  has  come  to  get  her  wages  in  a 
blue  merino  gown,  set  off  by  an  embroidered  neckerchief,  her 
ears  embellished  with  a  pair  of  ear-rings  enriched  with  small 
pearls,  her  feet  clothed  in  comfortable  shoes  which  give  you 
a  glimpse  of  neat  cotton  stockings.  She  has  two  trunks  full 
of  property,  and  keeps  an  account  at  the  savings  bank. 

Upon  this  Caroline  complains  of  the  bad  morals  of  the 
lower  classes :  she  complains  of  the  education  and  the  knowl- 
edge of  figures  which  distinguish  domestics.  From  time  to 
time  she  utters  little  axioms  like  the  following:  There  are 
some  mistakes  you  must  make ! — It's  only  those  who  do  noth- 
ing who  do  everything  well. — She  has  the  anxieties  that  belong 
to  power. — Ah!  men  are  fortunate  in  not  having  a  house  to 
keep. — Women  bear  the  burden  of  the  innumerable  details. 

Caroline  incurs  debts.  But  as  she  does  not  wish  to  be  in 
the  wrong,  she  begins  by  taking  the  ground  that  experience 
is  an  excellent  thing,  and  that  you  can't  pay  too  dear  for  it. 
Adolphe  laughs  in  his  beard,  as  he  foresees  a  catastrophe  which 
will  restore  him  his  authority. 

THIRD  EPOCH.  Caroline,  absorbed  in  the  idea  that  you 
should  eat  merely  to  live,  treats  Adolphe  to  the  delights  of  a 
cenobitic  table. 

Adolphe's  stockings  are  either  full  of  holes  or  else  rough 
with  the  lichen  of  hasty  mendings,  for  the  day  is  not  long 
enough  for  all  that  his  wife  has  to  do.  He  wears  suspenders 
blackened  by  use.  His  linen  is  old  and  gapes  like  a  door- 
keeper, or  like  the  door  itself.  At  a  time  when  Adolphe  ii  in 


396  PETTY  TROUBLES 

haste  to  conclude  a  matter  of  business,  it  takes  him  an  hour 
to  dress :  he  has  to  pick  out  his  garments  one  by  one,  opening 
many  an  article  before  finding  one  fit  to  wear.  But  Caroline  is 
charmingly  dressed.  She  has  pretty  bonnets,  velvet  boots, 
mantillas,  She  has  made  up  her  mind,  she  conducts  her 
administration  in  virtue  of  this  principle :  Charity  well  under- 
stood begins  at  home.  When  Adolphe  complains  of  the  con- 
trast between  his  poverty-stricken  wardrobe  and  Caroline's 
splendor,  she  says,  "Why,  you  reproached  me  with  buying 
nothing  for  myself !" 

'  The  husband  and  the  wife  here  begin  to  bandy  jests  more  or 
less  acrimonious.  One  evening  Caroline  makes  herself  very 
agreeable,  in  order  to  insinuate  an  avowal  of  a  rather  large 
deficit,  just  as  the  ministry  begins  to  eulogize  the  tax-payers, 
and  boast  of  the  wealth  of  the  country,  when  it  is  preparing 
to  bring  forth  a  bill  for  an  additional  appropriation.  There 
is  this  further  similitude  that  both  are  done  in  the  chamber, 
whether  in  administration  or  in  housekeeping.  From  this 
springs  the  profound  truth  that  the  constitutional  system  is 
infinitely  dearer  than  the  monarchical  system.  For  a  nation 
as  for  a  household,  it  is  the  government  of  the  happy  balance, 
of  mediocrity,  of  chicanery. 

Adolphe,  enlightened  by  his  past  annoyances,  waits  for  an 
opportunity  to  explode,  and  Caroline  slumbers  in  a  delusive 
security. 

What  starts  the  quarrel?  Do  we  ever  know  what  electric 
current  precipitates  the  avalanche  or  decides  a  revolution? 
It  may  result  from  anything  or  nothing.  But  finally, 
Adolphe,  after  a  period  to  be  determined  in  each  case  by  the 
circumstances  of  the  couple,  utters  this  fatal  phrase,  in  the 
midst  of  a  discussion :  "Ah !  when  I  was  a  bachelor  I" 

Her  husband's  bachelor  life  is  to  a  woman  what  the  phrase, 
"My  dear  deceased,"  is  to  a  widow's  second  husband.  These 
two  stings  produce  wounds  which  are  never  completely  healed. 

Then  Adolphe  goes  on  like  General  Bonaparte  haranguing 
the  Five  Hundred:  "We  are  on  a  volcano! — The  house  no 
longer  has  a  head,  the  time  to  come  to  an  understanding  has 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  397 

arrived. — You  talk  of  happiness,  Caroline,  but  you  have  com- 
promised, imperiled  it  by  your  exactions,  you  have  violated 
the  civil  code :  you  have  mixed  yourself  up  in  the  discussions 
of  business,  and  you  have  invaded  the  conjugal  authority. — 
We  must  reform  our  internal  affairs." 

Caroline  does  not  shout,  like  the  Five  Hundred,  "Down 
with  the  dictator !"  For  people  never  shout  a  man  down, 
when  they  feel  that  they  can  put  him  down. 

"When  I  was  a  bachelor  I  had  none  but  new  stockings !  I 
had  a  clean  napkin  every  day  on  my  plate.  The  restaurateur 
only  fleeced  me  of  a  determinate  sum.  I  have  given  up  to  you 
my  beloved  liberty !  What  have  you  done  with  it  ?" 

"Am  1  then  so  very  wrong,  Adolphe,  to  have  sought  to  spare 
you  numerous  cares  ?"  says  Caroline,  taking  an  attitude  before 
her  husband.  "Take  the  key  of  the  money-box  back, — but 
do  you  know  what  will  happen?  I  am  ashamed,  but  you 
will  compel  me  to  go  on  to  the  stage  to  get  the  merest  neces- 
saries of  life.  Is  this  what  you  want  ?  Degrade  your  wife,  or 
bring  in  conflict  two  contrary,  hostile  interests — " 

Such,  for  three  quarters  of  the  French  people  is  an  exact 
definition  of  marriage. 

"Be  perfectly  easy,  dear,"  resumes  Caroline,  seating  herself 
in  her  chair  like  Marius  on  the  ruins  of  Carthage,  "I  will 
never  ask  you  for  anything.  I  am  not  a  beggar!  I  know 
what  I'll  do — you  don't  know  me  yet." 

"Well,  what  will  you  do?"  asks  Adolphe;  "it  seems  impos- 
sible to  joke  or  have  an  explanation  with  you  women.  What 
will  you  do?" 

"It  doesn't  concern  you  at  all." 

"Excuse  me,  madame,  quite  the  contrary.  Dignity, 
honor — " 

"Oh,  have  no  fear  of  that,  sir.  For  your  sake  more 
than  for  my  own,  I  will  keep  it  a  dead  secret." 

"Come,  Caroline,  my  own  Carola,  what  do  you  mean  to 
do?" 

Caroline  darts  a  viper-like  glance  at  Adolphe,  who  recoils 
and  proceeds  to  walk  up  and  down  the  room. 


398  PETTY  TROUBLES 

"There  now,  tell  me,  what  will  you  do?"  he  repeats  after 
much  too  prolonged  a  silence. 

"I  shall  go  to  work,  sir !" 

At  this  sublime  declaration,  Adolphe  executes  a  movement 
in  retreat,  detecting  a  bitter  exasperation,  and  feeling  the 
sharpness  of  a  north  wine!  which  had  never  before  blown  in 
the  matrimonial  chamber. 

THE  ART  OP  BEING  A  VICTIM. 

On  and  after  the  Eevolution,  our  vanquished  Caroline  adopts 
an  infernal  system,  the  effect  of  which  is  to  make  you  regret 
your  victory  every  hour.  She  becomes  the  opposition !  Should 
Adolphe  have  one  more  such  triumph,  he  would  appear  before 
the  Court  of  Assizes,  accused  of  having  smothered  his  wife 
between  two  mattresses,  like  Shakespeare's  Othello.  Caroline 
puts  on  the  air  of  a  martyr ;  her  submission  is  positively  kill- 
ing. On  every  occasion  she  assassinates  Adolphe  with  a  "Just 
as  you  like!"  uttered  in  tones  whose  sweetness  is  something 
fearful.  No  elegiac  poet  could  compete  with  Caroline,  who 
utters  elegy  upon  elegy :  elegy  in  action,  elegy  in  speech :  her 
smile  is  elegiac,  her  silence  is  elegiac,  her  gestures  are  elegiac. 
Here  are  a  few  examples,  wherein  every  household  will  find 
some  of  its  impressions  recorded : 

AFTER  BREAKFAST.  "Caroline,  we  go  to-night  to  the 
Deschars'  grand  ball,  you  know." 

"Yes,  love." 

AFTER  DINNER.  "What,  not  dressed  yet,  Caroline?"  ex- 
claims Adolphe,  who  has  just  made  his  appearance,  magnifi- 
cently equipped. 

He  finds  Caroline  arrayed  in  a  gown  fit  for  an  elderly  lady 
of  strong  conversational  powers,  a  black  moire  with  an  old- 
fashioned  fan-waist.  Flowers,  too  badly  imitated  to  deserve 
the  name  of  artificial,  give  a  gloomy  aspect  to  a  head  of  hair 
which  the  chambermaid  has  carelessly  arranged.  Caroline's 
gloves  have  already  seen  wear  and  tear. 

"I  am  ready,  my  dear." 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  399 

"What,  in  that  dress?" 

"I  have  no  other.  A  new  dress  would  have  cost  three  hun- 
dred francs." 

"Why  did  you  not  tell  me?" 

"I,  ask  you  for  anything,  after  what  has  happened !" 

"I'll  go  alone,"  says  Adolphe,  unwilling  to  be  humiliated 
in  his  wife. 

"I  dare  say  you  are  very  glad  to,"  returns  Caroline,  in  a 
captious  tone,  "it's  plain  enough  from  the  way  you  are  got  up." 


Eleven  persons  are  in  the  parlor,  all  invited  to  dinner 
by  Adolphe.  Caroline  is  there,  looking  as  if  her  husband  had 
invited  her  too.  She  is  waiting  for  dinner  to  be  served. 

"Sir,"  says  the  parlor  servant  in  a  whisper  to  his  master, 
"the  cook  doesn't  know  what  on  earth  to  do !" 

"Whafs  the  matter?" 

"You  said  nothing  to  her,  sir:  and  she  has  only  two  side- 
dishes,  the  beef,  a  chicken,  a  salad  and  vegetables." 

"Caroline,  didn't  you  give  the  necessary  orders  ?" 

"How  did  I  know  that  you  had  company,  and  besides  I 
can't  take  it  upon  myself  to  give  orders  here !  You  delivered 
me  from  all  care  on  that  point,  and  I  thank  heaven  for  it 
every  day  of  my  life." 


Madame  de  Fischtaminel  has  called  to  pay  Madame  Caro- 
line a  visit.  She  finds  her  coughing  feebly  and  nearly  bent 
double  over  her  embroidery. 

"Ah,  so  you  are  working  those  slippers  for  your  dear 
Adolphe?" 

Adolphe  is  standing  before  the  fire-place  as  complacently 
as  may  be. 

"No,  madame,  it's  for  a  tradesman  who  pays  me  for  them: 
like  the  convicts,  my  labor  enables  me  to  treat  myself  to  some 
little  comforts." 

Adolphe  reddens;  he  can't  very  well  beat  his  wife,  and 
Madame  de  Fischtaminel  looks  at  him  as  much  as  to  say, 
"What  does  this  mean?" 


400  PETTY  TROUBLES 

"You  cough  a  good  deal,  my  darling,"  says  Madame  de 
Fischtaminel. 

"Oh!"  returns  Caroline,  "what  is  life  to  me?" 


Caroline  is  seated,  conversing  with  a  lady  of  your  acquaint- 
ance, whose  good  opinion  you  are  exceedingly  anxious  to  retain. 
From  the  depths  of  the  embrasure  where  you  are  talking  with 
some  friends,  you  gather,  from  the  mere  motion  of  her  lips, 
these  words :  "My  hushand  would  have  it  so !"  uttered  with 
the  air  of  a  young  Eoman  matron  going  to  the  circus  to  be 
devoured.  You  are  profoundly  wounded  in  your  several 
vanities,  and  wish  to  attend  to  this  conversation  while  listen- 
ing to  your  guests:  you  thus  make  replies  which  bring  you 
back  such  inquiries  as:  "Why,  what  are  you  thinking  of?" 
For  you  have  lost  the  thread  of  the  discourse,  and  you  fidget 
nervously  with  your  feet,  thinking  to  yourself,  "What  is  she 
telling  her  about  me?" 


Adolphe  is  dining  with  the  Deschars :  twelve  persons  are  at 
table,  and  Caroline  is  seated  next  to  a  nice  young  man  named 
Ferdinand,  Adolphe's  cousin.  Between  the  first  and  second 
course,  conjugal  happiness  is  the  subject  of  conversation. 

"There  is  nothing  easier  than  for  a  woman  to  be  happy," 
says  Caroline  in  reply  to  a  woman  who  complains  of  her  hus- 
band. 

"Tell  us  your  secret,  madame,"  says  M.  de  Fischtaminel 
agreeably.  • 

"A  woman  has  nothing  to  do  but  to  meddle  with  nothing 
to  consider  herself  as  the  first  servant  in  the  house  or  as  a 
slave  that  the  master  takes  care  of,  to  have  no  will  of  her  own, 
and  never  to  make  an  observation :  thus  all  goes  well." 

This,  delivered  in  a  bitter  tone  and  with  tears  in  her  voice, 
alarms  Adolphe,  who  looks  fixedly  at  his  wife. 

"You  forget,  madame,  the  happiness  of  telling  about  one's 
happiness,"  he  returns,  darting  at  her  a  glance  worthy  of  the 
tyrant  in  a  melodrama. 

Quite  satisfied  with  having  shown  herself  assassinated  or  on 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  401 

the  point  of  being  so,  Caroline  turns  her  head  aside,  furtively 
wipes  away  a  tear,  and  says : 

"Happiness  cannot  be  described !" 

This  incident,  as  they  say  at  the  Chamber,  leads  to  nothing, 
but  Ferdinand  looks  upon  his  cousin  as  an  angel  about  to  be 
offered  up. 


Some  one  alludes  to  the  frightful  prevalence  of  inflamma- 
tion of  the  stomach,  or  to  the  nameless  diseases  of  which 
young  women  die. 

"Ah,  too  happy  they!"  exclaims  Caroline,  as  if  she  were 
foretelling  the  manner  of  her  death. 


Adolphe's  mother-in-law  comes  to  see  her  daughter.  Caro- 
line says,  "My  husband's  parlor:"  "Your  master's  chamber." 
Everything  in  the  house  belongs  to  "My  husband." 

"Why,  what's  the  matter,  children?"  asks  the  mother-in- 
law  ;  "you  seem  to  be  at  swords'  points." 

"Oh,  dear  me,"  says  Adolphe,  "nothing  but  that  Caroline 
has  had  the  management  of  the  house  and  didn't  manage 
it  right,  that's  all." 

"She  got  into  debt,  I  suppose?" 

"Yes,  dearest  mamma/' 

"Look  here,  Adolphe,"  says  the  mother-in-law,  after  having 
waited  to  be  left  alone  with  her  son,  "would  you  prefer  to 
have  my  daughter  magnificently  dressed,  to  have  everything 
go  on  smoothly,  without  its  costing  you  anything?" 

Imagine,  if  you  can,  the  expression  of  Adolphe's  physiog- 
nomy, as  he  hears  this  declaration  of  woman's  rights! 


Caroline  abandons  her  shabby  dress  and  appears  in  a 
splendid  one.  She  is  at  the  Deschars' :  every  one  compliments 
her  upon  her  taste,  upon  the  richness  of  her  materials,  upon 
her  lace,  her  jewels. 

"Ah !  you  have  a  charming  husband !"  says  Madame  Des- 
chars. Adolphe  tosses  his  head  proudly,  and  looks  at  Caroline. 


402  PETTY  TROUBLES 

"My  husband,  raadame!  I  cost  that  gentleman  nothing, 
thank  heaven !  All  I  have  was  given  me  by  my  mother." 

Adolphe  turns  suddenly  about  and  goes  to  talk  with  Ma- 
dame de  Fischtaminel. 


After  a  year  of  absolute  monarchy,  Caroline  says  very 
mildly  one  morning : 

"How  much  have  you  spent  this  year,  dear?" 

"1  don't  know." 

"Examine  your  accounts." 

Adolphe  discovers  that  he  has  spent  a  third  more  than  -dur- 
ing Caroline's  worst  year. 

"And  I've  cost  you  nothing  for  my  dress,"  she  adds. 


Caroline  is  playing  Schubert's  melodies.  Adolphe  takes 
great  pleasure  in  hearing  these  compositions  well-executed :  he 
gets  up  and  compliments  Caroline.  She  bursts  into  tears. 

"What's  the  matter?" 

"Nothing,    I'm   nervous." 

"I  didn't  know  you  were  subject  to  that." 

"0  Adolphe,  you  won't  see  anything !  Look,  my  rings  come 
off  my  fingers:  you  don't  love  me  any  more — I'm  a  burden 
to  you—-" 

She  weeps,  she  won't  listen,  she  weeps  afresh  at  every  word 
Adolphe  utters. 

"Suppose  you  take  the  management  of  the  house  back 
again  ?" 

"Ah !"  she  exclaims,  rising  sharply  to  her  feet,  like  a  spring 
figure  in  a  box,  "now  that  you've  had  enough  of  your  ex- 
perience! Thank  you!  Do  you  suppose  it's  money  that  I 
want?  Singular  method,  yours,  of  pouring  balm  upon  a 
wounded  heart.  No,  go  away." 

"Very  well,  just  as  you  like,  Caroline." 

This  "just  as  you  like"  is  the  first  expression  of  indifference 
towards  a  wife :  and  Caroline  sees  before  her  an  abyss  towards 
which  she  has  been  walking  of  her  own  free  will. 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  403 

THE  FRENCH  CAMPAIGN. 

The  disasters  of  1814  afflict  every  species  of  existence. 
After  brilliant  days  of  conquest,  after  the  period  during 
which  obstacles  change  to  triumphs,  and  the  slightest  check 
becomes  a  piece  of  good  fortune,  there  comes  a  time  when  the 
happiest  ideas  turn  out  blunders,  when  courage  leads  to 
destruction,  and  when  your  very  fortifications  are  a  stumbling- 
block.  Conjugal  love,  which,  according  to  authors,  is  a 
peculiar  phase  of  love,  has,  more  than  anything  else,  its 
French  Campaign,  its  fatal  1814.  The  devil  especially  loves 
to  dangle  his  tail  in  the  affairs  of  poor  desolate  women,  and 
to  this  Caroline  has  come. 

Caroline  is  trying  to  think  of  some  means  of  bringing  her 
husband  back.  She  spends  many  solitary  hours  at  -home,  and 
during  this  time  her  imagination  works.  She  goes  and  comes, 
she  gets  up,  and  often  stands  pensively  at  the  window,  look- 
ing at  the  street  and  seeing  nothing,  her  face  glued  to  the 
panes,  and  feeling  as  if  in  a  desert,  in  the  midst  of  her 
friends,  in  the  bosom  of  her  luxuriously  furnished  apartments. 

Now,  in  Paris,  unless  a  person  occupy  a  house  of  his  own, 
enclosed  between  a  court  and  a  garden,  all  life  is  double.  At 
every  story,  a  family  sees  another  family  in  the  opposite 
house.  Everybody  plunges  his  gaze  at  will  into  his  neigh- 
bor's domains.  There  is  a  necessity  for  mutual  observation, 
a  common  right  of  search  from  which  none  can  escape.  At  a 
given  time,  in  the  morning,  you  get  up  early,  the  servant  oppo- 
site is  dusting  the  parlor,  she  has  left  the  windows  open  and 
has  put  the  rugs  on  the  railing;  you  divine  a  multitude  of 
things,  and  vice- versa.  Thus,  in  a  given  time,  you  are  a& 
quainted  with  the  habits  of  the  pretty,  the  old,  the  young,  the 
coquettish,  the  virtuous  woman  opposite,  or  the  caprices  of  the 
coxcomb,  the  inventions  of  the  old  bachelor,  the  color  of  the 
furniture,  and  the  cat  of  the  two  pair  front.  Everything 
furnishes  a  hint,  and  becomes  matter  for  divination.  At  the 
fourth  story,  a  grisette,  taken  by  surprise,  finds  herself — too 
late,  like  the  chaste  Susanna, — the  prey  of  the  delighted 


404  PETTY  TROUBLES 

lorgnette  of  an  aged  clerk,  who  earns  eighteen  hundred  francs 
a  year,  and  who  becomes  criminal  gratis.  On  the  other 
hand,  a  handsome  young  gentleman,  who,  for  the  present,  works 
without  wages,  and  is  only  nineteen  years  old,  appears  before 
the  sight  of  a  pious  old  lady,  in  the  simple  apparel  of  a  man 
engaged  in  shaving.  The  watch  thus  kept  up  is  never  relaxed, 
while  prudence,  on  the  contrary,  has  its  moments  of  forget- 
fulness.  Curtains  are  not  always  let  down  in  time.  A  woman, 
just  before  dark,  approaches  the  window  to  thread  her  needle, 
and  the  married  man  opposite  may  then  admire  a  head  that 
Raphael  might  have  painted,  and  one  that  he  considers  worthy 
of  himself — a  National  Guard  truly  imposing  when  under 
arms.  Oh,  sacred  private  life,  where  art  thou !  Paris  is  a 
city  ever  ready  to  exhibit  itself  half  naked,  a  city  essentially 
libertine  -and  devoid  of  modesty.  For  a  person's  life  to  be 
decorous  in  it,  the  said  person  should  have  a  hundred  thou- 
sand a  year.  Virtues  are  dearer  than  vices  in  Paris. 

Caroline,  whose  gaze  sometimes  steals  between  the  protect- 
ing muslins  which  hide  her  domestic  life  from  the  five  stories 
opposite,  at  last  discovers  a  young  couple  plunged  in  the  de- 
lights of  the  honey-moon,  and  newly  established  in  the  first 
story  directly  in  view  of  her  window.  She  spends  her  time 
in  the  most  exciting  observations.  The  blinds  are  closed 
early,  and  opened  late.  One  day,  Caroline,  who  has  arisen 
at  eight  o'clock,  notices,  by  accident,  of  course,  the  maid  pre- 
paring a  bath  or  a  morning  dress,  a  delicious  deshabille. 
Caroline  sighs.  She  lies  in  ambush  like  a  hunter  at  the 
cover ;  she  surprises  the  young  woman,  her  face  actually  illu- 
minated with  happiness.  Finally,  by  dint  of  watching  the 
charming  couple,  she  sees  the  gentleman  and  lady  open  the 
window,  and  lean  gently  one  against  the  other,  as,  supported 
by  the  railing,  they  breathe  the  evening  air.  Caroline  gives 
herself  a  nervous  headache,  by  endeavoring  to  interpret  the 
phantasmagorias,  some  of  them  having  an  explanation  and 
others  not,  made  by  the  shadows  of  these  two  young  people  on 
the  curtains,  one  night  when  they  have  forgotten  to  close  the 
shutters.  The  young  woman  is  often  seated,  melancholy  and 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  405 

pensive,  waiting  for  her  absent  husband;  she  hears  the  tread 
of  a  horse,  or  the  rumble  of  a  cab  at  the  street  corner;  she 
starts  from  the  sofa,  and  from  her  movements,  it  is  easy  for 
Caroline  to  see  that  she  exclaims :  "  "Tis  he  I" 

"How  they  love  each  other !"  says"  Caroline  to  herself. 

By  dint  of  nervous  headache,  Caroline  conceives  an  exceed- 
ingly ingenious  plan :  this  plan  consists  in  using  the  conjugal 
bliss  of  the  opposite  neighbors  as  a  tonic  to  stimulate  Adolphe. 
The  idea  is  not  without  depravity,  but  then  Caroline's  inten-- 
tion  sanctifies  the  means ! 

"Adolphe,"  she  says,  "we  have  a  neighbor  opposite,  the 
loveliest  woman,  a  brunette — " 

"Oh,  yes,"  returns  Adolphe,  "I  know  her.  She  is  a  friend 
of  Madame  de  Fischtaminel's :  Madame  Foullepointe,  the  wife 
of  a  broker,  a  charming  man  and  a  good  fellow,  very  fond  of 
his  wife :  he's  crazy  about  her.  His  office  and  rooms  are  here, 
in  the  court,  while  those  on  the  street  are  madame's.  I  know 
of  no  happier  household.  Foullepointe  talks  about  his  happi- 
ness everywhere,  even  at  the  Exchange;  he's  really  quite  tire- 
some." 

"Well  then,  be  good  enough  to  present  Monsieur  and  Ma- 
dame Foullepointe  to  me.  I  should  be  delighted  to  learn 
how  she  manages  to  make  her  husband  love  her  so  much: 
have  they  been  married  long  ?" 

"Five  years,  just  like  us." 

"0  Adolphe,  dear,  I  am  dying  to  know  her:  make  us  inti- 
mately acquainted.  Am  I  as  pretty  as  she?" 

"Well,  if  I  were  to  meet  you  at  an  opera  ball,  and  if  you 
weren't  my  wife,  I  declare,  I  shouldn't  know  which — " 

"You  are  real  sweet  to-day.  Don't  forget  to  invite  them  to 
dinner  Saturday." 

"I'll  do  it  to-night.  Foullepointe  and  I  often  meet  on 
'Change." 

"Now,"  says  Caroline,  "this  young  woman  will  doubtless 
tell  me  what  her  method  of  action  is." 

Caroline  resumes  her  post  of  observation.  At  about  three 
she  looks  through  the  flowers  which  form  as  it  were  a  bower 
at  the  window,  and  exclaims,  "Two  perfect  doves  1" 


406  PETTY  TROUBLES 

For  the  Saturday  in  question,  Caroline  invites  Monsieur 
and  Madame  Deschars,  the  worthy  Monsieur  Fischtaminel, 
in  short,  the  most  virtuous  couples  of  her  society.  She  has 
brought  out  all  her  resources :  she  has  ordered  the  most  sump- 
tuous dinner,  she  has  taken  the  silver  out  of  the  chest:  she 
means  to  do  all  honor  to  the  model  of  wives. 

"My  dear,  you  will  see  to-night,"  she-  says  to  Madame 
Deschars,  at  the  moment  when  all  the  women  are  looking  at 
each  other  in  silence,  "the  most  admirable  young  couple  in  the 
world,  our  opposite  neighbors:  a  young  man  of  fair  com- 
plexion, so  graceful  and  with  such  manners !  his  head  is  like 
Lord  Byron's,  and  he's  a  real  Don  Juan,  only  faithful :  he's 
madly  in  love  with  his  wife.  The  wife  is  charming  and  has 
discovered  the  secret  of  making  love  eternal :  I  shall  perhaps 
obtain  a  second  crop  of  it  from  her  example.  Adolphe,  when 
he  sees  them,  will  blush  at  his  conduct,  and — " 

The  servant  announces:  "Monsieur  and  Madame  Foulle- 
pointe." 

Madame  Foullepointe,  a  pretty  brunette,  a  genuine  Parisian, 
slight  and  erect  in  form,  the  brilliant  light  of  her  eye  quenched 
by  her  long  lashes,  charmingly  dressed,  sits  down  upon  the 
sofa.  Caroline  bows  to  a  fat  gentleman  with  thin  gray  hair, 
who  follows  this  Paris  Andalusian,  and  who  exhibits  a  face  and 
paunch  fit  for  Silenus,  a  butter-colored  pate,  a  deceitful,  liber- 
tine smile  upon  his  big,  heavy  lips, — in  short,  a  philosopher ! 
Caroline  looks  upon  this  individual  with  astonishment. 

"Monsieur  Foullepointe,  my  dear,"  says  Adolphe,  present- 
ing the  worthy  quinquagenarian. 

"I  am  delighted,  madame,"  says  Caroline,  good-naturedly, 
"that  you  have  brought  your  father-in-law  [profound  sen- 
sation], but  we  shall  soon  see  your  husband,  I  trust — " 

"Madame—!" 

Everybody  listens  and  looks.  Adolphe  becomes  the  object 
of  every  one's  attention :  he  is  literally  dumb  with  amazement : 
if  he  could,  he  would  whisk  Caroline  off  through  a  trap,  as  at 
the  theatre. 

"This  is  Monsieur  Foullepointe,  my  husband,"  says  Ma- 
dame Foullepointe. 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  407 

Caroline  turns  scarlet  as  she  sees  her  ridiculous  blunder, 
and  Adolphe  scathes  her  with  a  look  of  thirty-six  candle- 
power. 

"You  said  he  was  young  and  fair,"  whispers  Madame  Des- 
chars.  Madame  Foullepointe, — knowing  lady  that  she  is, — 
boldly  stares  at  the  ceiling. 

A  month  after,  Madame  Foullepointe  and  Caroline  become 
intimate.  Adolphe,  who  is  taken  up  with  Madame  de  Fisch- 
taminel,  pays  no  attention  to  this  dangerous  friendship,, a 
friendship  which  will  bear  its  fruits,  for — pray  learn  this — 

Axiom. — Women  have  corrupted  more  women  than  men 
have  ever  loved. 

A  SOLO  ON  THE  HEARSE. 

After  a  period,  the  length  of  which  depends  on  the  strength 
of  Caroline's  principles,  she  appears  to  be  languishing;  and 
when  Adolphe,  anxious  for  decorum's  sake,  as  he  sees  her 
stretched  out  upon  the  sofa  like  a  snake  in  the  sun,  asks  her, 
"What  is  the  matter,  love  ?  what  do  you  want  ?" 

"I  wish  I  was  dead  !"  she  replies. 

"Quite  a  merry  and  agreeable  wish!" 

"It  isn't  death  that  frightens  me,  it's  suffering." 

"I  suppose  that  means  that  I  don't  make  you  happy !  That's 
the  way  with  women  !" 

Adolphe  strides  about  the  room,  talking  incoherently:  but 
he  is  brught  to  a  dead  halt  by  seeing  Caroline  dry  her  tears, 
which  are  really  flowing  artistically,  in  an  embroidered  hand- 
kerchief. 

"Do  you  feel  sick?" 

"I  don't  feel  well.  [Silence.]  I  only  hope  that  I  shall 
live  long  enough  to  see  my  daughter  married,  for  I  know 
the  meaning,  now,  of  the  expression  so  little  understood  by 
the  young — the  choice  of  a  husband!  Go  to  your  amusements, 
Adolphe :  a  woman  who  thinks  of  the  future,  a  woman  who 
suffers,  is  not  at  all  diverting:  come,  go  and  have  a  good 
time." 


408  PETTY  TROUBLES 

'"Where  do  you  feel  bad  ?" 

"I  don't  feel  bad,  dear:  I. never  was  better.  I  don't  need 
anything.  No,  really,  I  am  better.  There,  leave  me  to  my- 
eelf." 

This  time,  being  the  first,  Adolphe  goes  away  almost  sad. 

A  week  passes,  during  which  Caroline  orders  all  the  ser- 
vants to  conceal  from  her  husband  her  deplorable  situation: 
she  languishes,  she  rings  when  she  feels  she  is  going  off,  she 
iwes  a  great  deal  of  ether.  The  domestics  finally  acquaint 
their  master  with  madame's  conjugal  heroism,  and  Adolphe 
remains  at  home  one  evening  after  dinner,  and  sees  his  wife 
passionately  kissing  her  little  Marie. 

"Poor  child !  I  regret  the  future  only  for  your  sake  !  What 
is  life,  I  should  like  to  know?" 

"Come,  my  dear,"  says  Adolphe,  "don't  take  on  so." 

"I'm  not  taking  on.  Death  doesn't  frighten  me — I  saw  a 
funeral  this  morning,  and  I  thought  how  happy  the  body  was ! 
How  comes  it  that  I  think  of  nothing  but  death?  Is  it  a 
disease?  I  have  an  idea  that  I  shall  die  by  my  own  hand." 

The  more  Adolphe  tries  to  divert  Caroline,  the  more  closely 
she  wraps  herself  up  in  the  crape  of  her  hopeless  melancholy. 
This  second  time,  Adolphe  stays  at  home  and  is  wearied  to 
death.  At  the  third  attack  of  forced  tears,  he  goes  out  with- 
out the  slightest  compunction.  He  finally  gets  accustomed  to 
these  everlasting  murmurs,  to  these  dying  postures,  these 
crocodile  tears.  So  he  says : 

"If  you  are  sick,  Caroline,  you'd  better  have  a  doctor." 

"Just  as  you  like !  It  will  end  quicker,  so.  But  bring  a 
famous  one,  if  you  bring  any." 

At  the  end  of  a  month,  Adolphe,  worn  out  by  hearing  the 
funereal  air  that  Caroline  plays  him  on  every  possible  key, 
brings  home  a  famous  doctor.  At  Paris,  doctors  are  all  men 
of  discernment,  and  are  admirably  versed  in  conjugal  nosog- 
raphy. 

"Well,  madame,"  says  the  great  physician,  "how  happens 
it  that  so  pretty  a  woman  allows  herself  to  be  sick  ?" 

"Ah !  sir,  like  the  nose  of  old  father  Aubry,  I  aspire  to  the 
tomb—" 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  409 

Caroline,  out  of  consideration  for  Adolphe,  makes  a  feeble 
effort  to  smile. 

"Tut,  tut!  But  your  eyes  are  clear:  they  don't  seem  to 
need  our  infernal  drugs." 

"Look  again,  doctor,  I  am  eaten  up  with  fever,  a  slow,  im- 
perceptible fever — " 

And  she  fastens  her  most  roguish  glance  upon  the  illustrious 
doctor,  who  says  to  himself,  "What  eyes !" 

"Now,  let  me  see  your  tongue." 

Caroline  puts  out  her  taper  tongue  between  two  rows  of 
teeth  as  white  as  those  of  a  dog. 

"It  is  a  little  bit  furred  at  the  root :  but  you  have  break- 
fasted— "  observes  the  great  physician,  turning  towards 
Adolphe. 

"Oh,  a  mere  nothing,"  returns  Caroline;  "two  cups  of 
tea—" 

Adolphe  and  the  illustrious  leech  look  at  each  other,  for 
the  doctor  wonders  whether  it  is  the  husband  or  the  wife  that 
is  trifling  with  him. 

"What  do  you  feel  ?"  gravely  inquires  the  physician. 

"I  don't  sleep/* 

"Good !" 

"I  have  no  appetite." 

"Well !" 

"I  have  a  pain,  here." 

The  doctor  examines  the  part  indicated. 

"Very  good,  we'll  look  at  that  by  and  by." 

"Now  and  then  a  shudder  passes  over  me — " 

"Very  good !" 

"I  have  melancholy  fits,  I  am  always  thinking  of  death,  I 
feel  promptings  of  suicide — " 

"Dear  me !     Eeally !" 

"I  have  rushes  of  heat  to  the  face :  look,  there's  a  constant 
trembling  in  my  eyelid." 

"Capital!     We  call  that  a  trismus." 

The  doctor  goes  into  an  explanation,  which  lasts  a  quarter 
of  an  hour,  of  the  trismus,  employing  the  most  scientific 


410  PETTY  TROUBLES 

terms.  From  this  it  appears  that  the  trismus  is  the  trismus : 
but  he  observes  with  the  greatest  modesty  that  if  science 
knotws  that  the  trismus  is  the  trismus,  it  is  entirely  ignorant 
of  the  cause  of  this  nervous  affection,  which  comes  and  goes, 
appears  and  disappears — "and/'  he.  adds,  "we  have  decided 
that  it  is  altogether  nervous." 

"Is  it  very  dangerous?"  asks  Caroline,  anxiously. 

"Not  at  all.     How  do  you  lie  at  night  ?" 

"Doubled  up  in  a  heap." 

"Good.     On  which  side?" 

"The  left." 

"Very  well.    How  many  mattresses  are  there  on  your  bed  ?" 

"Three." 

"Good.     Is  there  a  spring  bed?" 

"Yes." 

"What  is  the  spring  bed  stuffed  with  ?" 

"Horse  hair." 

"Capital.  Let  me  see  you  walk.  No,  no,  naturally,  and  as 
if  we  weren't  looking  at  you." 

Caroline  walks  like  Fanny  Elssler,  communicating  the  most 
Andalusian  little  motions  to  her  tournure. 

"Do  you  feel  a  sensation  of  heaviness  in  your  knees  ?" 

"Well,  no—"  she  returns  to  her  place.  "Ah,  now  that  I 
think  of  it,  it  seems  to  me  that  I  do." 

"Good.     Have  you  been  in  the  house  a  good  deal  lately  ?" 

"Oh,  yes,  sir,  a  great  deal  too  much — and  alone." 

"Good.  I  thought  so.  What  do  you  wear  on  your  head  at 
night?" 

"An  embroidered  night-cap,  and  sometimes  a  handkerchief 
over  it." 

"Don't  you  feel  a  heat  there,  a  slight  perspiration?" 

"How  can  I,  when  I'm  asleep?" 

"Don't  you  find  your  night-cap  moist  on  your  forehead, 
when  you  wake  up  ?" 

"Sometimes." 

"Capital.     Give  me  your  hand." 

The  doctor  takes  out  his  watch. 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  411 

"Did  I  tell  you  that  I  have  a  vertigo?"  asks  Caroline. 

"Hush!"  says  the  doctor,  counting  the  pulse,  "In  the 
evening  ?" 

"No,  in  the  morning/' 

"Ah,  bless  me,  a  vertigo  in  the  morning,"  says  the  doctor, 
looking  at  Adolphe. 

"Well,  sir,  what  do  you  think  of  my  wife's  condition  ?"  asks 
Adolphe. 

"The  Duke  of  G.  has  not  gone  to  London,"  says  the  great 
physician,  while  examining  Caroline's  skin,  "and  there's  a 
good  deal  said  about  it  in  the  faubourg  St.  Germain." 

"Have  you  patients  there?"  asks  Caroline. 

"Nearly  all  my  patients  are  there.  Dear  me,  yes;  I've 
got  seven  to  see  this  morning;  some  of  them  are  in  danger/' 

"What  do  you  think  of  me,  sir  ?"  says  Caroline. 

"Madame,  you  need  attention,  a  great  deal  of  attention, 
you  must  take  quieting  liquors,  plenty  of  syrup  of  gum,  a 
mild  diet,  white  meat,  and  a  good  deal  of  exercise." 

"There  go  twenty  francs,"  says  Adolphe  to  himself  with  a 
smile. 

The  great  physician  takes  Adolphe  by  the  arm,  and  draws 
him  out  with  him,  as  he  takes  his  leave :  Caroline  follows  them 
on  tiptoe. 

"My  dear  sir,"  says  the  great  physician,  "I  have  just  pre- 
scribed very  insufficiently  for  your  wife.  I  did  not  wish  to 
frighten  her:  this  affair  concerns  you  more  nearly  than  you 
imagine.  Don't  neglect  her ;  she  has  a  powerful  temperament, 
and  enjoys  violent  health ;  all  this  reacts  upon  her.  Nature 
has  its  laws,  which,  when  disregarded,  compel  obedience.  She 
may  get  into  a  morbid  state,  which  would  cause  you  bitterly 
to  repent  having  neglected  her.  If  you  love  her,  why,  love 
her :  but  if  you  don't  love  her,  and  nevertheless  desire  to  pre- 
serve the  mother  of  your  children,  the  resolution  to  come  to 
is  a  matter  of  hygiene,  but  it  can  only  proceed  from  you !" 

"How  well  he  understands  me !"  says  Caroline  to  herself. 
She  opens  the  door  and  says :  "Doctor,  you  did  not  write  down 
the  doses !" 


412  PETTY  TROUBLES 

The  great  physician  smiles,  bows  and  slips  the  twenty 
franc  piece  into  his  pocket;  he  then  leaves  Adolphe  to  his 
wife,  who  takes  him  and  says : 

"What  is  the  fact  about  my  condition?  Must  I  prepare 
for  death?" 

"Bah !  He  says  you're  too  healthy !"  cries  Adolphe,  im- 
patiently. 

Caroline  retires  to  her  sofa  to  weep. 

"What  is  it,  now?" 

"So  I  am  to  live  a  long  time — I  am  in  the  way — you  don't 
love  me  any  more — I  won't  consult  that  doctor  again — I 
don't  know  why  Madame  Foullepointe  advised  me  to  see  him, 
he  told  me  nothing  but  trash — I  know  better  than  he  what  I 
need!" 

"What  do  you  need?" 

"Can  you  ask,  ungrateful  man?"  and  Caroline  leans  her 
head  on  Adolphe's  shoulder. 

Adolphe,  very  much  alarmed,  says  to  himself :  "The  doctor's 
right,  she  may  get  to  be  morbidly  exacting,  and  then  what 
will  become  of  me?  Here  I  am  compelled  to  choose  between 
Caroline's  physical  extravagance,  or  some  young  cousin  or 
other." 

Meanwhile  Caroline  sits  down  and  sings  one  of  Schubert's 
melodies  with  all  the  agitation  of  a  hypochondriac. 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  413 


PART  SECOND. 
PREFACE. 

If,  reader,  you  have  grasped  the  intent  of  this  book, — and 
infinite  honor  is  done  you  by  the  supposition :  the  profoundest 
author  does  not  always  comprehend,  I  may  say  never  compre- 
hends, the  different  meanings  of  his  book,  nor  its  bearing,  nor 
the  good  nor  the  harm  it  may  do — if,  then,  you  have  bestowed 
some  attention  upon  these  little  scenes  of  married  life,  you 
have  perhaps  noticed  their  color — 

<fWhat  color?"  some  grocer  will  doubtless  ask;  "books  are 
bound  in  yellow,  blue,  green,  pearl-gray,  white — " 

Alas!  books  possess  another  color,  they  are  dyed  by  the 
author,  and  certain  writers  borrow  their  dye.  Some  books 
let  their  color  come  off  on  to  others.  More  than  this.  Books 
are  dark  or  fair,  light  brown  or  red.  They  have  a  sex,  too !  I 
know  of  male  books,  and  female  books,  of  books  which,  sad  to 
say,  have  no  sex,  which  we  hope  is  not  the  case  with  this  one, 
supposing  that  you  do  this  collection  of  nosographic  sketches 
the  honor  of  calling  it  a  book. 

Thus  far,  the  troubles  we  have  described  have  been  exclu- 
sively inflicted  by  the  wife  upon  the  husband.  You  have  there- 
fore seen  only  the  masculine  side  of  the  book.  And  if  the 
author  really  has  the  sense  of  hearing  for  which  we  give  him 
credit,  he  has  already  caught  more  than  one  indignant  excla- 
mation or  remonstrance: 

"He  tells  us  of  nothing  but  vexations  suffered  by  our  hus- 
bands, as  if  we  didn't  have  our  petty  troubles,  too !" 

Oh,  women !  you  have  been  heard,  for  if  you  do  not  always 
make  yourselves  understood,  you  are  always  sure  to  make 
yourselves  heard. 

It  would  therefore  be  signally  unjust  to  lay  upon  you  alone 


414  PETTY  TROUBLES 

the  reproaches  that  every  being  brought  under  the  yoke  (con- 
jugium)  has  the  right  to  heap  upon  that  necessary,  sacred, 
useful,  eminently  conservative  institution, — one,  however,  that 
is  often  somewhat  of  an  encumbrance,  and  tight  about  the 
joints,  though  sometimes  it  is  also  too  loose  there. 

I  will  go  further!  Such  partiality  would  be  a  piece  of 
idiocy. 

A  man, — not  a  writer,  for  in  a  writer  there  are  many  men, 
— an  author,  rather,  should  resemble  Janus,  see  behind  and 
before,  become  a  spy,  examine  an  idea  in  all  its  phases,  delve 
alternately  into  the  soul  of  Alceste  and  into  that  of  Philsenete, 
know  everything  though  he  does  not  tell  it,  never  be  tiresome, 
and — 

We  will  not  conclude  this  programme,  for  we  should  tell 
the  whole,  and  that  would  be  frightful  for  those  who  reflect 
upon  the  present  condition  of  literature. 

Furthermore,  an  author  who  speaks  for  himself  in  the  middle 
of  his  book,  resembles  the  old  fellow  in  "The  Speaking  Pic- 
ture," when  he  puts  his  face  in  the  hole  cut  in  the  painting. 
The  author  does  not  forget  that  in  the  Chamber,  no  one  can 
take  the  floor  between  two  votes.  Enough,  therefore ! 

Here  follows  the  female  portion  of  the  book :  for,  to  resemble 
marriage  perfectly,  it  ought  to  be  more  or  less  hermaphroditic. 

HUSBANDS  DURING  THE  SECOND  MONTH. 

Two  young  married  women,  Caroline  and  Stephanie,  who 
had  been  early  friends,  at  M'lle  Machefer's  boarding  school, 
one  of  the  most  celebrated  educational  institutions  in  the 
faubourg  St.  Honore,  met  at  a  ball  given  by  Madame  de  Fisch- 
taminel,  and  the  following  conversation  took  place  in  a  win- 
dow-seat in  the  boudoir. 

It  was  so  hot  that  a  man  had  acted  upon  the  idea  of  going  to 
breathe  the  fresh  night  air,  some  time  before  the  two  young 
women.  He  had  placed  himself  in  the  angle  of  the  balcony, 
and,  as  there  were  many  flowers  before  the  window,  the  two 
friends  thought  themselves  alone.  This  man  was  the  author's 
best  friend. 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE     .  415 

One  of  the  two  ladies,  standing  at  the  corner  of  the  embra- 
sure, kept  watch  by  looking  at  the  boudoir  and  the  parlors. 
The  other  had  so  placed  herself  as  not  to  be  in  the  draft,  which 
was  nevertheless  tempered  by  the  muslin  and  silk  curtains. 

The  boudoir  was  empty,  the  ball  was  just  beginning,  the 
gaming-tables  were  open,  offering  their  green  cloths  and  their 
packs  of  cards  still  compressed  in  the  frail  case  placed  upon 
them  by  the  customs  office.  The  second  quadrille  was  in  prog- 
ress. 

All  who  go  to  balls  will  remember  that  phase  of  large  parties 
when  the  guests  are  not  yet  all  arrived,  but  when  the  rooms 
are  already  filled — a  moment  which  gives  the  mistress  of  the 
house  a  transitory  pang  of  terror.  This  moment  is,  other 
points  of  comparison  apart,  like  that  which  decides  a  victory 
or  the  loss  of  a  battle. 

You  will  understand,  therefore,  how  what  was  meant  to  be 
a  secret  now  obtains  the  honors  of  publicity. 

"Well,  Caroline?" 

"Well,  Stephanie?" 

"Well?" 

"Well?" 

A  double  sigh. 

"Have  you  forgotten  our  agreement?" 

"No." 

"Why  haven't  you  been  to  see  me,  then?" 

"I  am  never  left  alone.  Even  here  we  shall  hardly  have 
time  to  talk." 

"Ah !  if  Adolphe  were  to  get  into  such  habits  as  that !" 
exclaimed  Caroline. 

"You  saw  us,  Armand  and  me,  when  he  paid  me  what  is 
called,  I  don't  know  why,  his  court." 

"Yes,  I  admired  him,  I  thought  you  very  happy,  you  had 
found  your  ideal,  a  fine,  good-sized  man,  always  well  dressed, 
with  yellow  gloves,  his  beard  well  shaven,  patent  leather  boots, 
a  clean  shirt,  exquisitely  neat,  and  so  attentive — ' 

"Yes,  yes,  go  on." 

"In  short,  quite  an  elegant  man :  his  voice  was  femininely 


416  PETTY  TROUBLES 

sweet,  and  then  such  gentleness !  And  his  promises  of  happi- 
ness and  liberty!  His  sentences  were  veneered  with  rose- 
wood. He  stocked  his  conversation  with  shawls  and  laces. 
In  his  smallest  expression  you  heard  the  rumbling  of  a  coach 
and  four.  Your  wedding  presents  were  magnificent.  Armand 
seemed  to  me  like  a  husband  of  velvet,  of  a  robe  of  birds' 
feathers  in  which  you  were  to  be  wrapped.'* 

"Caroline,  my  husband  uses  tobacco." 

"So  does  mine;  that  is,  he  smokes/' 

"But  mine,  dear,  uses  it  as  they  say  Napoleon  did :  in  short, 
he  chews,  and  I  hold  tobacco  in  horror.  The  monster  found  it 
out,  and  went  without  it  for  seven  months." 

"All  men  have  their  habits.  They  absolutely  must  use  some- 
thing." 

"You  have  no  idea  of  the  tortures  I  endure.  At  night  I  am 
awakened  with  a  start  by  one  of  my  own  sneezes.  As  I  go  to 
sleep  my  motions  bring  the  grains  of  snuff  scattered  over  the 
pillow  under  my  nose,  I  inhale,  and  explode  like  a  mine.  It 
seems  that  Armand,  the  wretch,  is  used  to  these  surprises,  and 
doesn't  wake  up.  I  find  tobacco  everywhere,  and  I  certainly 
didn't  marry  the  customs  office." 

"But,  my  dear  child,  what  does  this  trifling  inconvenience 
amount  to,  if  your  husband  is  kind  and  possesses  a  good  dis- 
position ?" 

"He  is  as  cold  as  marble,  as  particular  as  an  old  bachelor, 
as  communicative  as  a  sentinel;  and  he's  one  of  those  men 
who  say  yes  to  everything,  but  who  never  do  anything  but  what 
they  want  to." 

"Deny  him,  once." 

"I've  tried  it." 

"What  came  of  it?" 

"He  threatened  to  reduce  my  allowance,  and  to  keep  back 
a  sum  big  enough  for  him  to  get  along  without  me." 

"Poor  Stephanie !    He's  not  a  man,  he's  a  monster." 

"A  calm  and  methodical  monster,  who  wears  a  scratch,  and 
who,  every  night — " 

"Well,  every  night—" 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  417 

"Wait  a  minute! — who  takes  a  tumbler  every  night,  and 
puts  seven  false  teeth  in  it." 

"What  a  trap  your  marriage  was !  At  any  rate,  Armand  is 
rich." 

"Who  knows?" 

"Good  heavens !  Why,  you  seem  to  me  on  the  point  of 
becoming  very  unhappy — or  very  happy." 

"Well,  dear,  how  is  it  with  you?" 

"Oh,  as  for  me,  I  have  nothing  as  yet  but  a  pin  that  pricks 
me:  but  it  is  intolerable." 

"Poor  creature !  You  don't  know  your  own  happiness : 
come,  what  is  it  ?" 

Here  the  young  woman  whispered  in  the  other's  ear,  so  that 
it  was  impossible  to  catch  a  single  word.  The  conversation 
recommenced,  or  rather  finished  by  a  sort  of  inference. 

"So,  your  Adolphe  is  jealous  ?" 

"Jealous  of  whom?  We  never  leave  each  other,  and  that, 
in  itself,  is  an  annoyance.  I  can't  stand  it.  I  don't  dare  to 
gape.  I  am  expected  to  be  forever  enacting  the  woman  in 
love.  It's  fatiguing." 

"Caroline?" 

"Well?" 

"What  are  you  going  to  do  ?" 

"Eesign  myself.     What  are  you?" 

"Fight  the  customs  office." 

This  little  trouble  tends  to  prove  that  in  the  matter  of  per- 
sonal deception,  the  two  sexes  can  well  cry  quits. 

DISAPPOINTED  AMBITION. 
I.     CHODOREILLE  THE  GREAT. 

A  young  man  has  forsaken  his  natal  city  in  the  depths  of 
one  of  the  departments,  rather  clearly  marked  by  M.  Charles 
Dupin.  He  felt  that  glory  of  some  sort  awaited  him :  suppose 
that  of  a  painter,  a  novelist,  a  journalist,  a  poet,  a  great  states- 
man. 


418  PETTY  TROUBLES 

Young  Adolphe  de  Chodoreille — that  we  may  be  perfectly 
understood — wished  to  be  talked  about,  to  become  celebrated, 
to  be  somebody.  This,  therefore,  is  addressed  to  the  mass  of 
aspiring  individuals  brought  to  Paris  by  all  sorts  of  vehicles, 
whether  moral  or  material,  and  who  rush  upon  the  city  one 
fine  morning  with  the  hydrophobic  purpose  of  overturning 
everybody's  reputation,  and  of  building  themselves  a  pedestal 
with  the  ruins  they  are  to  make, — until  disenchantment  fol- 
lows. As  our  intention  is  to  specify  this  peculiarity  so  charac- 
teristic of  our  epoch,  let  us  take  from  among  the  various  per- 
sonages the  one  whom  the  author  has  elsewhere  called  A  Dis- 
tinguished Provencal. 

Adolphe  has  discovered  that  the  most  admirable  trade  is 
that  which  consists  in  buying  a  bottle  of  ink,  a  bunch  of  quills, 
and  a  ream  of  paper,  at  a  stationer's  for  twelve  francs  and  a 
half,  and  in  selling  the  two  thousand  sheets  in  the  ream  over 
again,  for  something  like  fifty  thousand  francs,  after  having, 
of  course,  written  upon  each  leaf  fifty  lines  replete  with  style 
and  imagination. 

This  problem, — twelve  francs  and  a  half  metamorphosed 
into  fifty  thousand  francs,  at  the  rate  of  five  sous  a  line — urges 
numerous  families  who  might  advantageously  employ  their 
members  in  the  retirement  of  the  provinces,  to  thrust  them 
into  the  vortex  of  Paris. 

The  young  man  who  is  the  object  of  this  exportation, 
invariably  passes  in  his  natal  town  for  a  man  of  as  much  imagi- 
nation as  the  most  famous  author.  He  has  always  studied 
well,  he  writes  very  nice  poetry,  he  is  considered  a  fellow  of 
parts :  he  is  besides  often  guilty  of  a  charming  tale  published 
in  the  local  paper,  which  obtains  the  admiration  of  the  depart- 
ment. 

His  poor  parents  will  never  know  what  their  son  has  come 
to  Paris  to  learn  at  great  cost,  namely :  That  it  is  difficult  to 
be  a  writer  and  to  understand  the  French  language  short  of 
a  dozen  years  of  herculean  labor:  That  a  man  must  have 
explored  every  sphere  of  social  life  to  become  a  genuine 
novelist,  inasmuch  as  the  novel  is  the  private  history  of 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  419 

nations:  That  the  great  story-tellers,  J^sop,  Lucian,  Boc- 
caccio, Kabelais,  Cervantes,  Swift,  La  Fontaine,  Lesage, 
Sterne,  Voltaire,  Walter  Scott,  the  unknown  Arabians  of  the 
Thousand  and  One  Niglits,  were  all  men  of  genius  as  well  as 
giants  of  erudition. 

Their  Adolphe  serves  his  literary  apprenticeship  in  two  or 
three  coffee-houses,  becomes  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Men 
of  Letters,  attacks,  with  or  without  reason,  men  of  talent  who 
don't  read  his  articles,  assumes  a  milder  tone  on  seeing  the 
powerlessness  of  his  criticisms,  offers  novelettes  to  the  papers 
which  toss  them  from  one  to  the  other  as  if  they  were  shuttle- 
cocks :  and,  after  five  or  six  years  of  exercises  more  or  less 
fatiguing,  of  dreadful  privations  which  seriously  tax  his 
parents,  he  attains  a  certain  position. 

This  position  may  be  described  as  follows :  Thanks  to  a  sort 
of  reciprocal  support  extended  to  each  other,  and  which  an 
ingenious  writer  has  called  "Mutual  Admiration,"  Adolphe 
often  sees  his  name  cited  among  the  names  of  celebrities,  either 
in  the  prospectuses  of  the  book-trade,  or  in  the  lists  of  news- 
papers about  to  appear.  Publishers  print  the  title  of  one  of 
his  works  under  the  deceitful  heading  "!N  PRESS/'  which 
might  be  called  the  typographical  menagerie  of  bears.*  Cho- 
doreille  is  sometimes  mentioned  among  the  promising  young 
men  of  the  literary  world. 

For  eleven  years  Adolphe  de  Chodoreille  remains  in  the 
ranks  of  the  promising  young  men :  he  finally  obtains  a  free 
entrance  to  the  theatres,  thanks  to  some  dirty  work  or  certain 
articles  of  dramatic  criticism :  he  tries  to  pass  for  a  good  fel- 
low; and  as  he  loses  his  illusions  respecting  glory  and  the 
world  of  Paris,  he  gets  into  debt  and  his  years  begin  to  tell 
upon  him. 

A  paper  which  finds  itself  in  a  tight  place  asks  him  for  one 

*  A  bear  (ours)  is  a  play  which  has  been  refused  by  a  multitude  of  theatres,  but 
which  is  finally  represented  at  a  time  when  some  manager  or  other  feels  the  need  of 
one.  The  word  has  necessarily  'passed  from  the  language  of  the  stage  into  the 
jargon  of  journalism,  and  is  applied  to  novels  which  wander  the  streets  in  search 
of  a  publisher. 


420  PETTY  TROUBLES 

of  his  bears  revised  by  his  friends.  This  has  been  retouched 
and  revamped  every  five  years,  so  that  it  smells  of  the  poma- 
tum of  each  prevailing  and  then  forgotten  fashion.  To 
Adolphe  it  becomes  what  the  famous  cap,  which  he  was  con- 
stantly staking,  was  to  Corporal  Trim,  for  during  five  years 
"Anything  for  a  Woman"  (the  title  decided  upon)  "will  be 
one  of  the  most  entertaining  productions  of  our  epoch." 

After  eleven  years,  Chodoreille  is  regarded  as  having  writ- 
ten some  respectable  things,  five  or  six  tales  published  in  the 
dismal  magazines,  in  ladies'  newspapers,  or  in  works  intended 
for  children  of  tender  age. 

As  he  is  a  bachelor,  and  possesses  a  coat  and  a  pair  of  black 
cassimere  trousers,  and  when  he  pleases  may  thus  assume  the 
appearance  of  an  elegant  diplomat,  and  as  he  is  not  without 
a  certain  intelligent  air,  he  is  admitted  to  several  more  or  less 
literary  salons:  he  bows  to  the  five  or  six  academicians  who 
possess  genius,  influence  or  talent,  he  visits  two  or  three  of  our 
great  poets,  he  allows  himself,  in  coffee-rooms,  to  call  the  two 
or  three  justly  celebrated  women  of  our  epoch  by  their  Chris- 
tian names ;  he  is  on  the  best  of  terms  with  the  blue  stockings 
of  the  second  grade, — who  ought  to  be  called  socks, — and  he 
shakes  hands  and  takes  glasses  of  absinthe  with  the  stars  of 
the  smaller  newspapers. 

Such  is  the  history  of  every  species  of  ordinary  men — men 
who  have  been  denied  what  they  call  good  luck.  This  good 
luck  is  nothing  less  than  unyielding  will,  incessant  labor,  con- 
tempt for  an  easily  won  celebrity,  immense  learning,  and  that 
patience  which,  according  to  Buffon,  is  the  whole  of  genius, 
but  which  certainly  is  the  half  of  it. 

You  do  not  yet  see  any  indication  of  a  petty  trouble  for 
Caroline.  You  imagine  that  this  history  of  five  hundred 
young  men  engaged  at  this  moment  in  wearing  smooth  the 
paving  stones  of  Paris,  was  written  as  a  sort  of  warning  to 
the  families  of  the  eighty-six  departments  of  France :  but  read 
these  two  letters  which  lately  passed  between  two  girls  differ- 
ently married,  and  you  will  see  that  it  was  as  necessary  as 
the  narrative  by  which  every  true  melodrama  was  until  lately 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  421 

expected  to  open.  You  will  divine  the  skillful  manoeuvres  of 
the  Parisian  peacock  spreading  his  tail  in  the  recesses  of  his 
native  village,  and  polishing  up,  for  matrimonial  purposes, 
the  rays  of  his  glory,  which,  like  those  of  the  sun,  are  only 
warm  and  brilliant  at  a  distance. 


From  Madame  Claire  de  la  Roulandiere,  nee  Jugault,  to 
Madame  Adolphe  de  Chodoreille,  nee  Heurtaut. 

"VlVIERS. 

"You  have  not  yet  written  to  me,  and  it's  real  unkind  in 
you.  Don't  you  remember  that  the  happier  was  to  write  first 
and  to  console  her  who  remained  in  the  country  ? 

"Since  your  departure  for  Paris,  I  have  married  Monsieur 
de  la  Koulandiere,  the  president  of  the  tribunal.  You  know 
him,  and  you  can  judge  whether  I  am  happy  or  not,  with  my 
heart  saturated,  as  it  is,  with  our  ideas.  I  was  not  ignorant 
what  my  lot  would  be :  I  live  with  the  ex-president,  my  hus- 
band's uncle,  and  with  my  mother-in-law,  who  has  preserved 
nothing  of  the  ancient  parliamentary  society  of  Aix  but  its 
pride  and  its  severity  of  manners.  I  am  seldom  alone,  I  never 
go  out  unless  accompanied  by  my  mother-in-law  or  my  hus- 
band. We  receive  the  heavy  people  of  the  city  in  the  evening. 
They  play  whist  at  two  sous  a  point,  and  I  listen  to  conversa- 
tions of  this 'nature: 

"  'Monsieur  Vitremont  is  dead,  and  leaves  two  hundred 
and  eighty  thousand  francs,'  says  the  associate  judge,  a  young 
man  of  forty-seven,  who  is  as  entertaining  as  a  northwest 
wind. 

"  'Are  you  quite  sure  of  that  ?' 

"The  that  refers  to  the  two  hundred  and  eighty  thousand 
francs.  A  little  judge  then  holds  forth,  he  runs  over  the 
investments,  the  others  discuss  their  value,  and  it  is  definitely 
settled  that  if  he  has  not  left  two  hundred  and  eighty  thou- 
sand, he  left  something  near  it. 


422  PETTY  TROUBLES 

"Then  comes  a  universal  concert  of  eulogy  heaped  upon 
the  dead  man's  body,  for  having  kept  his  bread  under  lock  and 
key,  for  having  shrewdly  invested  his  little  savings  accumu- 
lated sou  by  sou,  in  order,  probably,  that  the  whole  city  and 
those  who  expect  legacies  may  applaud  and  exclaim  in  admira- 
tion, 'He  leaves  two  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  francs!' 
Now  everybody  has  rich  relations  of  whom  they  say  'Will  he 
leave  anything  like  it?'  and  thus  they  discuss  the  quick  as 
they  have  discussed  the  dead. 

"They  talk  of  nothing  but  the  prospects  of  fortune,  the 
prospects  of  a  vacancy  in  office,  the  prospects  of  the  harvest. 
"When  we  were  children,  and  used  to  look  at  those  pretty 
little  white  mice,  in  the  cobbler's  window  in  the  rue  St.  Mac- 
lou,  that  turned  and  turned  the  circular  cage  in  which  they 
were  imprisoned,  how  far  I  was  from  thinking  that  they  would 
one  day  be  a  faithful  image  of  my  life ! 

"Think  of  it,  my  being  in  this  condition ! — I  who  fluttered 
my  wings  so  much  more  than  you,  I  whose  imagination  was 
so  vagabond!  My  sins  have  been  greater  than  yours,  and  I 
am  the  more  severely  punished.  I  have  bidden  farewell  to  my 
dreams:  I  am  Madame  la  Presidente  in  all  my  glory,  and  I 
resign  myself  to  giving  my  arm  for  forty  years  to  my  big  awk- 
ward Eoulandiere,  to  living  meanly  in  every  way,  and  to  hav- 
ing forever  before  me  two  heavy  brows  and  two  wall-eyes 
pierced  in  a  yellow  face,  which  is  destined  never  to  know  what 
it  is  to  smile. 

"But  you,  Caroline  dear,  you  who,  between  ourselves,  were 
admitted  among  the  big  girls  while  I  still  gamboled  among 
the  little  ones,  you  whose  only  sin  was  pride,  you, — at  the  age 
of  twenty-seven,  and  with  a  dowry  of  two  hundred  thousand 
francs, — capture  and  captivate  a  truly  great  man,  one  of  the 
wittiest  men  in  Paris,  one  of  the  two  talented  men  that  our 
village  has  produced. — What  luck ! 

"You  now  circulate  in  the  most  brilliant  society  of  Paris. 
Thanks  to  the  sublime  privileges  of  genius,  you  may  appear 
in  all  the  salons  of  the  faubourg  St.  Germain,  and  be  cordially 
received.  You  have  the  exquisite  enjoyment  of  the  company 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  423 

of  the  two  or  three  celebrated  women  of  our  age,  where  so  many 
good  things  are  said,  where  the  happy  speeches  which  arrive 
out  here  like  Congreve  rockets,  are  first  fired  off.  You  go  to 
the  Baron  Schinner's  of  whom  Adolphe  so  often  spoke  to  us, 
whom  all  the  great  artists  and  foreigners  of  celebrity  visit. 
^In  short,  before  long,  you  will  be  one  of  the  queens  of  Paris, 
if  you  wish.  You  can  receive,  too,  and  have  at  your  house  the 
lions  of  literature,  fashion  and  finance,  whether  male  or 
female,  for  Adolphe  spoke  in  such  terms  about  his  illustrious 
friendships  and  his  intimacy  with  the  favorites  of  the  hour, 
that  I  imagine  you  giving  and  receiving  honors. 

"With  your  ten  thousand  francs  a  year,  and  the  legacy  from 
your  Aunt  Carabas,  added  to  the  twenty  thousand  francs  that 
your  husband  earns,  you  must  keep  a  carriage ;  and  since  you 
go  to  all  the  theatres  without  paying,  since  journalists  are 
the  heroes  of  all  the  inaugurations  so  ruinous  for  those  who 
keep  up  with  the  movement  of  Paris,  and  since  they  are  con- 
stantly invited  to  dinner,  you  live  as  if  you  had  an  income  of 
sixty  thousand  francs  a  year!  Happy  Caroline!  I  don't 
wonder  you  forget  me  ! 

"I  can  understand  how  it  is  that  you  have  not  a  moment 
to  yourself.  Your  bliss  is  the  cause  of  your  silence,  so  I  par- 
don you.  Still,  if,  fatigued  with  so  many  pleasures,  you  one 
day,  upon  the  summit  of  your  grandeur,  think  of  your  poor 
Claire,  write  to  me,  tell  me  what  a  marriage  with  a  great  man 
is,  describe  those  great  Parisian  ladies,  especially  those  who 
write.  Oh  !  I  should  so  much  like  to  know  what  they  are  made 
of !  Finally  don't  forget  anything,  unless  you  forget  that 
you  are  loved,  as  ever,  by  your  poor 

"CLAIRE  JUQAULT." 


From  Madame  Adolphe  de  Chodoreille  to  Madame  la  Presi- 
dente  de  la  Roulandiere,  at  Viviers. 

"PARIS. 

"Ah !  my  poor  Claire,  could  you  have  known  how  many 
wretched  little  griefs  your  innocent  letter  would  awaken,  you 


424  PETTY  TROUBLES 

never  would  have  written  it.  Certainly  no  friend,  and  not 
even  an  enemy,  on  seeing  a  woman  with  a  thousand  mosquito- 
bites  and  a  plaster  over  them,  would  amuse  herself  by  tearing 
it  off  and  counting  the  stings. 

"I  will  begin  by  telling  you  that  for  a  woman  of  twenty- 
seven,  with  a  face  still  passable,  but  with  a  form  a  little  too 
much  like  that  of  the  Emperor  Nicholas  for  the  humble  part  I 
play,  I  am  happy !  Let  me  tell  you  why :  Adolphe,  rejoicing 
in  the  deceptions  which  have  fallen  upon  me  like  a  hail-storm, 
smooths  over  the  wounds  in  my  self-love  by  so  much  affection, 
so  many  attentions,  and  such  charming  things,  that,  in  good 
truth,  women — so  far  as  they  are  simply  women — would  be 
glad  to  find  in  the  man  they  marry  defects  so  advantageous. 
But  all  men  of  letters  (Adolphe,  alas !  is  barely  a  man  of 
letters),  who  are  beings  not  a  bit  less  irritable,  nervous,  fickle 
and  eccentric  than  women,  are  far  from  possessing  such  solid 
qualities  as  those  of  Adolphe,  and  I  hope  they  have  not  all 
been  as  unfortunate  as  he. 

"Ah !  Claire,  we  love  each  other  well  enough  for  me  to  tell 
you  the  simple  truth.  I  have  saved  my  husband,  dear,  from 
profound  but  skillfully  concealed  poverty.  Far  from  receiving 
twenty  thousand  francs  a  year,  he  has  not  earned  that  sum  in 
the  entire  fifteen  years  that  he  has  been  at  Paris.  We  occupy 
a  third  story  in  the  rue  Joubert,  and  pay  twelve  hundred  francs 
for  it;  we  have  some  eighty-five  hundred  francs  left,  with 
which  I  endeavor  to  keep  house  honorably. 

"I  have  brought  Adolphe  luck;  for  since  our  marriage,  he 
has  obtained  the  control  of  a  feuilleton  which  is  worth  four 
hundred  francs  a  month  to  him,  though  it  takes  but  a  small 
portion  of  his  time.  He  owes  this  situation  to  an  investment. 
We  employed  the  seventy  thousand  francs  left  me  by  my  Aunt 
Carabas  in  giving  security  for  a  newspaper;  on  this  we  get 
nine  per  cent,  and  we  have  stock  besides.  Since  this  transac- 
tion, which  was  concluded  some  ten  months  ago,  our  income 
has  doubled,  and  we  now  possess  a  competence.  I  can  com- 
plain of  my  marriage  in  a  pecuniary  point  of  view  no  more 
than  as  regards  my  affections.  My  vanity  alone  has  suffered, 


OF  MAKRIED  LIFE  425 

and  my  ambition  has  been  swamped.  You  will  understand 
the  various  petty  troubles  which  have  assailed  me,  by  a  single 
specimen. 

"Adolphe,  you  remember,  appeared  to  us  on  intimate  terms 
with  the  famous  Baroness  Schinner,  so  renowned  for  her  wit, 
her  influence,  her  wealth  and  her  connection  with  celebrated 
men.  I  supposed  that  he  was  welcomed  at  her  house  as  a 
friend :  my  husband  presented  -me,  and  I  was  coldly  received.  I 
saw  that  her  rooms  were  furnished  with  extravagant  luxury ; 
and  instead  of  Madame  Schinner's  returning  my  call,  I 
received  a  card,  twenty  days  afterward,  and  at  an  insolently 
improper  hour. 

"On  arriving  at  Paris,  I  went  to  walk  upon  the  boulevard, 
proud  of  my  anonymous  great  man.  He  nudged  me  with  his 
elbow,  and  said,  pointing  out  a  fat  little  ill-dressed  man, 
'There's  so  and  so !'  He  mentioned  one  of  the  seven  or  eight 
illustrious  men  in  France.  I  got  ready  my  look  of  admiration, 
and  I  saw  Adolphe  rapturously  doffing  his  hat  to  the  truly 
great  man,  who  replied  by  the  curt  little  nod  that  you  vouch- 
safe a  person  with  whom  you  have  doubtless  exchanged  hardly 
four  words  in  ten  years.  Adolphe  had  begged  a  look  for  my 
sake.  'Doesn't  he  know  you  ?'  I  said  to  my  husband.  'Oh, 
yes,  but  he  probably  took  me  for  somebody  else,'  replied  he. 

"And  so  of  poets,  so  of  celebrated  musicians,  so  of  statesmen. 
But,  as  a  compensation,  we  stop  and  talk  for  ten  minutes  in 
front  of  some  arcade  or  other,  with  Messieurs  Armand  du  Can- 
tal,  George  Beaunoir,  Felix  Verdoret,  of  whom  you  have  never 
heard.  Mesdames  Constantine  Eamachard,  Anai's  Crottat, 
and  Lucienne  Vouillon  threaten  me  with  their  Hue  friendship. 
We  dine  editors  totally  unknown  in  our  province.  Finally, 
1  have  had  the  painful -happiness  of  seeing  Adolphe  decline 
an  invitation  to  an  evening  party  to  which  I  was  not  bidden. 

"Oh !  Clare  dear,  talent  is  still  the  rare  flower  of  spon- 
taneous growth,  that  no  greenhouse  culture  can  produce.  I 
do  not  deceive  myself:  Adolphe  is  an  ordinary  man,  known, 
estimated  as  such :  he  has  no  other  chance,  as  he  himself  says, 
than  to  take  his  place  among  the  utilities  of  literature.  He 


426  PETTY  TROUBLES 

was  not  without  wit  at  Viviers :  but  to  be  a  man  of  wit  at  Paris, 
you  must  possess  every  kind  of  wit  in  formidable  doses. 

"I  esteem  Adolphe :  for,  after  some  few  fibs,  he  frankly  con- 
fessed his  position,  and,  without  humiliating  himself  too 
deeply,  he  promised  that  I  should  be  happy.  He  hopes,  like 
numerous  other  ordinary  men,  to  obtain  some  place,  that  of 
an  assistant  librarian,  for  instance,  or  the  pecuniary  manage- 
ment of  a  newspaper.  Who  knows  but  we  may  get  him  elected 
deputy  for  Viviers,  in  the  course  of  time? 

"We  live  in  obscurity :  we  have  five  or  six  friends  of  either 
sex  whom  we  like,  and  such  is  the  brilliant  style  of  life  which 
your  letter  gilded  with  all  the  social  splendors. 

"From  time  to  time  I  am  caught  in  a  squall,  or  am  the  butt 
of  some  malicious  tongue.  Thus,  yesterday,  at  the  opera,  I 
heard  one  of  our  most  ill-natured  wits,  Leon  de  Lora,  say  to 
one  of  our  most  famous  critics,  'It  takes  Chodoreille  to  dis- 
cover the  Caroline  poplar  on  the  banks  of  the  Ehone !'  They 
had  heard  my  husband  call  me  by  my  Christian  name.  At 
Viviers  I  was  considered  handsome.  I  am  tall,  well  made, 
and  fat  enough  to  satisfy  Adolphe !  In  this  way  I  learn  that 
the  beauty  of  women  from  the  country  is,  at  Paris,  precisely 
like  the  wit  of  country  gentlemen. 

"In  short,  I  am  absolutely  nobody,  if  that  is  what  you  wish 
to  know:  but  if  you  desire  to  learn  how  far  my  philosophy 
goes,  understand  that  I  am  really  happy  in  having  found  an 
ordinary  man  in  my  pretended  great  one. 

"Farewell,  dear  Claire !  It  is  still  I,  you  see,  who,  in  spite 
of  my  delusions  and  the  petty  troubles  of  my  life,  am  the  most 
favorably  situated :  for  Adolphe  is  young,  and  a  charming  fel- 
low. 

"CAROLINE  HEURTAUT/' 

Claire's  reply  contained,  among  other  passages,  the  follow- 
ing :  "I  hope  that  the  indescribable  happiness  which  you  enjoy, 
will  continue,  thanks  to  your  philosophy."  Claire,  as  any 
intimate  female  friend  would  have  done,  consoled  herself  for 
her  president  by  insinuations  respecting  Adolphe's  prospects 
and  future  conduct. 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  427 

II.   ANOTHER  GLANCE  AT   CHODOREILLB. 

'(Letter  discovered  one  day  in  a  casket,  while  she  was  mak- 
ing me  wait  a  long  time  and  trying  to  get  rid  of  a  hanger-on 
who  could  not  be  made  to  understand  hidden  meanings.  I 
caught  cold — but  I  got  hold  of  this  letter.) 

This  fatuous  note  was  found  on  a  paper  which  the  notary's 
clerks  had  thought  of  no  importance  in  the  inventory  of 
the  estate  of  M.  Ferdinand  de  Bourgarel,  who  was  mourned 
of  late  by  politics,  arts  and  amours,  and  in  whom  is  ended  the 
great  Provengal  house  of  Borgarelli;  for,  as  is  generally 
known,  the  name  Bourgarel  is  a  corruption  of  Borgarelli  just 
as  the  French  Girardin  is  the  Florentine  Gherardini. 

An  intelligent  reader  will  find  little  difficulty  in  placing 
this  letter  in  its  proper  epoch  in  the  lives  of  Adolphe  and 
Caroline. 

"My  dear  Friend: 

"I  thought  myself  lucky  indeed  to  marry  an  artist  as  su- 
perior in  his  talent  as  in  his  personal  attributes,  equally  great 
in  soul  and  mind,  worldly-wise,  and  likely  to  rise  by  following 
the  public  road  without  being  obliged  to  wander  along  crooked, 
doubtful  by-paths.  However,  you  knew  Adolphe;  you  ap- 
preciated his  worth.  I  am  loved,  he  is  a  father,  I  idolize  our 
children.  Adolphe  is  kindness  itself  to  me;  I  admire  and 
love  him.  But,  my  dear,  in  this  complete  happiness  lurks  a 
thorn.  The  roses  upon  which  I  recline  have  more  than  one 
fold.  In  the  heart  of  a  woman,  folds  speedily  turn  to 
wounds.  These  wounds  soon  bleed,  the  evil  spreads,  we  suffer, 
the  suffering  awakens  thoughts,  the  thoughts  swell  and  change 
the  course  of  sentiment. 

"Ah !  my  dear,  you  shall  know  about  it,  though  it  is  a  cruel 
thing  to  say — but  we  live  as  much  by  vanity  as  by  love.  To 
live  by  love  alone,  one  must  dwell  somewhere  else  than  in 
Paris.  What  difference  would  it  make  to  us  whether  we  had 
only  one  white  percale  gown,  if  the  man  we  love  did  not  see 
other  women  dressed  differently,  more  elegantly  than  we — 


428  PETTY  TROUBLES 

women  who  inspire  ideas  by  their  ways,  by  a  multitude  of 
little  things  which  really  go  to  make  up  great  passions? 
Vanity,  my  dear,  is  cousin-german  to  jealousy,  to  that  beau- 
tiful and  noble  jealousy  which  consists  in  not  allowing  one's 
empire  to  be  invaded,  in  reigning  undisturbed  in  a  soul,  and 
passing  one's  life  happily  in  a  heart. 

"Ah,  well,  my  woman's  vanity  is  on  the  rack.  Though 
some  troubles  may  seem  petty  indeed,  I  have  learned,  unfor- 
tunately, that  in  the  home  there  are  no  petty  troubles.  For 
everything  there  is  magnified  by  incessant  contact  with  sensa- 
tions, with  desires,  with  ideas.  Such  then  is  the  secret  of 
that  sadness  which  you  have  surprised  in  me  and  which  I 
did  not  care  to  explain.  It  is  one  of  those  things  in  which 
words  go  too  far,  and  where  writing  holds  at  least  the  thought 
within  bounds  by  establishing  it.  The  effects  of  a  moral 
perspective  differ  so  radically  between  what  is  said  and  what 
is  written !  All  is  so  solemn,  so  serious  on  paper !  One 
cannot  commit  any  more  imprudences.  Is  it  not  this  fact 
which  makes  a  treasure  out  of  a  letter  where  one  gives  one's 
self  over  to  one's  thoughts  ? 

"You  doubtless  thought  me  wretched,  but  I  am  only 
wounded.  You  discovered  me  sitting  alone  by  the  fire,  and 
no  Adolphe.  I  had  just  finished  putting  the  children  to  bed ; 
they  were  asleep.  Adolphe  for  the  tenth  time  had  been 
invited  out  to  a  house  where  I  do  not  go,  where  they  want 
Adolphe  without  his  wife.  There  are  drawing-rooms  where 
he  goes  without  me,  just  as  there  are  many  pleasures  in  which 
he  alone  is  the  guest.  If  he  were  M.  de  Navarreins  and 
I  a  d'Espard,  society  would  never  think  of  separating  us;  it 
would  want  us  always  together.  His  habits  are  formed;  he 
does  not  suspect  the  humiliation  which  weighs  upon  my  heart. 
Indeed,  if  he  had  the  slightest  inkling  of  this  small  sorrow 
which  I  am  ashamed  to  own,  he  would  drop  society,  he  would 
become  more  of  a  prig  than  the  people  who  come  between  us. 
But  he  would  hamper  his  progress,  he  would  make  enemies, 
he  would  raise  up  obstacles  by  imposing  me  upon  the  salons 
where  I  would  be  subject  to  a  thousand  slights.  That  is  why 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  429 

1  prefer  my  sufferings  to  what  would  happen  were  they  dis- 
covered. 

"Adolphe  will  succeed !  He  carries  my  revenge  in  his  beau- 
tiful head,  does  this  man  of  genius.  One  day  the  world  shall 
pay  for  all  these  slights.  But  when?  Perhaps  I  shall  be 
forty-five.  My  beautiful  youth  will  have  passed  in  my  chim- 
ney-corner, and  with  this  thought:  Adolphe  smiles,  he  is 
enjoying  the  society  of  fair  women,  he  is  playing  the  devoted 
to  them,  while  none  of  these  attentions  come  my  way. 

"It  may  be  that  these  will  finally  take  him  from  me ! 

"No  one  undergoes  slight  without  feeling  it,  and  I  feel 
that  I  am  slighted,  though  young,  beautiful  and  virtuous. 
Now,  can  I  keep  from  thinking  this  way?  Can  I  control 
my  anger  at  the  thought  that  Adolphe  is  dining  in  the  city 
without  me  ?  I  take  no  part  in  his  triumphs ;  I  do  not  hear 
the  witty  or  profound  remarks  made  to  others !  I  could  no 
longer  be  content  with  bourgeois  receptions  whence  he  rescued 
me,  upon  finding  me  distinguee,  wealthy,  young,  beautiful 
and  witty.  There  lies  the  evil,  and  it  is  irremediable. 

"In  a  word,  for  some  cause,  it  is  only  since  I  cannot  go  to 
a  certain  salon  that  I  want  to  go  there.  Nothing  is  more 
natural  of  the  ways  of  a  human  heart.  The  ancients  were 
wise  in  having  their  gyneceums.  The  collisions  between  the 
pride  of  the  women,  caused  by  these  gatherings,  though  it 
dates  back  only  four  centuries,  has  cost  our  own  day  much 
disaffection  and  numerous  bitter  debates. 

"Be  that  as  it  may,  my  dear,  Adolphe  is  Always  warmly 
welcomed  when  he  comes  back  home.  Still,  no  nature  is 
strong  enough  to  await  always  with  the  same  ardor.  What 
a  morrow  that  will  be,  following  the  evening  when  his  welcome 
is  less  warm ! 

"Now  do  you  see  the  depth  of  the  fold  which  I  mentioned  ? 
A  fold  in  the  heart  is  an  abyss,  like  a  crevasse  in  the  Alps — 
a  profundity  whose  depth  and  extent  we  have  never  been  able 
to  calculate.  Thus  it  is  between  two  beings,  no  matter  how 
near  they  may  be  drawn  to  each  other.  One  never  realizes  the 
weight  of  suffering  which  oppresses  his  friend.  Thit  seemt 


430  PETTY  TROUBLES 

such  a  little  thing,  yet  one's  life  is  affected  by  it  in  all  its 
length,  in  all  its  breadth.  I  have  thus  argued  with  myself; 
but  the  more  I  have  argued,  the  more  thoroughly  have  I 
realized  the  extent  of  this  hidden  sorrow.  And  I  can  only  let 
the  current  carry  me  whither  it  will. 

"Two  voices  struggle  for  supremacy  when — by  a  rarely  for- 
tunate chance — I  am  alone  in  my  armchair  waiting  for 
Adolphe.  One,  I  would  wager,  comes  from  Eugene  Dela- 
croix's Faust  which  I  have  on  my  table.  Mephistopheles 
speaks,  that  terrible  aide  who  guides  the  swords  so  dextrously. 
He  leaves  the  engraving,  and  places  himself  diabolically  before 
me,  grinning  through  the  hole  which  the  great  artist  has 
placed  under  his  nose,  and  gazing  at  me  with  that  eye  whence 
fall  rubies,  diamonds,  carriages,  jewels,  laces,  silks,  and  a 
thousand  luxuries  to  feed  the  burning  desire  within  me. 

"  'Are  you  not  fit  for  society  ?'  he  asks.  'You  are  the  equal 
of  the  fairest  duchesses.  Your  voice  is  like  a  siren's,  your 
hands  command  respect  and  love.  Ah!  that  arm! — place 
bracelets  upon  it,  and  how  pleasingly  it  would  rest  upon  the 
velvet  of  a  robe!  Your  locks  are  chains  which  would  fetter 
all  men.  And  you  could  lay  all  your  triumphs  at  Adolphe's 
feet,  show  him  your  power  and  never  use  it.  Then  he  would 
fear,  where  now  he  lives  in  insolent  certainty.  Come!  To 
action!  Inhale  a  few  mouthfuls  of  disdain  and  you  will 
exhale  clouds  of  incense.  Dare  to  reign !  Are  you  not  next 
to  nothing  here  in  your  chimney-corner  ?  Sooner  or  later  the 
pretty  spouse,  the  beloved  wife  will  die,  if  you  continue  like 
this,  in  a  dressing-gown.  Come,  and  you  shall  perpetuate 
your  sway  through  the  arts  of  coquetry!  show  yourself  in 
salons,  and  your  pretty  foot  shall  trample  down  the  love  of 
your  rivals.' 

"The  other  voice  comes  from  my  white  marble  mantel, 
which  rustles  like  a  garment.  I  think  I  see  a  veritable  goddess 
crowned  with  white  roses,  and  bearing  a  palm-branch  in  her 
hand.  Two  blue  eyes  smile  down  on  me.  This  simple  image 
of  virtue  says  to  me: 

"Be  content!     Remain  good  always,  and  make  this  man 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  431 

happy.  That  is  the  whole  of  your  mission.  The  sweetness 
of  angels  triumphs  over  all  pain.  Faith  in  themselves  has 
enabled  the  martyrs  to  obtain  solace  even  on  the  brasiers  of 
their  tormentors.  Suffer  a  moment;  you  shall  be  happy  in 
the  end/ 

"Sometimes  Adolphe  enters  at  that  moment  and  I  am  con- 
tent. But,  my  dear,  I  have  less  patience  than  love.  I  almost 
wish  to  tear  in  pieces  the  woman  who  can  go  everywhere,  and 
whose  society  is  sought  out  by  men  and  women  alike.  What 
profound  thought  lies  in  the  line  of  Moliere : 

"  'The  world,  dear  Agnes,  is  a  curious  thing  ! ' 

"You  know  nothing  of  this  petty  trouble,  you  fortunate 
Mathilde !  You  are  well  born.  You  can  do  a  great  deal  for 
me.  Just  think !  I  can  write  you  things  that  I  dared  not 
speak  about.  Your  visits  mean  so  much;  come  often  to  see 
your  poor 

"CAROLINE." 

"Well,"  said  I  to  the  notary's  clerk,  "do  you  know  what  was 
the  nature  of  this  letter  to  the  late  Bourgarel?" 
"No." 

"A  note  of  exchange." 
Neither  clerk  nor  notary  understood  my  meaning.  Do  you  ? 

THE  PANGS  OF  INNOCENCE. 

"Yes,  dear,  in  the  married  state,  many  things  will  happen 
to  you  which  you  are  far  from  expecting :  but  then  others  will 
happen  which  you  expect  still  less.  For  instance — " 

The  author  (may  we  say  the  ingenious  author  ?)  qui  castigat 
ridendo  mores,  and  who  has  undertaken  the  Petty  Troubles  of 
Married  Life,  hardly  needs  to  remark,  that,  for  prudence'  sake, 
he  here  allows  a  lady  of  high  distinction  to  speak,  and  that  he 
does  not  assume  the  responsibility  of  her  language,  though  he 
professes  the  most  sincere  admiration  for  the  charming  person 
to  whom  he  owes  his  acquaintance  with  this  petty  trouble. 


432  PETTY  TROUBLES 

"For  instance — "  she  says. 

He  nevertheless  thinks  proper  to  avow  that  this  person  is 
neither  Madame  Foullepointe,  nor  Madame  de  Fischtaminel, 
nor  Madame  Deschars. 

Madame  Deschars  is  too  prudish,  Madame  Foullepointe  too 
absolute  in  her  household,  and  she  knows  it;  indeed,  what 
doesn't  she  know  ?  She  is  good-natured,  she  sees  good  society, 
she  wishes  to  have  the  best :  people  overlook  the  vivacity  of  her 
witticisms,  as,  under  Louis  XIV.,  they  overlooked  the  remarks 
of  Madame  Cornuel.  They  overlook  a  good  many  things  in 
her;  there  are  some  women  who  are  the  spoiled  children  of 
public  opinion. 

As  to  t  Madame  de  Fischtaminel,  who  is,  in  fact,  connected 
with  the  affair,  as  you  shall  see,  she,  being  unable  to  recrimi- 
nate, abstains  from  words  and  recriminates  in  acts. 

We  give  permission  to  all  to  think  that  the  speaker  is  Caro- 
line herself,  not  the  silly  little  Caroline  of  tender  years,  but 
Caroline  when  she  has  become  a  woman  of  thirty. 

"For  instance/'  she  remarks  to  a  young  woman  whom  she  ia 
edifying,  "you  will  have  children,  God  willing." 

"Madame,"  I  say,  "don't  let  us  mix  the  deity  up  in  this, 
unless  it  is  an  allusion — " 

"You  are  impertinent,"  she  replies,  "you  shouldn't  inter- 
rupt a  woman — " 

"When  she  is  busy  with  children,  I  know :  but,  madame,  you 
ought  not  to  trifle  with  the  innocence  of  young  ladies.  Made- 
moiselle is  going  to  be  married,  and  if  she  were  led  to  count 
upon  the  intervention  of  the  Supreme  Being  in  this  affair, 
she  would  fall  into  serious  errors.  We  should  not  deceive  the 
young.  Mademoiselle  is  beyond  the  age  when  girls  are  in- 
formed that  their  little  brother  was  found  under  a  cabbage." 

"You  evidently  want  to  get  me  confused,"  she  replies, 
smiling  and  showing  the  loveliest  teeth  in  the  world.  "I 
am  not  strong  enough  to  argue  with  you,  so  I  beg  you  to  let 
me  go  on  with  Josephine.  What  was  I  saying?" 

"That  if  I  get  married,  I  shall  have  children,"  returns  the 
young  lady. 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  433 

"Very  well.  I  will  not  represent  things  to  you  worse  than 
they  are,  but  it  is  extremely  probable  that  each  child  will  cost 
you  a  tooth.  With  every  baby  I  have  lost  a  tooth." 

"Happily,"  I  remark  at  this,  "this  trouble  was  with  you  less 
than  petty,  it  was  positively  nothing." — They  were  side 
teeth. — "But  take  notice,  miss,  that  this  vexation  has  no  abso- 
lute, unvarying  character  as  such.  The  annoyance  depends 
upon  the  condition  of  the  tooth.  If  the  baby  causes  the  loss 
of  a  decayed  tooth,  you  are  fortunate  enough  to  have  a  baby 
the  more  and  a  bad  tooth  the  less.  Don't  let  us  confound 
blessings  with  bothers.  Ah !  if  you  were  to  lose  one  of  your 
magnificent  front  teeth,  that  would  be  another  thing!  And 
yet  there  is  many  a  woman  that  would  give  the  best  tooth  in 
her  head  for  a  fine,  healthy  boy !" 

"Well,"  resumes  Caroline,  with  animation,  "at  the  risk  of 
destroying  your  illusions,  poor  child,  I'll  just  show  you  a  petty 
trouble  that  counts !  Ah,  it's  atrocious !  And  I  won't 
leave  the  subject  of  dress  which  this  gentleman  considers  the 
only  subject  we  women  are  equal  to." 

I  protest  by  a  gesture. 

"I  had  been  married  about  two  years,"  continues  Caroline, 
"and  I  loved  my  husband.  I  have  got  over  it  since  and 
acted  differently  for  his  happiness  and  mine.  I  can  boast  of 
having  one  of  the  happiest  homes  in  Paris.  In  short,  my 
dear,  I  loved  the  monster,  and,  even  when  out  in  society,  saw 
no  one  but  him.  My  husband  had  already  said  to  me  several 
times,  'My  dear,  young  women  never  dress  well ;  your  mother 
liked  to  have  you  look  like  a  stick, — she  had  her  reasons  for 
it.  If  you  care  for  my  advice,  take  Madame  de  Fischtaminel 
for  a  model :  she  is  a  lady  of  taste/  I,  unsuspecting  creature 
that  I  was,  saw  no  perfidy  in  the  recommendation. 

"One  evening  as  we  returned  from  a  party,  he  said,  'Did  you 
notice  how  Madame  de  Fischtaminel  was  dressed  ?'  Tes,  very 
neatl}7.'  And  I  said  to  myself,  'He's  always  talking  about  Ma- 
dame de  Fischtaminel ;  I  must  really  dress  just  like  her.'  I  had 
noticed  the  stuff  and  the  make  of  the  dress,  and  the  style  of 
the  trimmings.  I  was  as  happy  as  could  be,  as  I  went  trotting 


434  PETTY  TROUBLES 

about  town,  doing  everything  I  could  to  obtain  the  same 
articles.  I  sent  for  the  very  same  dressmaker. 

"  'You  work  for  Madame  de  Fischtaminel/  I  said. 

'"Yes,  madame/ 

"'Well,  I  will  employ  you  as  my  dressmaker,  but  on  one 
condition :  you  see  I  have  procured  the  stuff  of  which  her  gown 
is  made,  and  I  want  you  to  make  me  one  exactly  like  it.' 

"I  confess  that  I  did  not  at  first  pay  any  attention  to  a 
rather  shrewd  smile  of  the  dressmaker,  though  I  saw  it  and 
afterwards  accounted  for  it.  'So  like  it/  I  added,  'that  you 
can't  tell  them  apart/ 

"Oh,"  says  Caroline,  interrupting  herself  and  looking  at 
me,  "you  men  teach  us  to  live  like  spiders  in  the  depths  of 
their  webs,  to  see  everything  without  seeming  to  look  at  it,  to 
investigate  the  meaning  and  spirit  of  words,  movements,  looks. 
You  say,  'How  cunning  women  are !'  But  you  should  say, 
'How  deceitful  men  are!' 

"I  can't  tell  you  how  much  care,  how  many  steps,  how 
many  manoeuvres,  it  cost  me  to  become  Madame  de  Fischta- 
minel's  duplicate !  But  these  are  our  battles,  child,"  she  adds, 
returning  to  Josephine.  "I  could  not  find  a  certain  little 
embroidered  neckerchief,  a  very  marvel!  I  finally  learned 
that  it  was  made  to  order.  I  unearthed  the  embroideress,  and 
ordered  a  kerchief  like  Madame  de  Fischtaminel's.  The 
price  was  a  mere  trifle,  one  hundred  and  fifty  francs !  It  had 
been  ordered  by  a  gentleman  who  had  made  a  present  of  it  to 
Madame  de  Fischtaminel.  All  my  savings  were  absorbed  by 
it.  Now  we  women  of  Paris  are  all  of  us  very  much  restricted 
in  the  article  of  dress.  There  is  not  a  man  worth  a  hundred 
thousand  francs  a  year,  that  loses  ten  thousand  a  winter  at 
whist,  who  does  not  consider  his  wife  extravagant,  and  is  not 
alarmed  at  her  bills  for  what  he  calls  'rags' !  'Let  my  savings 
go/  I  said.  And  they  went.  I  had  the  modest  pride  of  a 
woman  in  love :  I  would  not  speak  a  word  to  Adolphe  of  my 
dress ;  I  wanted  it  to  be  a  surprise,  goose  that  I  was !  Oh,  how 
brutally  you  men  take  away  our  blessed  ignorance !" 

This  remark  is  meant  for  me,  for  me  who  had  taken  noth- 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  435 

ing  from  the  lady,  neither  tooth,  nor  anything  whatever  of 
the  things  with  a  name  and  without  a  name  that  may  be  taken 
from  a  woman. 

"I  must  tell  you  that  my  husband  took  me  to  Madame  de 
FischtaminePs,  where  I  dined  quite  often.  I  heard  her  say 
to  him,  'Why,  your  wife  looks  very  well  V  She  had  a  patroniz- 
ing way  with  me  that  I  put  up  with:  Adolphe  wished  that  I 
could  have  her  wit  and  preponderance  in  society.  In  short, 
this  phoenix  of  women  was  my  model.  I  studied  and  copied 
her,  I  took  immense  pains  not  to  be  myself — oh !  it  was  a  poem 
that  no  one  but  us  women  can  understand !  Finally,  the  day 
of  my  triumph  dawned.  My  heart  beat  for  joy,  as  if  I  were 
a  child,  as  if  I  were  what  we  all  are  at  twenty-two.  My 
husband  was  going  to  call  for  me  for  a  walk  in  the  Tuileries : 
he  came  in,  I  looked  at  him  radiant  with  joy,  but  he  took  no 
notice.  Well,  I  can  confess  it  now,  it  was  one  of  those  fright- 
ful disasters — but  I  will  say  nothing  about  it — this  gentleman 
here  would  make  fun  of  me." 

I  protest  by  another  movement. 

"It  was,"  she  goes  on,  for  a  woman  never  stops  till  she 
has  told  the  whole  of  a  thing,  "as  if  I  had  seen  an  edifice  built 
by  a  fairy  crumble  into  ruins.  Adolphe  manifested  not  the 
slightest  surprise.  We  got  into  the  carriage.  Adolphe 
noticed  my  sadness,  and  asked  me  what  the  matter  was:  I 
replied  as  we  always  do  when  our  hearts  are  wrung  by  these 
petty  vexations,  'Oh,  nothing!'  Then  he  took  his  eye-glass, 
and  stared  at  the  promenaders  on  the  Champs  Elysees,  for  we 
were  to  go  the  rounds  of  the  Champs  Elysees,  before  taking  our 
walk  at  the  Tuileries.  Finally,  a  fit  of  impatience  seized  me.  I 
felt  a  slight  attack  of  fever,  and  when  I  got  home,  I  composed 
myself  to  smile.  'You  haven't  said  a  word  about  my  dress !' 
I  muttered.  'Ah,  yes,  your  gown  is  somewhat  like  Madame 
de  Fischtaminel's.'  He  turned  on  his  heel  and  went  away. 

"The  next  day  I  pouted  a  little,  as  you  may  readily  imagine. 
Just  as  we  were  finishing  breakfast  by  the  fire  in  my  room — I 
shall  never  forget  it — the  embroideress  called  to  get  her  money 
for  the  neckerchief.  I  paid  her.  She  bowed  to  my  husband 


436  PETTY  TROUBLES 

as  if  she  knew  him.  I  ran  after  her  on  pretext  of  getting  her 
to  receipt  the  bill,  and  said :  'You  didn't  ask  him  so  much  for 
Madame  de  Fischtaminel's  kerchief  V  (l  assure  .you,  madame, 
it's  the  same  price,  the  gentleman  did  not  beat  me  down  a 
mite.'  I  returned  to  my  room  where  I  found  my  husband 
looking  as  foolish  as — " 

She  hesitates  and  then  resumes :  "As  a  miller  just  made  a 
bishop.  'I  understand,  love,  now,  that  I  shall  never  be  any- 
thing more  than  somewhat  like  Madame  de  Fischtaminel.' 
'You  refer  to  the  neckerchief,  I  suppose:  well,  I  did  give  it 
to  her, — it  was  for  her  birthday.  You  see,  we  were  formerly — ' 
'Ah,  you  were  formerly  more  intimate  than  you  are  now !' 
Without  replying  to  this,  he  added,  'But  it's  altogether 
moral.' 

"He  took  his  hat  and  went  out,  leaving  me  with  this  fine 
declaration  of  the  Eights  of  Man.  He  did  not  return  and 
came  home  late  at  night.  I  remained  in  my  chamber  and 
wept  like  a  Magdalen,  in  the  chimney-corner.  You  may 
laugh  at  me,  if  you  will,"  she  adds,  looking  at  me,  "but  I 
shed  tears  over  my  youthful  illusions,  and  I  wept,  too,  for 
spite,  at  having  been  taken  for  a  dupe.  I  remembered  the 
dressmaker's  smile !  ah,  that  smile  reminded  me  of  the  smiles 
of  a  number  of  women,  who  laughed  at  seeing  me  so  innocent 
and  unsuspecting  at  Madame  de  Fischtaminel's !  I  wept  sin- 
cerely. Until  now  I  had  a  right  to  give  my  husband  credit 
for  many  things  which  he  did  not  possess,  but  in  the  existence 
of  which  young  married  women  pertinaciously  believe. 

"How  many  great  troubles  are  included  in  this  petty  one ! 
You  men  are  a  vulgar  set.  There  is  not  a  woman  who  does 
not  carry  her  delicacy  so  far  as  to  embroider  her  past  life 
with  the  most  delightful  fibs,  while  you — but  I  have  had  my 
revenge." 

"Madame,"  I  say,  "you  are  giving  this  young  lady  too 
much  information." 

"True,"  she  returns,  "I  will  tell  you  the  sequel  some  other 
time." 

"Thus,  you  see,  mademoiselle,"  I  say,  "you  imagine  you  are 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  437 

buying  a  neckerchief  and  you  find  a  petty  trouble  round  your 
neck :  if  you  get  it  given  to  you — " 

"It's  a  great  trouble/'  retorts  the  woman  of  distinction. 
"Let  us  stop  here." 

The  moral  of  this  fable  is  that  you  must  wear  your  necker- 
chief without  thinking  too  much  about  it.  The  ancient 
prophets  called  this  world,  even  in  their  time,  a  valley  of  woe. 
Now,  at  that  period,  the  Orientals  had,  with  the  permission 
of  the  constituted  authorities,  a  swarm  of  comely  slaves,  be- 
sides their  wives !  What  shall  we  call  the  valley  of  the  Seine 
between  Calvary  and  Charenton,  where  the  law  allows  but  one 
lawful  wife. 

THE  UNIVERSAL  AMADIS. 

You  will  understand  at  once  that  I  began  to  gnaw  the 
head  of  my  cane,  to  consult  the  ceiling,  to  gaze  at  the  fire,  to 
examine  Caroline's  foot,  and  I  thus  held  out  till  the  marriage- 
able young  lady  was  gone. 

"You  must  excuse  me,"  I  said,  "if  I  have  remained  behind, 
perhaps  in  spite  of  you:  but  your  vengeance  would  lose  by 
being  recounted  by  and  by,  and  if  it  constituted  a  petty 
trouble  for  your  husband,  I  have  the  greatest  interest  in  hear- 
ing it,  and  you  shall  know  why." 

"Ah,"  she  returned,  "that  expression,  'it's  altogether  moral' 
which  he  gave  as  an  excuse,  shocked  me  to  the  last  degree.  It 
was  a  great  consolation,  truly,  to  me,  to  know  that  I  held 
the  place,  in  his  household,  of  a  piece  of  furniture,  a  block; 
that  my  kingdom  lay  among  the  kitchen  utensils,  the  acces- 
sories of  my  toilet,  and  the  physicians'  prescriptions;  that 
our  conjugal  love  had  been  assimilated  to  dinner  pills,  to 
veal  soup  and  white  mustard;  that  Madame  de  Fischtaminel 
possessed  my  husband's  soul,  his  admiration,  and  that  she 
charmed  and  satisfied  his  intellect,  while  I  was  a  kind  of 
purely  physical  necessity !  What  do  you  think  of  a  woman's 
being  degraded  to  the  situation  of  a  soup  or  a  plate  of  boiled 
beef,  and  without  parsley,  at  that !  Oh,  I  composed  a  catilinic, 
that  evening — " 


438  PETTY  TROUBLES 

"Philippic  is  better." 

"Well,  either.  I'll  say  anything  you  like,  for  I  was  per- 
fectly furious,  and  I  don't  remember  what  I  screamed  in  the 
desert  of  my  bedroom.  Do  you  suppose  that  this  opinion, 
that  husbands  have  of  their  wives,  the  parts  they  give  them, 
is  not  a  singular  vexation  for  us?  Our  petty  troubles  are 
always  pregnant  with  greater  ones.  My  Adolphe  needed  a 
lesson.  You  know  the  Vicomte  de  Lustrac,  a  desperate 
amateur  of  women  and  music,  an  epicure,  one  of  those  ex- 
beaux  of  the  Empire,  who  live  upon  their  earlier  successes, 
and  who  cultivate  themselves  with  excessive  care,  in  order 
to  secure  a  second  crop  ?" 

"Yes/'  I  said,  "one  of  those  laced,  braced,  corseted  old 
fellows  of  sixty,  who  work  such  wonders  by  the  grace  of  their 
forms,  and  who  might  give  a  lesson  to  the  youngest  dandies 
among  us." 

"Monsieur  de  Lustrac  is  as  selfish  as  a  king,  but  gallant 
and  pretentious,  spite  of  his  jet  black  wig." 

"As  to  his  whiskers,  he  dyes  them." 

"He  goes  to  ten  parties  in  an  evening :  he's  a  butterfly." 

"He  gives  capital  dinners  and  concerts,  and  patronizes 
inexperienced  songstresses." 

"He  takes  bustle  for  pleasure." 

"Yes,  but  he  makes  off  with  incredible  celerity  whenever  a 
misfortune  occurs.  Are  you  in  mourning,  he  avoids  you. 
Are  you  confined,  he  awaits  your  churching  before  he  visits 
you.  He  possesses  a  mundane  frankness  and  a  social 
intrepidity  which  challenge  admiration." 

"But  does  it  not  require  courage  to  appear  to  be  what  one 
really  is  ?"  I  asked. 

"Well,"  she  resumed,  after  we  had  exchanged  our  observa- 
tions on  this  point,  "this  young  old  man,  this  -universal 
Amadis,  whom  we  call  among  ourselves  Chevalier  Petit-Bon- 
Homme-vit-encore,  became  the  object  of  my  admiration.  I 
made  him  a  few  of  those  advances  which  never  compromise  a 
woman ;  I  spoke  of  the  good  taste  exhibited  in  his  latest  waist- 
coats and  in  his  canes,  and  he  thought  me  a  lady  of  extreme 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  439 

amiability.  I  thought  him  a  chevalier  of  extreme  youth;  he 
called  upon  me ;  I  put  on  a  number  of  little  airs,  and  pretended 
to  be  unhappy  at  home,  and  to  have  deep  sorrows.  You 
know  what  a  woman  means  when  she  talks  of  her  sorrows,  and 
complains  that  she  is  not  understood.  The  old  ape  replied 
much  better  than  a  young  man  would,  and  I  had  the  greatest 
difficulty  in  keeping  a  straight  face  while  I  listened  to  him. 

"  'Ah,  that's  the  way  with  husbands,  they  pursue  the  very 
worst  policy,  they  respect  their  wives,  and,  sooner  or  later, 
every  woman  is  enraged  at  finding  herself  respected,  and 
divines  the  secret  education  to  which  she  is  entitled.  Once 
married,  you  ought  not  to  live  like  a  little  school-girl,  etc/ 

"As  he  spoke,  he  leaned  over  me,  he  squirmed,  he  was  hor- 
rible to  see.  He  looked  like  a  wooden  Nuremberg  doll,  he 
stuck  out  his  chin,  he  stuck  out  his  chair,  he  stuck  out  his 
hand — in  short,  after  a  variety  of  marches  and  counter- 
marches, of  declarations  that  were  perfectly  angelic — " 

"No !" 

"Yes.  Petit-Bon-Homme-vit-encore  had  abandoned  the 
classicism  of  his  youth  for  the  romanticism  now  in  fashion: 
he  spoke  of  the  soul,  of  angels,  of  adoration,  of  submission, 
he  became  ethereal,  and  of  the  darkest  blue.  He  took  me  to 
the  opera,  and  handed  me  to  my  carriage.  This  old  young 
man  went  when  I  went,  his  waistcoats  multiplied,  he  com- 
pressed his  waist,  he  excited  his  horse  to  a  gallop  in  order  to 
catch  and  accompany  my  carriage  to  the  promenade :  he  com- 
promised me  with  the  grace  of  a  young  collegian,  and  was 
considered  madly  in  love  with  me.  I  was  steadfastly  cruel, 
but  accepted  his  arm  and  his  bouquets.  We  were  talked  about. 
I  was  delighted,  and  managed  before  long  to  be  surprised  by 
my  husband,  with  the  viscount  on  the  sofa  in  my  boudoir, 
holding  my  hands  in  his,  while  I  listened  in  a  sort  of  ex- 
ternal ecstasy.  It  is  incredible  how  much  a  desire  for  ven- 
geance will  induce  us  to  put  up  with!  I  appeared  vexed  at 
the  entrance  of  my  husband,  who  made  a  scene  on  the  vis- 
count's departure:  'I  assure  you,  sir,'  said  I,  after  having 
listened  to  his  reproaches,  'that  it's  altogether  moral.'  My 


440  PETTY  TROUBLES 

husband  saw  the  point  and  went  no  more  to  Madame  de 
Fischtaminel's.  I  received  Monsieur  de  Lustrac  no  more, 
either/' 

"But,"  I  interrupted,  "this  Lustrac  that  you,  like  many 
others,  take  for  a  bachelor,  is  a  widower,  and  childless." 

"Really !" 

"No  man  ever  buried  his  wife  deeper  than  he  buried  his: 
she  will  hardly  be  found  at  the  day  of  judgment.  He  married 
before  the  Revolution,  and  your  altogether  moral  reminds  me 
of  a  speech  of  his  that  I  shall  have  to  repeat  for  your  benefit. 
Napoleon  appointed  Lustrac  to  an  important  office,  in  a  con- 
quered province.  Madame  de  Lustrac,  abandoned  for  gov- 
ernmental duties,  took  a  private  secretary  for  her  private 
affairs,  though  it  was  altogether  moral :  but  she  was  wrong  in 
selecting  him  without  informing  her  husband.  Lustrac  met 
this  secretary  in  a  state  of  some  excitement,  in  consequence  of 
a  lively  discussion  in  his  wife's  chamber,  and  at  an  exceed- 
ingly early  hour  in  the  morning.  The  city  desired  nothing 
better  than  to  laugh  at  its  governor,  and  this  adventure  made 
such  a  sensation  that  Lustrac  himself  begged  the  Emperor 
to  recall  him.  Napoleon  desired  his  representatives  to  be  men 
of  morality,  and  he  held  that  such  disasters  as  this  must 
inevitably  take  from  a  man's  consideration.  You  know  that 
among  the  Emperor's  unhappy  passions,  was  that  of  reforming 
his  court  and  his  government.  Lustrae's  request  was  granted, 
therefore,  but  without  compensation.  When  he  returned  to 
Paris,  he  reappeared  at  his  mansion,  with  his  wife;  he  took 
her  into  society — a  step  which  is  certainly  conformable  to  the 
most  refined  habits  of  the  aristocracy — but  then  there  are 
always  people  who  want  to  find  out  about  it.  They  inquired 
the  reason  of  this  chivalrous  championship.  'So  you  are 
reconciled,  you  and  Madame  de  Lustrac,'  some  one  said  to  him 
in  the  lobby  of  the  Emperor's  theatre,  'you  have  pardoned  her, 
have  you?  So  much  the  better/  'Oh/  replied  he,  with  a 
satisfied  air,  'I  became  convinced — '  'Ah,  that  she  was  in- 
nocent, very  good.'  'No,  I  became  convinced  that  it  was 
altogether  physical.' " 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  441 

Caroline  smiled. 

"The  opinion  of  your  admirer  reduced  this  weighty  trouble 
to  what  is,  in  this  case  as  in  yours,  a  very  petty  one." 

"A  petty  trouble !"  she  exclaimed,  "and  pray  for  what 
do  you  take  the  fatigue  of  coquetting  with  a  de  Lustrac,  of 
whom  I  have  made  an  enemy !  Ah,  women  often  pay  dearly 
enough  for  the  bouquets  they  receive  and  the  attentions  they 
accept.  Monsieur  de  Lustrac  said  of  me  to  Monsieur  de 
Bourgarel,  'I  would  not  advise  you  to  pay  court  to  that  woman ; 
she  is  too  dear.' }: 

WITHOUT  AN  OCCUPATION. 

"PARIS,  183— 

"You  ask  me,  dear  mother,  whether  I  am  happy  with  my 
husband.  Certainly  Monsieur  de  Fischtaminel  was  not  the 
ideal  of  my  dreams.  I  submitted  to  your  will,  as  you  know. 
His  fortune,  that  supreme  consideration,  spoke,  indeed,  suf- 
ficiently loud.  With  these  arguments, — a  marriage,  without 
stooping,  with  the  Comte  de  Fischtaminel,  his  having  thirty 
thousand  a  year,  and  a  home  at  Paris — you  were  strongly 
armed  against  your  poor  daughter.  Besides,  Monsieur  de 
Fischtaminel  is  good  looking  for  a  man  of  thirty-six  years; 
he  received  the  cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honor  from  Napoleon 
upon  the  field  of  battle,  he  is  an  ex-colonel,  and  had  it  not 
been  for  the  Eestoration,  which  put  him  upon  half-pay,  he 
would  be  a  general.  These  are  certainly  extenuating  circum- 
stances. 

"Many  women  consider  that  I  have  made  a  good  match, 
and  I  am  bound  to  confess  that  there  is  every  appearance  of 
happiness, — for  the  public,  that  is.  But  you  will  acknowledge 
that  if  you  had  known  of  the  return  of  my  Uncle  Cyrus  and  of 
his  intention  to  leave  me  his  money,  you  would  have  given  me 
the  privilege  of  choosing  for  myself. 

"I  have  nothing  to  say  against  Monsieur  de  Fischtaminel : 
he  does  not  gamble,  he  is  indifferent  to  women,  he  doesn't  like 
wine,  and  he  has  no  expensive  fancies:  he  possesses,  as  you 


442  PETTY  TROUBLES 

said,  all  the  negative  qualities  which  make  husbands  passable. 
Then,  what  is  the  matter  with  him?  Well,  mother,  he  has 
nothing  to  do.  We  are  together  the  whole  blessed  day ! 
Would  you  believe  that  it  is  during  the  night,  when  we  are 
the  most  closely  united,  that  I  am  the  most  alone  ?  His  sleep 
is  my  asylum,  my  liberty  begins  when  he  slumbers.  This 
state  of  siege  will  yet  make  me  sick:  I  am  never  alone.  If 
Monsieur  de  Fischtaminel  were  jealous,  I  should  have  a  re- 
source. There  would  then  be  a  struggle,  a  comedy :  but  how 
could  the  aconite  of  jealousy  have  taken  root  in  his  soul?  He 
has  never  left  me  since  our  marriage.  He  feels  no  shame  in 
stretching  himself  out  upon  a  sofa  and  remaining  there  for 
hours  together. 

"Two  felons  pinioned  to  the  same  chain  do  not  find  time 
hang  heavy:  for  they  have  their  escape  to  think  of.  But  we 
have  no  subject  of  conversation;  we  have  long  since  talked 
ourselves  out.  A  little  while  ago  he  was  so  far  reduced  as  to 
talk  politics.  But  even  politics  are  exhausted,  Napoleon, 
unfortunately  for  me,  having  died  at  St.  Helena,  as  is  well 
known. 

"Monsieur  de  Fischtaminel  abhors  reading.  If  he  sees 
me  with  a  book,  he  comes  and  says  a  dozen  times  an  hour — 
'Nina,  dear,  haven't  you  finished  yet  ?' 

"I  endeavored  to  persuade  this  innocent  persecutor  to  ride 
out  every  day  on  horseback,  and  I  alleged  a  consideration 
usually  conclusive  with  men  of  forty  years, — his  health !  But 
he  said  that  after  having  been  twelve  years  on  horseback,  he 
felt  the  need  of  repose. 

"My  husband,  dear  mother,  is  a  man  who  absorbs  you,  he 
uses  up  the  vital  fluid  of  his  neighbor,  his  ennui  is  gluttonous : 
he  likes  to  be  amused  by  those  who  call  upon  us,  and,  after 
five  years  of  wedlock,  no  one  ever  comes:  none  visit  us  but 
those  whose  intentions  are  evidently  dishonorable  for  him,  and 
who  endeavor,  unsuccessfully,  to  amuse  him,  in  order  to  earn 
the  right  to  weary  his  wife. 

"Monsieur  de  Fischtaminel,  mother,  opens  the  door  of  my 
chamber,  or  of  the  room  to  which  I  have  flown  for  refuge,  five 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  443 

or  six  times  an  hour,  and  comes  up  to  me  in  an  excited  way, 
and  says,  'Well,  what  are  you  doing,  my  belle?'  (the  expres- 
sion in  fashion  during  the  Empire)  without  perceiving  that 
he  is  constantly  repeating  the  same  phrase,  which  is  to  me  like 
the  one  pint  too  much  that  the  executioner  formerly  poured 
into  the  torture  by  water. 

"Then  there's  another  bore !  We  can't  go  to  walk  any 
more.  A  promenade  without  conversation,  without  interest, 
is  impossible.  My  husband  walks  with  me  for  the  walk,  as 
if  he  were  alone.  I  have  the  fatigue  without  the  pleasure. 

"The  interval  between  getting  up  and  breakfast  is  employed 
in  my  toilet,  in  my  household  duties;  and  I  manage  to  get 
through  with  this  part  of  the  day.  But  between  breakfast 
and  dinner,  there  is  a  whole  desert  to  plough,  a  waste  to 
traverse.  My  husband's  want  of  occupation  does  not  leave  me 
a  moment  of  repose,  he  overpowers  me  by  his  uselessness;  his 
idle  life  positively  wears  me  out.  His  two  eyes  always  open 
and  gazing  at  mine  compel  me  to  keep  them  lowered.  Then 
his  monotonous  remarks: 

"  'What  o'clock  is  it,  love  ?  What  are  you  doing  now  ? 
What  are  you  thinking  of  ?  What  do  you  mean  to  do  ?  Where 
shall  we  go  this  evening  ?  Anything  new  ?  What  weather  ! 
I  don't  feel  well,  etc.,  etc/ 

"All  these  variations  upon  the  same  theme — the  interroga- 
tion point — which  compose  Fischtaminel's  repertory,  will 
drive  me  mad.  Add  to  these  leaden  arrows  everlastingly  shot 
off  at  me,  one  last  trait  which  will  complete  the  description 
of  my  happiness,  and  you  will  understand  my  life. 

"Monsieur  de  Fischtaminel,  who  went  away  in  1809,  with 
the  rank  of  sub-lieutenant,  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  has  had  no 
other  education  than  that  due  to  discipline,  to  the  natural 
sense  of  honor  of  a  noble  and  a  soldier :  but  though  he  possesses 
tact,  the  sentiment  of  probity,  and  a  proper  subordination,  his 
ignorance  is  gross,  he  knows  absolutely  nothing,  and  he  has 
a  horror  of  learning  anything.  Oh,  dear  mother,  what  an 
accomplished  door-keeper  this  colonel  would  have  made,  had  he 
been  born  in  indigence !  I  don't  think  a  bit  the  better  of  him 


444  PETTY  TROUBLES 

for  his  bravery,  for  he  did  not  fight  against  the  Russians,  the 
Austrian  s,  or  the  Prussians  :  he  fought  against  ennui.  When 
he  rushed  upon  the  enemy,  Captain  Fischtaminei's  purpose 
was  to  get  away  from  himself.  He  married  because  he  had 
nothing  else  to  do. 

"We  have  another  slight  difficulty  to  contend  with  :  my  hus- 
band harasses  the  servants  to  such  a  degree  that  we  change 
them  every  six  months. 

"I  so  ardently  desire,  dear  mother,  to  remain  a  virtuous 
woman,  that  I  am  going  to  try  the  effect  of  traveling  for  half 
the  year.  During  the  winter,  I  shall  go  every  evening  to  the 
Italian  or  the  French  opera,  or  to  parties  :  but  I  don't  know 
whether  our  fortune  will  permit  such  an  expenditure.  Uncle 
Cyrus  ought  to  come  to  Paris  —  I  would  take  care  of  him  as 
I  would  of  an  inheritance. 

"If  you  discover  a  cure  for  my  woes,  let  your  daughter  know 
of  it  —  your  daughter  who  loves  you  as  much  as  she  deplores 
her  misfortunes,  and  who  would  have  been  glad  to  call  her- 
self by  some  other  name  than  that  of 

FlSCIITAMINEL." 


Besides  the  necessity  of  describing  this  petty  trouble,  which 
could  only  be  described  by  the  pen  of  a  woman,  —  and  what  a 
woman  she  was!  —  it  was  necessary  to  make  you  acquainted 
with  a  character  whom  you  saw  only  in  profile  in  the  first 
half  of  this  book,  the  queen  of  the  particular  set  in  which 
Caroline  lived,  —  a  woman  both  envied  and  adroit,  who  suc- 
ceeded in  conciliating,  at  an  early  date,  what  she  owed  to  the 
world  with  the  requirements  of  the  heart.  This  letter  is  her 
absolution. 

INDISCRETIONS. 

Women  are  either  chaste  —  or  vain  —  or  simply  proud.  They 
are  therefore  all  subject  to  the  following  petty  trouble  : 

Certain  husbands  are  so  delighted  to  have,  in  the  form  of 
a  wife,  a  woman  to  themselves,  —  a  possession  exclusively  due 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  445 

to  the  legal  ceremony, — that  they  dread  the  public's  making  a 
mistake,  and  they  hasten  to  brand  their  consort,  as  lumber- 
dealers  brand  their  logs  while  floating  down  stream,  or  as 
the  Berry  stock-raisers  brand  their  sheep.  They  bestow  names 
of  endearment,  right  before  people,  upon  their  wives:  names 
taken,  after  the  Roman  fashion  (columbella),  from  the  animal 
kingdom,  as:  my  chick,  my  duck,  my  dove,  my  lamb;  or, 
choosing  from  the  vegetable  kingdom,  they  call  them :  my  cab- 
bage, my  fig  (this  only  in  Provence),  my  plum  (this  only  in 
Alsatia).  Never: — My  flower!  Pray  note  this  discretion. 

Or  else,  which  is  more  serious,  they  call  their  wives: — 
Bobonne, — mother, — daughter, — good  woman, — old  lady :  this 
last  when  she  is  very  young. 

Some  venture  upon  names  of  doubtful  propriety,  such  as: 
Mon  bichon,  ma  niniche,  Tronquette  ! 

We  once  heard  one  of  our  politicians,  a  man  extremely  re- 
markable for  his  ugliness,  call  his  wife,  Moumoutte  ! 

"I  would  rather  he  would  strike  me,"  said  this  unfortunate 
to  her  neighbor. 

"Poor  little  woman,  she  is  really  unhappy,"  resumed  the 
neighbor,  looking  at  me  when  Moumoutte  had  gone :  "when  she 
is  in  company  with  her  husband,  she  is  upon  pins  and  needles, 
and  keeps  out  of  his  way.  One  evening,  he  actually  seized 
her  by  the  neck  and  said :  'Come  fatty,  let's  go  home !' '' 

It  has  been  alleged  that  the  cause  of  a  very  famous  husband- 
poisoning  with  arsenic,  was  nothing  less  than  a  series  of  con- 
stant indiscretions  like  these  that  the  wife  had  to  bear  in 
society.  This  husband  used  to  give  the  woman  he  had  won  at 
the  point  of  the  Code,  public  little  taps  on  her  shoulder,  he 
would  startle  her  by  a  resounding  kiss,  he  dishonored  her  by  a 
conspicuous  tenderness,  seasoned  by  those  impertinent  atten- 
tions the  secret  of  which  belongs  to  the  French  savages  who 
dwell  in  the  depths  of  the  provinces,  and  whose  manners  are 
very  little  known,  despite  the  efforts  of  the  realists  in  fiction. 
It  was,  it  is  said,  this  shocking  situation, — one  perfectly 
appreciated  by  a  discerning  jury, — which  won  the  prisoner  a 
verdict  softened  by  the  extenuating  circumstances. 


446  PETTY  TROUBLES 

The  jurymen  said  to  themselves: 

"For  a  wife  to  murder  her  husband  for  these  conjugal 
offences,  is  certainly  going  rather  far;  but  then  a  woman  is 
very  excusable,  when  she  is  so  harassed !" 

We  deeply  regret,  in  the  interest  of  elegant  manners,  that 
these  arguments  are  not  more  generally  known.  Heaven 
grant,  therefore,  that  our  book  may  have  an  immense  success, 
as  women  will  obtain  this  advantage  from  it,  that  they  will  b3 
treated  as  they  deserve,  that  is,  as  queens. 

In  this  respect,  love  is  much  superior  to  marriage,  it  it 
proud  of  indiscreet  sayings  and  doings.  There  are  some 
women  that  seek  them,  fish  for  them,  and  woe  to  the  man  who 
does  not  now  and  then  commit  one ! 

What  passion  lies  in  an  accidental  thou ! 

Out  in  the  country  I  heard  a  husband  call  his  wife:  "Ma 
berline  I"  She  was  delighted  with  it,  and  saw  nothing  ridicu- 
lous in  it:  she  called  her  husband,  "Mon  fiston !"  This 
delicious  couple  were  ignorant  of  the  existence  of  such  things 
as  petty  troubles. 

It  was  in  observing  this  happy  pair  that  the  author  dis- 
covered this  axiom : 

Axiom. — In  order  to  be  happy  in  wedlock,  you  must  either 
he  a  man  of  genius  married  to  an  affectionate  and  intellectual 
woman,  or,  l>y  a  chance  which  is  not  as  common  as  might  be 
supposed,  you  must  both  of  you  be  exceedingly  stupid. 

The  too  celebrated  history  of  the  cure  of  a  wounded  self- 
love  by  arsenic,  proves  that,  properly  speaking,  there  are  no 
petty  troubles  for  women  in  married  life. 

Axiom. — Woman  exists  by  sentiment  where  man  exists  by 
action. 

Now,  sentiment  can  at  any  moment  render  a  petty  trouble 
either  a  great  misfortune,  or  a  wasted  life,  or  an  eternal  misery. 
Should  Caroline  begin,  in  her  ignorance  of  life  and  the  world, 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  447 

oy  inflicting  upon  her  husband  the  vexations  of  her  stupidity 
(re-read  REVELATIONS),  Adolphe,  like  any  other  man,  may 
find  a  compensation  in  social  excitement:  he  goes  out,  comes 
back,  goes  here  and  there,  has  business.  But  for  Caroline,  the 
question  everywhere  is,  To  love  or  not  to  love,  to  be  or  not  to 
be  loved. 

Indiscretions  are  in  harmony  with  the  character  of  the 
individuals,  with  times  and  places.  Two  examples  will  suffice. 

Here  is  the  first.  A  man  is  by  nature  dirty  and  ugly :  he  is 
ill-made  and  repulsive.  There  are  men,  and  often  rich  ones, 
too,  who,  by  a  sort  of  unobserved  constitution,  soil  a  new  suit  of 
clothes  in  twenty-four  hours.  They  were  born  disgusting. 
It  is  so  disgraceful  for  a  woman  to  he  anything  more  than  just 
simply  a  wife  to  this  sort  of  Adolphe,  that  a  certain  Caroline 
had  long  ago  insisted  upon  the  suppression  of  the  modern 
thee  and  thou  and  all  other  insignia  of  the  wifely  dignity. 
Society  had  been  for  five  or  six  years  accustomed  to  this  sort 
of  thing,  and  supposed  Madame  and  Monsieur  completely 
separated,  and  all  the  more  so  as  it  had  noticed  the  accession 
of  a  Ferdinand  II. 

One  evening,  in  the  presence  of  a  dozen  persons,  this  man 
said  to  his  wife :  "Caroline,  hand  me  the  tongs,  there's  a  love." 
It  is  nothing,  and  yet  everything.  It  was  a  domestic  revela- 
tion. 

Monsieur  de  Lustrac,  the  Universal  Amadis,  hurried  to  Ma- 
dame de  Fischtaminel's,  narrated  this  little  scene  with  all  the 
spirit  at  his  command,  and  Madame  de  Fischtaminel  put  on 
an  air  something  like  Celimene's  and  said :  "Poor  creature, 
what  an  extremity  she  must  be  in  !" 

I  say  nothing  of  Caroline's  confusion, — you  have  already 
divined  it. 

Here  is  the  second.  Think  of  the  frightful  situation  in 
which  a  lady  of  great  refinement  was  lately  placed:  she  was 
conversing  agreeably  at  her  country  seat  near  Paris,  in  the 
midst  of  a  circle  of  ten  or  twelve  persons,  when  her  husband's 
servant  came  and  whispered  in  her  ear,  "Monsieur  has  come, 
madame." 


448  PETTY  TROUBLES 

"Very  well,  Benoit." 

Everybody  had  heard  the  rumblings  of  the  vehicle.  It  was 
known  that  the  husband  had  been  at  Paris  since  Monday,  and 
this  took  place  on  Saturday,  at  four  in  the  afternoon. 

"He's  got  something  important  to  say  to  you,  madame." 

Though  this  dialogue  was  held  in  a  whisper,  it  was  perfectly 
understood,  and  all  the  more  so  from  the  fact  that  the  lady 
of  the  house  turned  from  the  pale  hue  of  the  Bengal  rose  to 
the  brilliant  crimson  of  the  wheatfield  poppy.  She  nodded 
and  went  on  with  the  conversation,  and  managed  to  leave  her 
company  on  the  pretext  of  learning  whether  her  husband  had 
succeeded  in  an  important  undertaking  or  not :  but  she  seemed 
plainly  vexed  at  Adolphe's  want  of  consideration  for  the  com- 
pany who  were  visiting  her. 

During  their  youth,  women  want  to  be  treated  as  divinities, 
they  love  the  ideal;  they  cannot  bear  the  idea  of  being  what 
nature  intended  them  to  be. 

Some  husbands,  on  retiring  to  the  country,  after  a  week  in 
town,  are  worse  than  this :  they  bow  to  the  company,  put  their 
arm  round  their  wife's  waist,  take  a  little  walk  with  her,  appear 
to  be  talking  confidentially,  disappear  in  a  clump  of  trees,  get 
lost,  and  reappear  half  an  hour  afterward. 

This,  ladies,  is  a  genuine  petty  trouble  for  a  young  woman, 
but  for  women  beyond  forty,  this  sort  of  indiscretion  is  so 
delightful,  that  the  greatest  prudes  are  nattered  by  it,  for,  be  it 
known : 

That  women  of  a  certain  age,  women  on  the  shady  side, 
want  to  be  treated  as  mortals,  they  love  the  actual :  they  can- 
not bear  the  idea  of  no  longer  being  what  nature  intended 
them  to  be. 

Axiom. — Modesty  is  a  relative  virtue;  there  is  the  modesty 
of  the  woman  of  twenty,  the  woman  of  thirty,  the  woman  of 
forty-five. 

Thus  the  author  said  to  a  lady  who  told  him  to  guess  at  her 
age :  "Madame,  yours  is  the  age  of  indiscretion." 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  449 

This  charming  young  woman  of  thirty-nine  was  making  a 
Ferdinand  much  too  conspicuous,  while  her  daughter  was 
trying  to  conceal  her  Ferdinand  I. 

BRUTAL  DISCLOSURES. 

FIRST  STYLE.  Caroline  adores  Adolphe,  she  thinks  him 
handsome,  she  thinks  him  superb,  especially  in  his  National 
Guard  uniform.  She  starts  when  a  sentinel  presents  arms 
to  him,  she  considers  him  moulded  like  a  model,  she  regards 
him  as  a  man  of  wit,  everything  he  does  is  right,  nobody  has 
better  taste  than  he,  in  short,  she  is  crazy  about  Adolphe. 

It's  the  old  story  of  Cupid's  bandage.  This  is  washed  every 
ten  years,  and  newly  embroidered  by  the  altered  manners 
of  the  period,  but  it  has  been  the  same  old  bandage  since  the 
days  of  Greece. 

Caroline  is  at  a  ball  with  one  of  her  young  friends.  A  man 
well  known  for  his  bluntness,  whose  acquaintance  she  is  to 
make  later  in  life,  but  whom  she  now  sees  for  the  first  time, 
Monsieur  Foullepointe,  has  commenced  a  conversation  with 
Caroline's  friend.  According  to  the  custom  of  society,  Caro- 
line listens  to  this  conversation  without  mingling  in  it. 

"Pray  tell  me,  madame,"  says  Monsieur  Foullepointe,  "who 
is  that  queer  man  who  has  been  talking  about  the  Court  of 
Assizes  before  a  gentleman  whose  acquittal  lately  created 
such  a  sensation :  he  is  all  the  while  blundering,  like  an  ox  in 
a  bog,  against  everybody's  sore  spot.  A  lady  burst  into  tears 
at  hearing  him  tell  of  the  death  of  a  child,  as  she  lost  her  own 
two  months  ago/' 

"Who  do  you  mean?" 

"Why,  that  fat  man,  dressed  like  a  waiter  in  a  cafe,  frizzled 
like  a  barber's  apprentice,  there,  he's  trying  now  to  make  him- 
self agreeable  to  Madame  de  Fischtaminel." 

"Hush,"  whispers  the  lady  quite  alarmed,  "it's  the  husband 
of  the  little  woman  next  to  me !" 

"Ah,  it's  your  husband?"  says  Monsieur  Foullepointe.  "I 
am  delighted,  madame,  he's  a  charming  man,  so  vivacious, 


450  PETTY  TROUBLES 

gay  and  witty.    I  am  going  to  make  his  acquaintance  imme- 
diately." 

And  Foullepointe  executes  his  retreat,  leaving  a  bitter  sus- 
picion in  Caroline's  soul,  as  to  the  question  whether  her  hus- 
band is  really  as  handsome  as  she  thinks  him. 

SECOND  STYLE.  Caroline,  annoyed  by  the  reputation  of 
Madame  Schinner,  who  is  credited  with  the  possession  of 
epistolary  talents,  and  styled  the  "Sevigne  of  the  note",  tired 
of  hearing  about  Madame  de  Fischtaminel,  who  has  ventured 
to  write  a  little  32mo  book  on  the  education  of  the  young,  in 
which  she  has  boldly  reprinted  Fenelon,  without  the  style : — 
Caroline  has  been  working  for  six  months  upon  a  tale  tenfold 
poorer  than  those  of  Berquin,  nauseatingly  moral,  and  flam- 
boyant in  style. 

After  numerous  intrigues  such  as  women  are  skillful  in 
managing  in  the  interest  of  their  vanity,  and  the  tenacity  and 
perfection  of  which  would  lead  you  to  believe  that  they  have 
a  third  sex  in  their  head,  this  tale,  entitled  "The  Lotus," 
appears  in  three  instalments  in  a  leading  daily  paper.  It  is 
signed  Samuel  Crux. 

When  Adolphe  takes  up  the  paper  at  breakfast,  Caroline's 
heart  beats  up  in  her  very  throat:  she  blushes,  turns  pale, 
looks  away  and  stares  at  the  ceiling.  When  Adolphe's  eyes 
settle  upon  the  feuilleton,  she  can  bear  it  no  longer :  she  gets 
up,  goes  out,  comes  back,  having  replenished  her  stock  of 
audacity,  no  one  knows  where. 

"Is  there  a  feuilleton  this  morning?"  she  asks  with  an  air 
that  she  thinks  indifferent,  but  which  would  disturb  a  hus- 
band still  jealous  of  his  wife. 

"Yes,  one  by  a  beginner,  Samuel  Crux.  The  name  is  a 
disguise,  clearly:  the  tale  is  insignificant  enough  to  drive  an 
insect  to  despair,  if  he  could  read :  and  vulgar,  too :  the  style 
is  muddy,  but  then  it's — " 

Caroline  breathes  again.    "It's — "  she  suggests. 

"It's  incomprehensible,"  resumes  Adolphe.  "Somebody 
must  have  paid  Chodoreille  five  or  six  hundred  francs  to  insert 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  451 

it ;  or  else  it's  the  production  of  a  blue-stocking  in  high  society 
who  has  promised  to  invite  Madame  Chodoreille  to  her  house; 
or  perhaps  it's  the  work  of  a  woman  in  whom  the  editor  is 
personally  interested.  Such  a  piece  of  stupidity  cannot  be 
explained  any  other  way.  Imagine,  Caroline,  that  it's  all 
about  a  little  flower  picked  on  the  edge  of  a  wood  in  a  senti- 
mental walk,  which  a  gentleman  of  the  Werther  school  has 
sworn  to  keep,  which  he  has  had  framed,  and  which  the  lady 
claims  again  eleven  years  after  (the  poor  man  has  had  time  to 
change  his  lodgings  three  times).  It's  quite  new,  about  as 
old  as  Sterne  or  Gessner.  What  makes  me  think  it's  a  woman, 
is  that  the  first  literary  idea  of  the  whole  sex  is  to  take  ven- 
geance on  some  one." 

Adolphe  might  go  on  pulling  "The  Lotus"  to  pieces ;  Caro- 
line's ears  are  full  of  the  tinkling  of  bells.  She  is  like  the 
woman  who  threw  herself  over  the  Pont  des  Arts,  and  tried 
to  find  her  way  ten  feet  below  the  level  of  the  Seine. 

ANOTHER  STYLE.  Caroline,  in  her  paroxysms  of  jealousy, 
has  discovered  a  hiding  place  used  by  Adolphe,  who,  as  he 
can't  trust  his  wife,  and  as  he  knows  she  opens  his  letters  and 
rummages  in  his  drawers,  has  endeavored  to  save  his  corre- 
spondence with  Hector  from  the  hooked  fingers  of  the  conjugal 
police. 

Hector  is  an  old  schoolmate,  who  has  married  in  the  Loire 
Inferieure. 

Adolphe  lifts  up  the  cloth  of  his  writing  desk,  a  cloth  the 
border  of  which  has  been  embroidered  by  Caroline,  the  ground 
being  blue,  black  or  red  velvet, — the  color,  as  you  see,  is  per- 
fectly immaterial, — and  he  slips  his  unfinished  letters  to 
Madame  de  Fischtaminel,  to  his  friend  Hector,  between  the 
table  and  the  cloth. 

The  thickness  of  a  sheet  of  paper  is  almost  nothing,  velvet 
is  a  downy,  discreet  material^  but,  no  matter,  these  precautions 
fire  in  vain.  The  male  devil  is  fairly  matched  by  the  female 
devil :  Tophet  will  furnish  them  of  all  genders.  Caroline  has 
Mephistopheles  on  her  side,  the  demon  who  causes  tables  to 


452  PETTY  TROUBLES 

spurt  forth  fire,  and  who,  with  his  ironic  finger,  points  out  the 
hiding  place  of  keys — the  secret  of  secrets. 

Caroline  has  noticed  the  thickness  of  a  letter  sheet  between 
this  velvet  and  this  table:  she  hits  upon  a  letter  to  Hector 
instead  of  hitting  upon  one  to  Madame  de  Fischtaminel,  who 
has  gone  to  Plombieres  Springs,  and  reads  the  following : 

"My  dear  Hector : 

"I  pity  you,  but  you  have  acted  wisely  in  entrusting  me 
with  a  knowledge  of  the  difficulties  in  which  you  have  volun- 
tarily involved  yourself.  You  never  would  see  the  difference 
between  the  country  woman  and  the  woman  of  Paris.  In  the 
country,  my  dear  boy,  you  are  always  face  to  face  with  your 
wife,  and,  owing  to  the  ennui  which  impels  you,  you  rush 
headforemost  into  the  enjoyment  of  your  bliss.  This  is  a  great 
error :  happiness  is  an  abyss,  and  when  you  have  once  reached 
the  bottom,  you  never  get  back  again,  in  wedlock. 

"I  will  show  you  why.  Let  me  take,  for  your  wife's  sake, 
the  shortest  path — the  parable. 

"I  remember  having  made  a  journey  from  Paris  to  Ville- 
Parisis,  in  that  vehicle  called  a  'bus ;  distance,  twenty  miles : 
'bus,  lumbering:  horse,  lame.  Nothing  amuses  me  more  than 
to  draw  from  people,  by  the  aid  of  that  gimlet  called  the  inter- 
rogation, and  to  obtain,  by  means  of  an  attentive  air,  the  sum 
of  information,  anecdotes  and  learning  that  everybody  is  anx- 
ious to  part  with :  and  all  men  have  such  a  sum,  the  peasant 
as  well  as  the  banker,  the  corporal  as  well  as  the  marshal  of 
France. 

"I  have  often  noticed  how  ready  these  casks,  overflowing 
with  wit,  are  to  open  their  sluices  while  being  transported  by 
diligence  or  'bus,  or  by  any  vehicle  drawn  by  horses,  for  nobody 
talks  in  a  railway  car. 

"At  the  rate  of  our  exit  from  Paris,  the  journey  would  take 
full  seven  hours :  so  I  got  an  old  corporal  to  talk,  for  my  diver- 
sion. He  could  neither  read  nor  write:  he  was  entirely  illit- 
erate. Yet  the  journey  seemed  short.  The  corporal  had  been 
through  all  the  campaigns,  he  told  me  of  things  perfectly 
unheard  of,  that  historians  never  trouble  themselves  about. 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  453 

"Ah !  Hector,  how  superior  is  practice  to  theory !  Among 
other  things,  and  in  reply  to  a  question  relative  to  the  infantry, 
whose  courage  is  much  more  tried  by  marching  than  by  fight- 
ing, he  said  this,  which  I  give  you  free  from  circumlocution : 

"  'Sir,  when  Parisians  were  brought  to  our  45th,  which 
Napoleon  called  The  Terrible  (I  am  speaking  of  the  early 
days  of  the  Empire,  when  the  infantry  had  legs  of  steel,  and 
when  they  needed  them),  I  had  a  way  of  telling  beforehand 
which  of  them  would  remain  in  the  45th.  They  marched 
without  hurrying,  they  did  their  little  six  leagues  a  day, 
neither  more  nor  less,  and  they  pitched  camp  in  condition  to 
begin  again  on  the  morrow.  The  plucky  fellows  who  did  ten 
leagues  and  wanted  to  run  to  the  victory,  stopped  half  way  at 
the  hospital.' 

"This  worthy  corporal  was  talking  of  marriage  while  he 
thought  he  was  talking  of  war,  and  you  have  stopped  half  way, 
Hector,  at  the  hospital. 

"Kemember  the  sympathetic  condolence  of  Madame  de 
Sevigne  counting  out  three  hundred  thousand  francs  to  Mon- 
sieur de  Grignan,  to  induce  him  to  marry  one  of  the  prettiest 
girls  in  France !  'Why/  said  she  to  herself,  Tie  will  have  to 
marry  her  every  day,  as  long  as  she  lives !  Decidedly,  I  don't 
think  three  hundred  thousand  francs  too  much.'  Is  it  not 
enough  to  make  the  bravest  tremble? 

"My  dear  fellow,  conjugal  happiness  is  founded,  like  that  of 
nations,  upon  ignorance.  It  is  a  felicity  full  of  negative  con- 
ditions. 

"If  I  am  happy  with  my  little  Caroline,  it  is  due  to  the 
strictest  observance  of  that  salutary  principle  so  strongly 
insisted  upon  in  the  Physiology  of  Marriage.  I  have  resolved 
to  lead  my  wife  through  paths  beaten  in  the  snow,  until  the 
happy  day  when  infidelity  will  be  difficult. 

"In  the  situation  in  which  you  have  placed  yourself,  and 
which  resembles  that  of  Duprez..  who,  on  his  first  appearance 
at  Paris,  went  to  singing  with  all  the  voice  his  lungs  would 
yield,  instead  of  imitating  Nourrit,  who  gave  the  audience 
just  enough  to  enchant  them,  the  following,  I  think,  is  your 
proper  course  to — " 


454  PETTY  TROUBLES 

The  letter  broke  off  here :  Caroline  returned  it  to  its  place, 
at  the  same  time  wondering  how  she  would  make  her  dear 
Adolphe  expiate  his  obedience  to  the  execrable  precepts  of  the 
Physiology  of  Marriage. 

A  TRUCE. 

This  trouble  doubtless  occurs  sufficiently  often  and  in  dif- 
ferent ways  enough  in  the  existence  of  married  women,  for 
this  personal  incident  to  become  the  type  of  the  genus. 

The  Caroline  in  question  here  is  very  pious,  she  loves  her 
husband  very  much,  her  husband  asserts  that  she  loves  him  too 
much,  even :  but  this  is  a  piece  of  marital  conceit,  if,  indeed, 
it  is  not  a  provocation,  as  he  only  complains  to  his  wife's  young 
lady  friends. 

When  a  person's  conscience  is  involved,  the  least  thing 
becomes  exceedingly  serious.  Madame  de  ***  has  told  her 
young  friend,  Madame  de  Fischtaminel,  that  she  had  been 
compelled  to  make  an  extraordinary  confession  to  her  spiritual 
director,  and  to  perform  penance,  the  director  having  decided 
that  she  was  in  a  state  of  mortal  sin.  This  lady,  who  goes  to 
mass  every  morning,  is  a  woman  of  thirty-six  years,  thin  and 
slightly  pimpled.  She  has  large  soft  black  eyes,  her  upper 
lip  is  strongly  shaded:  still  her  voice  is  sweet,  her  manners 
gentle,  her  gait  noble — she  is  a  woman  of  quality. 

Madame  de  Fischtaminel,  whom  Madame  de  ***  has  made 
her  friend  (nearly  all  pious  women  patronize  a  woman  who  is 
considered  worldly,  on  the  pretext  of  converting  her), — 
Madame  de  Fischtaminel  asserts  that  these  qualities,  in  this 
Caroline  of  the  Pious  Sort,  are  a  victory  of  religion  over  a 
rather  violent  natural  temper. 

These  details  are  necessary  to  describe  the  trouble  in  all  its 
horror. 

This  lady's  Adolphe  had  been  compelled  to  leave  his  wife 
for  two  months,  in  April,  immediately  after  the  forty  days' 
fast  that  Caroline  scrupulously  observes.  Early  in  June, 
therefore,  madame  expected  her  husband,  she  expected  him 
day  by  day.  From  one  hope  to  another, 

"Conceived  every  morn  and  deferred  every  eve." 

* 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  455 

she  got  along  as  far  as  Sunday,  the  day  when  her  presenti- 
ments, which  had  now  reached  a  state  of  paroxysm,  told  her 
that  the  longed-for  husband  would  arrive  at  an  early  hour. 

When  a  pious  woman  expects  her  husband,  and  that  husband 
has  been  absent  from  home  nearly  four  months,  she  takes  much 
more  pains  with  her  toilet  than  a  young  girl  does,  though  wait- 
ing for  her  first  betrothed. 

This  virtuous  Caroline  was  so  completely  absorbed  in  exclu- 
sively personal  preparations,  that  she  forgot  to  go  to  eight 
o'clock  mass.  She  proposed  to  hear  a  low  mass,  but  she  was 
afraid  of  losing  the  delight  of  her  dear  Adolphe's  first  glance, 
in  case  he  arrived  at  early  dawn.  Her  chambermaid — who 
respectfully  left  her  mistress  alone  in  the  dressing-room  where 
pious  and  pimpled  ladies  let  no  one  enter,  not  even  their  hus- 
bands, especially  when  they  are  thin — her  chambermaid  heard 
her  exclaim  several  times,  "If  it's  your  master  let  me  know !" 

The  rumbling  of  a  vehicle  having  made  the  furniture  rattle, 
Caroline  assumed  a  mild  tone  to  conceal  the  violence  of  her 
legitimate  emotions. 

"Oh !  'tis  he !  Run,  Justine :  tell  him  I  am  waiting  for 
him  here."  Caroline  trembled  so  that  she  dropped  into  an 
arm-chair. 

The  vehicle  was  a  butcher's  wagon. 

It  was  in  anxieties  like  this  that  the  eight  o'clock  mass 
slipped  by,  like  an  eel  in  his  slime.  Madame's  toilet  opera- 
tions were  resumed,  for  she  was  engaged  in  dressing.  The 
chambermaid's  nose  had  already  been  the  recipient  of  a  superb 
muslin  chemise,  with  a  simple  hem,  which  Caroline  had 
thrown  at  her  from  the  dressing-room,  though  she  had  given 
her  the  same  kind  for  the  last  three  months. 

"What  are  you  thinking  of,  Justine?  I  told  you  to  choose 
from  the  chemises  that  are  not  numbered." 

The  unnumbered  chemises  were  only  seven  or  eight,  in  the 
most  magnificent  trousseau.  They  are  chemises  gotten  up 
and  embroidered  with  the  greatest  care :  a  woman  must  be  a 
queen,  a  young  queen,  to  have  a  dozen.  Each  one  of  Caroline's 
was  trimmed  with  Valenciennes  round  the  bottom,  and  still 


*56  PETTY  TROUBLES 

more  coquettishly  garnished  about  the  neck.  This  feature 
of  our  manners  will  perhaps  serve  to  suggest  a  suspicion,  in  the 
masculine  world,  of  the  domestic  drama  revealed  by  this  excep- 
tional chemise. 

Caroline  had  put  on  a  pair  of  Scotch  thread  stockings,  little 
prunella  buskins,  and  her  most  deceptive  corsets.  She  had  her 
hair  dressed  in  the  fashion  that  most  became  her,  and  embel- 
lished it  with  a  cap  of  Jie  most  elegant  form.  It  is  unneces- 
sary to  speak  of  her  morning  gown.  A  pious  lady  who  lives 
at  Paris  and  who  loves  her  husband,  knows  as  well  as  a 
coquette  how  to  choose  those  pretty  little  striped  patterns,  have 
them  cut  with  an  open  waist,  and  fastened  by  loops  to  buttons 
in  a  way  which  compels  her  to  refasten  them  two  or  three  times 
in  an  hour,  with  little  airs  more  or  less  charming,  as  the  case 
may  be. 

The  nine  o'clock  mass,  the  ten  o'clock  mass,  every  mass, 
went  by  in  these  preparations,  which,  for  women  in  love,  are 
one  of  their  twelve  labors  of  Hercules. 

Pious  women  rarely  go  to  church  in  a  carriage,  and  they 
are  right.  Except  in  the  ease  of  a  pouring  shower,  or  intoler- 
ably bad  weather,  a  person  ought  not  to  appear  haughty  in  the 
place  where  it  is  becoming  to  be  humble.  Caroline  was  afraid 
to  compromise  the  freshness  of  her  dress  and  the  purity  of 
her  thread  stockings.  Alas!  these  pretexts  concealed  a  rea- 
son. 

"If  I  am  at  church  when  Adolphe  comes,  I  shall  lose  the 
pleasure  of  his  first  glance:  and  he  will  think  I  prefer  high 
mass  to  him." 

She  made  this  sacrifice  to  her  husband  in  a  desire  to  please 
him — a  fearfully  worldly  consideration.  Prefer  the  creature 
to  the  Creator !  A  husband  to  heaven !  Go  and  hear  a  sermon 
and  you  will  learn  what  such  an  offence  will  cost  you. 

"After  all,"  says  Caroline,  quoting  her  confessor,  "society 
is  founded  upon  marriage,  which  the  Church  has  included 
among  its  sacraments." 

And  this  is  the  way  in  which  religious  instruction  may  be 
put  aside  in  favor  of  a  blind  though  legitimate  love.  Madame 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  467 

refused  to  breakfast,  and  ordered  the  meal  to  be  kept  hot,  just 
as  she  kept  herself  ready,  at  a  moment's  notice,  to  welcome  the 
precious  absentee. 

Now  these  little  things  may  easily  excite  a  laugh :  but  in  the 
first  place  they  are  continually  occurring  with  couples  who 
love  each  other,  or  where  one  of  them  loves  the  other :  besides, 
in  a  woman  so  strait-laced,  so  reserved,  so  worthy,  as  this 
lady,  these  acknowledgments  of  affection  went  beyond  the 
limits  imposed  upon  her  feelings  by  the  lofty  self-respect  which 
true  piety  induces.  When  Madame  de  Fischtaminel  narrated 
this  little  scene  in  a  devotee's  life,  dressing  it  up  with  choice 
by-play,  acted  out  as  ladies  of  the  world  know  how  to  act  out 
their  anecdotes,  I  took  the  liberty  of  saying  that  it  was  the 
Canticle  of  canticles  in  action. 

"If  her  husband  doesn't  come,"  said  Justine  to  the  cook, 
"what  will  become  of  us  ?  She  has  already  thrown  her  chemise 
in  my  face." 

At  last,  Caroline  heard  the  crack  of  a  postilion's  whip, 
the  well-known  rumbling  of  a  traveling  carriage,  the  racket 
made  by  the  hoofs  of  post-horses,  and  the  jingling  of  their 
bells !  Oh,  she  could  doubt  no  longer,  the  bells  made  her  burst 
forth,  as  thu^ : 

"The  door!  Open  the  door!  "Pis  he,  my  husband!  Will 
you  never  go  to  the  door !"  And  the  pious  woman  stamped 
her  foot  and  broke  the  bell-rope. 

"Why,  madame,"  said  Justine,  with  the  vivacity  of  a  servant 
doing  her  duty,  "it's  some  people  going  away." 

"Upon  my  word,"  replied  Caroline,  half  ashamed,  to  her- 
self, "I  will  never  let  Adolphe  go  traveling  again  without  me." 

A  Marseilles  poet — it  is  not  known  whether  it  was  Mery  or 
Barthelemy — acknowledged  that  if  his  best  friend  did  not 
arrive  punctually  at  the  dinner  hour,  he  waited  patiently  five 
minutes:  at  the  tenth  minute,  he  felt  a  desire  to  throw  the 
napkin  in  his  face :  at  the  twelfth  he  hoped  some  great  calam- 
ity would  befall  him:  at  the  fifteenth,  he  would  not  be  able 
to  restrain  himself  from  stabbing  him  several  times  with  a 
dirk. 


458  PETTY  TROUBLES 

All  women,  when  expecting  somebody,  are  Marseilles  poets, 
if,  indeed,  we  may  compare  the  vulgar  throes  of  hunger  to  the 
sublime  Canticle  of  canticles  of  a  pious  wife,  who  is  hoping 
for  the  joys  of  a  husband's  first  glance  after  a  three  months' 
absence.  Let  all  those  who  love  and  who  have  met  again  after 
an  absence  ten  thousand  times  accursed,  be  good  enough  to 
recall  their  first  glance :  it  says  so  many  things  that  the  lovers, 
if  in  the  presence  of  a  third  party,  are  fain  to  lower  their  eyes ! 
This  poem,  in  which  every  man  is  as  great  as  Homer,  in  which 
he  seems  a  god  to  the  woman  who  loves  him,  is,  for  a  pious, 
thin  and  pimpled  lady,  all  the  more  immense,  from  the  fact 
that  she  has  not,  like  Madame  de  Fischtaminel,  the  resource 
of  having  several  copies  of  it.  In  her  case,  her  husband  is 
all  she's  got ! 

So  you  will  not  be  surprised  to  learn  that  Caroline  missed 
every  mass  and  had  no  breakfast.  This  hunger  and  thirst 
for  Adolphe  gave  her  a  violent  cramp  in  the  stomach.  She 
did  not  think  of  religion  once  during  the  hours  of  mass,  nor 
during  those  of  vespers.  She  was  not  comfortable  when  she 
sat,  and  she  was  very  uncomfortable  when  she  stood :  Justine 
advised  her  to  go  to  bed.  Caroline,  quite  overcome,  retired 
at  about  half  past  five  in  the  evening,  after  ha\ung  taken  a 
light  soup :  but  she  ordered  a  dainty  supper  at  ten. 

"I  shall  doubtless  sup  with  my  husband,"  she  said: 

This  speech  was  the  conclusion  of  dreadful  catalinics, 
internally  fulminated.  She  had  reached  the  Marseilles  poet's 
several  stabs  with  a  dirk.  So  she  spoke  in  a  tone  that  was 
really  terrible.  At  three  in  the  morning  Caroline  was  in  a 
profound  sleep:  Adolphe  arrived  without  her  hearing  either 
carriage,  or  horse,  or  bell,  or  opening  door ! 

Adolphe,  who  would  not  permit  her  to  be  disturbed,  went 
to  bed  in  the  spare  room.  When  Caroline  heard  pf  his  return 
in  the  morning,  two  tears  issued  from  her  eyes;  she  rushed 
to  the  spare  room  without  the  slightest  preparatory  toilet;  a 
hideous  attendant,  posted  on  the  threshold,  informed  her  that 
her  husband,  having  traveled  two  hundred  leagues  and  been 
two  nights  without  sleep,  requested  that  he  might  not  be 
awakened:  lie  was  exceedingly  tired. 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  459 

Caroline — pious  woman  that  she  was — opened  the  door 
violently  without  being  able  to  wake  the  only  husband  that 
heaven  had  given  her,  and  then  hastened  to  church  to  listen 
to  a  thanksgiving  mass. 

As  she  was  visibly  snappish  for  three  whole  days,  Justine 
remarked,  in  reply  to  an  unjust  reproach,  and  with  a  chamber- 
maid's finesse : 

"Why,  madame,  your  husband's  got  back !" 

"He  has  only  got  back  to  Paris,"  returned  the  pious  Caro- 
line. 

USELESS   CARE. 

Put  yourself  in  the  place  of  a  poor  woman  of  doubtful 
beaut}',  who  owes  her  husband  to  the  weight  of  her  dowry,  who 
gives  herself  infinite  pains,  and  spends  a  great  deal  of  money 
to  appear  to  advantage  and  follow  the  fashions,  who  dees 
her  best  to  keep  house  sumptuously  and  yet  economically — a 
house,  too,  not  easy  to  manage — who,  from  morality  and  dire 
necessity,  perhaps,  loves  no  one  but  her  husband,  who  has  no 
other  study  but  the  happiness  of  this  precious  husband,  who,  to 
express  all  in  one  word,  joins  the  maternal  sentiment  to  the 
sentiment  of  her  duties.  This  underlined  circumlocution  is 
the  paraphrase  of  the  word  love  in  the  language  of  prudes. 

Have  you  put  yourself  in  her  place?  Well,  this  too-much- 
loved  husband  by  chance  remarked  at  his  friend  Monsieur  de 
Fischtaminel's,  that  he  was  very  fond  of  mushrooms  a  I'ltali- 
enne. 

If  you  have  paid  some  attention  to  the  female  nature,  in  its 
good,  great,  and  grand  manifestations,  you  know  that  for  a 
loving  wife  there  is  no  greater  pleasure  than  that  of  seeing  the 
beloved  one  absorbing  his  favorite  viands.  This  springs 
from  the  fundamental  idea  upon  which  the  affection  of  women 
is  based :  that  of  being  the  source  of  all  his  pleasures,  big  and 
little.  Love  animates  everything  in  life,  and  conjugal  love 
has  a  peculiar  right  to  descend  to  the  most  trivial  details. 

Caroline  spends  two  or  three  days  in  inquiries  before  she 


460  PETTY  TROUBLES 

learns  how  the  Italians  dress  mushrooms.  She  discovers  a 
Corsican  abbe  who  tells  her  that  at  Biffi's,  in  the  rue  de  Riche- 
lieu, she  will  not  only  learn  how  the  Italians  dress  mushrooms, 
but  that  she  will  be  able  to  obtain  some  Milanese  mushrooms. 
Our  pious  Caroline  thanks  the  Abbe  Serpolini,  and  resolves  to 
send  him  a  breviary  in  acknowledgment. 

Caroline's  cook  goes  to  Biffi's,  comes  back  from  Biffi's,  and 
exhibits  to  the  countess  a  quantity  of  mushrooms  as  big  as 
the  coachman's  ears. 

"Very  good,"  she  says,  "did  he  explain  to  you  how  to 
cook  them  ?" 

"Oh,  for  us  cooks,  them's  a  mere  nothing,"  replies  the 
cook. 

As  a  general  rule,  cooks  know  everything,  in  the  cooking 
way,  except  how  a  cook  may  feather  his  nest. 

At  evening,  during  the  second  course,  all  Caroline's  fibres 
quiver  with  pleasure  at  observing  the  servant  bringing  to  the 
table  a  certain  suggestive  dish.  She  has  positively  waited  for 
this  dinner  as  she  had  waited  for  her  husband. 

But  between  waiting  with  certainty  and  expecting  a  posi- 
tive pleasure,  there  is,  to  the  souls  of  the  elect — and  everybody 
will  include  a  woman  who  adores  her  husband  among  the 
elect — there  is,  between  these  two  worlds  of  expectation,  the 
difference  that  exists  between  a  fine  night  and  a  fine  day. 

The  dish  is  presented  to  the  beloved  Adolphe,  he  carelessly 
plunges  his  spoon  in  and  helps  himself,  without  perceiving 
Caroline's  extreme  emotion,  to  several  of  those  soft,  fat,  round 
things,  that  travelers  who  visit  Milan  do  not  for  a  long  time 
recognize;  they  take  them  for  some  kind  of  shell-fish. 

"Well,  Adolphe?" 

"Well,  dear." 

"Don't  you  recognize  them?" 

"Recognize  what?" 

"Your  mushrooms  a  I'ltalienne  ?" 

"These,  mushrooms !  I  thought  they  were — well,  yes,  they 
are  mushrooms!" 

"Yes,  and  a  I'ltalienne,  too." 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  461 

"Pooh,  they  are  old  preserved  mushrooms,  a  la  milanaise. 
I  abominate  them !" 

"What  kind  is  it  you  like,  then?" 

"Fungi  trifolati." 

Let  us  observe — to  the  disgrace  of  an  epoch  which  numbers 
and  labels  everything,  which  puts  the  whole  creation  in  bottles, 
which  is  at  this  moment  classifying  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  species  of  insects,  giving  them  all  the  termination 
us,  so  that  a  Silbermanus  is  the  same  individual  in  all  coun- 
tries for  the  learned  men  who  dissect  a  butterfly's  legs  with 
pincers — that  we  still  want  a  nomenclature  for  the  chemistry 
of  the  kitchen,  to  enable  all  the  cooks  in  the  world  to  produce 
precisely  similar  dishes.  It  should  be  diplomatically  agreed 
that  French  should  be  the  language  of  the  kitchen,  as  Latin 
has  been  adopted  by  the  scientific  for  botany  and  entomology, 
unless  it  were  desired  to  imitate  them  in  that,  too,  and  thus 
really  have  kitchen  Latin. 

"My  dear,"  resumes  Adolphe,  on  seeing  the  clouded  and 
lengthened  face  of  his  chaste  Caroline,  "in  France  the  dish  in 
question  is  called  Mushrooms  a  I'ltalienne,  a  la  provenqale, 
a  la  bordelaise.  The  mushrooms  are  minced,  fried  in  oil  with 
a  few  ingredients  whose  names  I  have  forgotten,  You  add  a 
taste  of  garlic,  I  believe — " 

Talk  about  calamities,  of  petty  troubles!  This,  do  you 
see,  is,  to  a  woman's  heart,  what  the  pain  of  an  extracted  tooth 
is  to  a  child  of  eight.  Ab  uno  disce  omnes:  which  means, 
"There's  one  of  them:  find  the  rest  in  your  memory."  For 
we  have  taken  this  culinary  description  as  a  prototype  of  the 
vexations  which  afflict  loving  but  indifferently  loved  women. 

SMOKE  WITHOUT  FIRE. 

A  woman  full  of  faith  in  the  man  she  loves  is  a  romancer's 
fancy.  This  feminine  personage  no  more  exists  than  does  a 
rich  dowry.  A  woman's  confidence  glows  perhaps  for  a  few 
moments,  at  the  dawn  of  love,  and  disappears  in  a  trice  like  a 
shooting  star. 


462  PETTY  TROUBLES 

With  women  who  are  neither  Dutch,  nor  English,  nor  Bel- 
gian, nor  from  any  marshy  country,  love  is  a  pretext  for  suffer- 
ing,-an  employment  for  the  superabundant  powers  of  their 
imaginations  and  their  nerves. 

Thus  the  second  idea  that  takes  possession  of  a  happy 
woman,  one  who  is  really  loved,  is  the  fear  of  losing  her  happi- 
ness, for  we  must  do  her  the  justice  to  say  that  her  first  idea 
is  to  enjoy  it.  All  who  possess  treasures  are  in  dread  of 
thieves,  but  they  do  not,  like  women,  lend  wings  and  feet 
to  their  golden  stores. 

The  little  blue  flower  of  perfect  felicity  is  not  so  common, 
that  the  heaven-blessed  man  who  possesses  it,  should  be  sim- 
pleton enough  to  abandon  it. 

Axiom. — A  woman  is  never  deserted  without  a  reason. 

This  axiom  is  written  in  the  heart  of  hearts  of  every  woman. 
Hence  the  rage  of  a  woman  deserted. 

Let  us  not  infringe  upon  the  petty  troubles  of  love :  we  live 
in  a  calculating  epoch  when  women  are  seldom  abandoned, 
do  what  they  may:  for,  of  all  wives  or  women,  nowadays, 
the  legitimate  is  the  least  expensive.  Now,  every  woman  who 
is  loved,  has  gone  through  the  petty  annoyance  of  suspicion. 
This  suspicion,  whether  just  or  unjust,  engenders  a  multitude 
of  domestic  troubles,  and  here  is  the  biggest  of  all. 

Caroline  is  one  day  led  to  notice  that  her  cherished  Adolphe 
leaves  her  rather  too  often  upon  a  matter  of  business,  that 
eternal  Chaumontel's  affair,  which  never  comes  to  an  end. 

Axiom. — Every  household  has  its  Chaumontel's  affair.  (See 
TROUBLE  WITHIN  TROUBLE.) 

In  the  first  place,  a  woman  no  more  believes  in  matters  of 
business  than  publishers  and  managers  do  in  the  illness  of 
actresses  and  authors.  The  moment  a  beloved  creature  ab- 
sents himself,  though  she  has  rendered  him  even  too  happy, 
every  woman  straightway  imagines  that  he  has  hurried  away  to 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  463 

some  easy  conquest.  In  this  respect,  women  endow  men  with 
superhuman  faculties.  Fear  magnifies  everything,  it  dilates 
the  eyes  and  the  heart :  it  makes  a  woman  mad. 

"Where  is  my  husband  going?  What  is  my  husband  do- 
ing? Why  has  he  left  me?  Why  did  he  not  take  me  with 
him?" 

These  four  questions  are  the  four  cardinal  points  of  the 
compass  of  suspicion,  and  govern  the  stormy  sea  of  soliloquies. 
From  these  frightful  tempests  which  ravage  a  woman's  heart 
springs  an  ignoble,  unworthy  resolution,  one  which  every 
woman,  the  duchess  as  well  as  the  shopkeepers'  wife,  the 
baroness  as  well  as  the  stockbroker's  lady,  the  angel  as  well  as 
the  shrew,  the  indifferent  as  well  as  the  passionate,  at  once 
puts  into  execution.  They  imitate  the  government,  every  one 
of  them;  they  resort  to  espionage.  What  the  State  has  in- 
vented in  the  public  interest,  they  consider  legal,  legitimate 
and  permissible,  in  the  interest  of  their  love.  This  fatal 
woman's  curiosity  reduces  them  to-  the  necessity  of  having 
agents,  and  the  agent  of  any  woman  who,  in  this  situation,  has 
not  lost  her  self-respect, — a  situation  in  which  her  jealousy 
will  not  permit  her  to  respect  anything:  neither  your  little 
boxes,  nor  your  clothes,  nor  the  drawers  of  your  treasury,  of 
your  desk,  of  your  table,  of  your  bureau,  nor  your  pocketbook 
with  private  compartments,  nor  your  papers,  nor  your 
traveling  dressing-case,  nor  your  toilet  articles  (a  woman 
discovers  in  this  way  that  her  husband  dyed  his  moustache 
when  he  was  a  bachelor),  nor  your  india-rubber  girdles — her 
agent,  I  say,  the  only  one  in  whom  a  woman  trusts,  is  her 
maid,  for  her  maid  understands  her,  excuses  her,  and  approves 
her. 

In  the  paroxysm  of  excited  curiosity,  passion  and  jealousy, 
a  woman  makes  no  calculations,  takes  no  observations.  She 
simply  wishes  to  know  the  whole  truth. 

And  Justine  is  delighted:  she  sees  her  mistress  compromis- 
ing herself  with  her,  and  she  espouses  her  passion,  her  dread, 
her  fears  and  her  suspicions,  with  terrible  friendship.  Jus- 
tine and  Caroline  hold  councils  and  have  secret  interviews. 


464  PETTY  TROUBLES 

All  espionage  involves  such  relationships.  In  this  pass,  a 
maid  becomes  the  arbitress  of  the  fate  of  the  married  couple. 
Example :  Lord  Byron. 

"Madame/'  Justine  one  day  observes,  "monsieur  really  does 
go  out  to  see  a  woman." 

Caroline  turns  pale. 

"But  don't  be  alarmed,  madame,  it's  an  old  woman." 

"Ah,  Justine,  to  some  men  no  women  are  old:  men  are 
inexplicable." 

"But,  madame,  it  isn't  a  lady,  it's  a  woman,  quite  a  common 
woman." 

"Ah,  Justine,  Lord  Byron,  loved  a  fish-wife  at  Venice,  Ma- 
dame de  Fischtaminel  told  me  so." 

And  Caroline  bursts  into  tears. 

"I've  been  pumping  Benoit." 

"What  is  Benoit's  opinion?" 

"Benoit  thinks  that  the  woman  is  a  go-between,  for  mon- 
sieur keeps  his  secret  from  everybody,  even  from  Benoit." 

For  a  week  Caroline  lives  the  life  of  the  damned;  all  her 
savings  go  to  pay  spies  and  to  purchase  reports. 

Finally,  Justine  goes  to  see  the  woman,  whose  name  is  Ma- 
dame Mahuchet;  she  bribes  her  and  learns  at  last  that  her 
master  has  preserved  a  witness  of  his  youthful  follies,  a  nice 
little  boy  tbat  looks  very  much  like  him,  and  that  this  woman 
is  his  nurse,  the  second-hand  mother  who  has  charge  of  little 
Frederick,  who  pays  his  quarterly  school-bills,  and  through 
whose  hands  pass  the  twelve  hundred  or  two  thousand  francs 
which  Adolphe  is  supposed  annually  to  lose  at  cards. 

"What  of  the  mother?"  exclaims  Caroline. 

To  end  the  matter,  Justine,  Caroline's  good  genius,  proves 
to  her  that  M'lle  Suzanne  Beauminet,  formerly  a  grisette  and 
somewhat  later  Madame  Sainte-Suzanne,  died  at  the  hospital, 
or  else  that  she  has  made  her  fortune,  or  else,  again,  that  her 
place  in.  society  is  so  low  there  is  no  danger  of  madame's  ever 
meeting  her. 

Caroline  breathes  again :  the  dirk  has  been  drawn  from  her 
heart,  she  is  quite  happy;  but  she  has  no  children  but  daugh- 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  465 

ters,  and  would  like  a  boy.  This  little  drama  of  unjust  sus- 
picion, this  comedy  of  the  conjectures  to  which  Mother 
Mahuchet  gives  rise,  these  phases  of  a  causeless  jealousy,  are 
laid  down  here  as  the  type  of  a  situation,  the  varieties  of  which 
are  as  innumerable  as  characters,  grades  and  sorts. 

This  source  of  petty  troubles  is  pointed  out  here,  in  order 
that  women  seated  upon  the  river's  bank  may  contemplate  in 
it  the  course  of  their  own  married  life,  following  its  ascent  or 
descent,  recalling  their  own  adventures  to  mind,  their  untold 
disasters,  the  foibles  which  caused  their  errors,  and  the  peculiar 
fatalities  to  which  were  due  an  instant  of  frenzy,  a  moment 
of  unnecessary  despair,  or  sufferings  which  they  might  have 
spared  themselves,  happy  in  their  self-delusions. 

This  vexation  has  a  corollary  in  the  following,  one  which 
is  much  more  serious  and  often  without  remedy,  especially 
when  its  root  lies  among  vices  of  another  kind,  and  which 
do  not  concern  us,  for,  in  this  work,  women  are  invariably 
esteemed  honest — until  the  end. 

THE  DOMESTIC  TYRANT. 

"My  dear  Caroline,"  says  Adolphe  one  day  to  his  wife, 
"are  you  satisfied  with  Justine?" 

"Yes,  dear,  quite  so." 

"Don't  you  think  she  speaks  to  you  rather  impertinently  ?" 

"Do  you  suppose  I  would  notice  a  maid  ?  But  it  seems  you 
notice  her!" 

"What  do  you  say  ?"  asks  Adolphe  in  an  indignant  way  that 
is  always  delightful  to  women. 

Justine  is  a  genuine  maid  for  an  actress,  a  woman  of  thirty 
stamped  by  the  small-pox  with  innumerable  dimples,  in  which 
the  loves  are  far  from  sporting :  she  is  as  brown  as  opium,  has 
a  good  deal  of  leg  and  not  much  body,  gummy  eyes,  and  a 
tournure  to  match.  She  would  like  to  have  Benoit  marry  her, 
but  at  this  unexpected  suggestion,  Benoit  asked  for  his  dip- 
charge.  Such  is  the  portrait  of  the  domestic  tyrant  enthroned 
by  Caroline's  jealousy. 


466  PETTY  TROUBLES 

Justine  takes  her  coffee  in  the  morning,  in  bed,  and  manages 
to  have  it  as  good  as,  not  to  say  better  than,  that  of  her  mis- 
tress. Justine  sometimes  goes  out  without .  asking  leave, 
dressed  like  the  wife  of  a  second-class  banker.  She  sports  a 
pink  hat,  one  of  her  mistress'  old  gowns  made  over,  an  elegant 
shawl,  shoes  of  bronze  kid,  and  jewelry  of  doubtful  character. 

Justine  is  sometimes  in  a  bad  humor,  and  makes  her  mis- 
tress feel  that  she  too  is  a  woman  like  herself,  though  she  is 
not  married.  She  has  her  whims,  her  fits  of  melancholy,  her 
caprices.  She  even  dares  to  have  her  nerves!  She  replies 
curtly,  she  makes  herself  insupportable  to  the  other  servants, 
and,  to  conclude,  her  wages  have  been  considerably  increased. 

"My  dear,  this  girl  is  getting  more  intolerable  every  day," 
says  Adolphe  one  morning  to  his  wife,  on  noticing  Justine 
listening  at  the  key-hole,  "and  if  you  don't  send  her  away,  I 
will !" 

Caroline,  greatly  alarmed,  is  obliged  to  give  Justine  a  talk- 
ing to,  while  her  husband  is  out. 

"Justine,  you  take  advantage  of  my  kindness  to  you:  you 
have  high  wages,  here,  you  have  perquisites,  presents:  try  to 
keep  your  place,  for  my  husband  wants  to  send  you  away." 

The  maid  humbles  herself  to  the  earth,  she  sheds  tears :  she 
is  so  attached  to  madame !  Ah !  she  would  rush  into  the  fire 
for  her:  she  would  let  herself  be  chopped  into  mince-meat: 
she  is  ready  for  anything. 

"If  you  had  anything  to  conceal,  madame,  I  would  take  it 
on  myself  and  say  it  was  me  I" 

"Very  well,  Justine,  very  good,  my  girl,"  says  Caroline, 
terrified:  "but  that's  not  the  point:  just  try  to  keep  in  your 
place." 

"Ah,  ha !"  says  Justine  to  herself,  "monsieur  wants  to  send 
me  away,  does  he  ?  Wait  and  see  the  deuce  of  a  life  I'll  lend 
you,  you  old  curmudgeon  !" 

A  week  after,  Justine,  who  is  dressing  her  mistress'  hair, 
looks  in  the  glass  to  make  sure  that  Caroline  can  see  all  the 
grimaces  of  her  countenance :  and  Caroline  very  soon  inquires, 
"Why,  what's  the  matter,  Justine  ?" 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  467 

"I  would  tell  you,  readily,  madame,  but  then,  madame,  you 
are  so  weak  with  monsieur!" 

"Come,  go  on,  what  is  it?" 

"I  know  now,  madame,  why  master  wanted  to  show  me  the 
door:  he  has  confidence  in  nobody  but  Benoit,  and  Benoit  is 
playing  the  mum  with  me." 

"Well,  what  does  that  prove?  Has  anything  been  dis- 
covered ?" 

"I'm  sure  that  between  the  two  they  are  plotting  something 
against  you,  madame,"  returns  the  maid  with  authority. 

Caroline,  whom  Justine  watches  in  the  glass,  turns  pale: 
all  the  tortures  of  the  previous  petty  trouble  return,  and 
Justine  sees  that  she  has  become  as  indispensable  to  her  mis- 
tress as  spies  are  to  the  government  when  a  conspiracy  is  dis- 
covered. Still,  Caroline's  friends  do  not  understand  why  she 
keeps  so  disagreeable  a  servant  girl,  one  who  wears  a  hat,  whose 
manners  are  impertinent,  and  who  gives  herself  the  airs  of  a 
lady. 

This  stupid  domination  is  talked  of  at  Madame  Deschars', 
at  Madame  de  Fischtaminel's,  and  the  company  consider  it 
funny.  A  few  ladies  think  they  can  see  certain  monstrous 
reasons  for  it,  reasons  which  compromise  Caroline's  honor. 

Axiom. — In  society,  people  can  put  cloaks  on  every  kind  of 
truth,  even  the  prettiest. 

In  short  the  aria  della  calumnia  is  executed  precisely  as  if 
Bartholo  were  singing  it. 

It  is  averred  that  Caroline  cannot  discharge  her  maid. 

Society  devotes  itself  desperately  to  discovering  the  secret 
of  this  enigma.  Madame  de  Fischtaminel  makes  fun  of 
Adolphe  who  goes  home  in  a  rage,  has  a  scene  with  Caroline 
and  discharges  Justine. 

This  produces  such  an  effect  upon  Justine,  that  she  falls 
sick,  and  takes  to  her  bed.  Caroline  observes  to  her  husband, 
that  it  would  be  awkward  to  turn  a  girl  in  Justine's  condi- 
tion into  the  street,  a  girl  who  is  so  much  attached  to  them, 
too,  and  who  has  been  with  them  since  their  marriage. 


468  PETTY  TROUBLES 

"Let  her  go  then  as  soon  as  she  is  well !"  says  Adolphe. 

Caroline,  reassured  in  regard  to  Adolphe,  and  indecently 
swindled  by  Justine,  at  last  comes  to  desire  to  get  rid  of  her : 
she  applies  a  violent  remedy  to  the  disease,  and  makes  up  her 
mind  to  go  under  the  Caudine  Forks  of  another  petty  trouble, 
as  follows: 

THE  AVOWAL. 

One  morning,  Adolphe  is  petted  in  a  very  unusual  manner. 
The  too  happy  husband  wonders  what  may  be  the  cause  of  this 
development  of  affection,  and  he  hears  Caroline,  in  her  most 
winning  tones,  utter  the  word :  "Adolphe  ?" 

"Well?"  he  replies,  in  alarm  at  the  internal  agitation  be- 
trayed by  Caroline's  voice. 

"Promise  not  to  be  angry." 

"Well." 

"Not  to  be  vexed  with  me." 

"Never.     Go  on." 

"To  forgive  me  and  never  say  anything  about  it." 

"But  tell  me  what  it  is !" 

"Besides,  you  are  the  one  that's  in  the  wrong — " 

"Speak,  or  I'll  go  away." 

"There's  no  one  but  you  that  can  get  me  out  of  the  scrape 
— and  it  was  you  that  got  me  into  it." 

"Come,  come." 

"It's  about—" 

"About—" 

"About  Justine!" 

"Don't  speak  of  her,  she's  discharged.  I  won't  see  her 
again,  her  style  of  conduct  exposes  your  reputation — " 

"What  can  people  say — what  have  they  said?" 

The  scene  changes,  the  result  of  which  is  a  secondary  ex- 
planation which  makes  Caroline  blush,  as  she  sees  the  bearing 
of  the  suppositions  of  her  best  friends. 

"Well,  now,  Adolphe,  it's  to  you  I  owe  all  this.  Why  didn't 
you  tell  me  about  Frederick?" 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  469 

"Frederick  the  Great  ?     The  King  of  Prussia  ?" 

"What  creatures  men  are !  Hypocrite,  do  you  want  to 
make  me  believe  that  you  have  forgotten  your  son  so  soon, 
M'lle  Suzanne  Beauminet's  son  ?" 

"Then  you  know—?" 

"The  whole  thing!  And  old  mother  Mahuchet,  and  your 
absences  from  home  to  give  him  a  good  dinner  on  holidays !" 

"How  like  moles  you  pious  women  can  be  if  you  try  \"  ex- 
claims Adolphe,  in  his  terror. 

"It  was  Justine  that  found  it  out." 

"Ah!     Now  I  understand  the  reason  of  her  insolence." 

"Oh,  your  Caroline  has  been  very  wretched,  dear,  and  this 
spying  system,  which  was  produced  by  my  love  for  you,  for  I 
do  love  you,  and  madly  too, — if  you  deceived  me,  I  would 
fly  to  the  extremity  of  creation, — well,  as  I  was  going  to  say, 
this  unfounded  jealousy  has  put  me  in  Justine's  power,  so, 
my  precious,  get  me  out  of  it  the  best  way  you  can !" 

"Let  this  teach  you,  my  angel,  never  to  make  use  of  your 
servants,  if  you  want  them  to  be  of  use  to  you.  It  is  the  low- 
est of  tyrannies,  this  being  at  the  mercy  of  one's  people." 

Adolphe  takes  adavantage  of  this  circumstance  to  alarm 
Caroline,  he  thinks  of  future  ChaumontePs  affairs,  and  would 
be  glad  to  have  no  more  espionage. 

Justine  is  sent  for,  Adolphe  peremptorily  dismisses  her 
without  waiting  to  hear  her  explanation.  Caroline  imagines 
her  vexations  at  an  end.  She  gets  another  maid. 

Justine,  whose  twelve  or  fifteen  thousand  francs  have 
attracted  the  notice  of  a  water  carrier,  becomes  Madame 
Chavagnac,  and  goes  into  the  apple  business.  Ten  months 
after,  in  Adolphe's  absence,  Caroline  receives  a  letter  written 
upon  school-boy  paper,  in  strides  which  would  require  ortho- 
pedic treatment  for  three  months,  and  thus  conceived : 

"Madam  ! 

"Yu  ar  shaimphoolly  diseeved  bi  yure  huzban  fur  mame 
Deux  fischtaminelle,  hee  goze  their  evry  eavning,  yu  ar  az 
blynde  az  a  Bait,  your  gott  wott  yu  dizzurv,  and  i  am  Glad 


470  PETTY  TROUBLES 

ovit,  and  i  haw  thee  honur  ov  prezenting  yu  the  assurunz  ov 
Mi  moaste  ds  Sting  guischt  respecks." 

Caroline  starts  like  a  lion  who  has  been  stung  by  a  bumble- 
bee ;  she  places  herself  once  more,  and  of  her  own  accord, 
upon  the  griddle  of  suspicion,  and  begins  her  struggle  with 
the  unknown  all  over  again. 

When  she  has  discovered  the  injustice  of  her  suspicions, 
there  comes  another  letter  with  an  offer  to  furnish  her  with 
details  relative  to  a  Chaumontel's  affair  which  Justine  has 
unearthed. 

The  petty  trouble  of  avowals,  ladies,  is  often  more  serious 
than  this,  as  you  perhaps  have  occasion  to  remember. 

HUMILIATIONS. 

To  the  glory  of  women,  let  it  be  said,  they  care  for  their 
husbands  even  when  their  husbands  care  no  more  for  them, 
not  only  because  there  are  more  ties,  socially  speaking,  between 
a  married  woman  and  a  man,  than  between  the  man  and  the 
wife;  but  also  because  woman  has  more  delicacy  and  honor 
than  man,  the  chief  conjugal  question  apart,  as  a  matter  of 
course. 

Axiom. — In  a  husband,  there  is  only  a  man;  in  a  married 
woman,  there  is  a  man,  a  father,  a  mother  and  a  woman. 

A  married  woman  has  sensibility  enough  for  four,  or  for 
five  even,  if  you  look  closely. 

Now,  it  is  not  improper  to  observe  in  this  place,  that,  in  a 
woman's  eyes,  love  is  a  general  absolution:  the  man  who  is 
a  good  lover  may  commit  crimes,  if  he  will,  he  is  always  as 
pure  as  snow  in  the  eyes  of  her  who  loves  him,  if  he  truly 
loves  her.  As  to  a  married  woman,  loved  or  not,  she  feels  so 
deeply  that  the  honor  and  consideration  of  her  husband  are 
the  fortune  of  her  children,  that  she  acts  like  the  woman  in 
love, — so  active  is  the  sense  of  community  of  interest. 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  471 

This  profound  sentiment  engenders,  for  certain  Carolines, 
petty  troubles  which,  unfortunately  for  this  book,  have  their 
dismal  side. 

Adolphe  is  compromised.  We  will  not  enumerate  all  the 
methods  of  compromising  oneself,  for  we  might  become  per- 
sonal. Let  us  take,  as  an  example,  the  social  error  whch  our 
epoch  excuses,  permits,  understands  and  commits  the  most  of 
any — the  case  of  an  honest  robbery,  of  skillfully  concealed  cor- 
ruption in  office,  or  of  some  misrepresentation  that  becomes 
excusable  when  it  has  succeeded,  as,  for  instance,  having  an 
understanding  with  parties  in  power,  for  the  sale  of  property 
at  the  highest  possible  price  to  a  city,  or  a  country. 

Thus,  in  a  bankruptcy,  Adolphe,  in  order  to  protect  him- 
self (this  means  to  recover  his  claims),  has  become  mixed  up 
in  certain  unlawful  doings  which  may  bring  a  man  to  the 
necessity  of  testifying  before  the  Court  of  Assizes.  In  fact, 
it  is  not  known  that  the  daring  creditor  will  not  be  considered 
a  party. 

Take  notice  that  in  all  cases  of  bankruptcy,  protecting  one- 
self is  regarded  as  the  most  sacred  of  duties,  even  by  the  most 
respectable  houses:  the  thing  is  to  keep  the  bad  side  of  the 
protection  out  of  sight,  as  they  do  in  prudish  England. 

Adolphe  does  not.  know  what  to  do,  as  his  counsel  has  told 
him  not  to  appear  in  the  matter :  so  he  has  recourse  to  Caro- 
line. He  gives  her  a  lesson,  he  coaches  her,  he  teaches  her  the 
Code,  he  examines  her  dress,  he  equips  her  as  a  brig  sent  on  a 
voyage,  and  despatches  her  to  the  office  of  some  judge,  or  some 
syndic.  The  judge  is  apparently  a  man  of  severe  morality, 
but  in  reality  a  libertine :  he  retains  his  serious  expression  on 
seeing  a  pretty  woman  enter,  and  makes  sundry  very  uncom- 
plimentary remarks  about  Adolphe. 

"I  pity  you,  madame,  you  belong  to  a  man  who  may  involve 
you  in  numerous  unpleasant  affairs :  a  few  more  matters  like 
this,  and  he  will  be  quite  disgraced.  Have  you  any  children  ? 
Excuse  my  asking ;  you  are  so  young,  it  is  perfectly  natural." 
And  the  judge  comes  as  near  to  Caroline  as  possible. 

"Yes,  sir." 


472  PETTY  TROUBLES 

"Ah,  great  heavens !  what  a  prospect  is  yours !  My  first 
thought  was  for  the  woman,  but  now  I  pity  you  doubly,  I  think 
of  the  mother.  Ah,  how  you  must  have  suffered  in  coming 
here !  Poor,  poor  woman  I" 

"Ah,  sir,  you  take  an  interest  in  me,  do  you  not  ?" 

"Alas,  what  can  I  do?"  says  the  judge,  darting  a  glance 
sidewise  at  Caroline.  "What  you  ask  of  me  is  a  dereliction 
of  duty,  and  I  am  a  magistrate  before  I  am  a  man." 

"Oh,  sir,  only  be  a  man — " 

"Are  you  aware  of  the  full  bearing  of  that  request,  fair 
creature?"  At  this  point  the  magistrate  tremblingly  takes 
Caroline's  hand. 

Caroline,  who  remembers  that  the  honor  of  her  husband 
and  children  is  at  stake,  says  to  herself  that  this  is  not  the 
time  to  play  the  prude.  She  abandons  her  hand,  making 
just  resistance  enough  for  the  old  man  (happily  he  is  an  old 
man)  to  consider  it  a  favor. 

"Come,  come,  my  beauty,"  resumes  the  judge,  "I  should  be 
loath  to  cause  so  lovely  a  woman  to  shed  tears ;  we'll  see  about 
it.  You  shall  come  to-morrow  evening  and  tell  me  the  whole 
affair.  We  must  look  at  the  papers,  we  will  examine  them  to- 
gether— 

"Sir—" 

"It's  indispensable." 

"But,  sir—" 

"Don't  be  alarmed,  my  dear,  a  judge  is  likely  to  know  how 
to  grant  what  is  due  to  justice  and — "  he  puts  on  a  shrewd 
look  here — "to  beauty." 

"But,.sir— " 

"Be  quite  at  your  ease,"  he  adds,  holding  her  hand  closely 
in  his,  "and  we'll  try  to  reduce  this  great  crime  down  to  a 
peccadillo."  And  he  goes  to  the  door  with  Caroline,  who  is 
frightened  to  death  at  an  appointment  thus  proposed. 

The  syndic  is  a  lively  young  man,  and  he  receives  Madame 
Adolphe  with  a  smile.  He  smiles  at  everything,  and  he 
smiles  as  he  takes  her  round  the  waist  with  an  agility  which 
leaves  Caroline  no  time  to  resist,  especially  as  she  says  to 


OP  MARRIED  LIFE  473 

herself,  "Adolphe  particularly  recommended  me  not  to  vex 
the  syndic." 

Nevertheless  Caroline  escapes,  in  the  interest  of  the  syndic 
himself,  and  again  pronounces  the  "Sir  I"  which  she  had  said 
three  times  to  the  judge. 

"Don't  be  angry  with  me,  you  are  irresistible,  you  are  an 
angel,  and  your  husband  is  a  monster :  for  what  does  he  mean 
by  sending  a  siren  to  a  young  man  whom  he  knows  to  be 
inflammable !" 

"Sir,  my  husband  could  not  come  himself;  he  is  in  bed, 
very  sick,  and  you  threatened  him  so  terribly  that  the  urgency 
of  the  matter — " 

"Hasn't  he  got  a  lawyer,  an  attorney  ?" 

Caroline  is  terrified  by  this  remark  which  reveals  Adolphe's 
profound  rascality. 

"He  supposed,  sir,  that  you  would  have  pity  upon  the 
mother  of  a  family,  upon  her  children — 

"Ta,  ta,  ta,"  returns  the  syndic.  "You  have  come  to 
influence  my  independence,  my  conscience,  you  want  me  to 
give  the  creditors  up  to  you :  well,  I'll  do  more,  I  give  you  up 
my  heart,  my  fortune !  Your  husband  wants  to  save  his 
honor,  my  honor  is  at  your  disposal  I" 

"Sir,"  cries  Caroline,  as  she  tries  to  raise  the  syndic  who  has 
thrown  himself  at  her  feet.  "You  alarm  me !" 

She  plays  the  terrified  female  and  thus  reaches  the  door, 
getting  out  of  a  delicate  situation  as  women  know  how  to  do 
it,  that  is,  without  compromising  anything  or  anybody. 

"I  will  come  again,"  she  says  smiling,  "when  you  behave 
better." 

"You  leave  me  thus !  Take  care !  Your  husband  may  yet 
find  himself  seated  at  the  bar  of  the  Court  of  Assizes :  he  is 
accessory  to  a  fraudulent  bankruptcy,  and  we  know  several 
things  about  him  that  are  not  by  any  means  honorable.  It  is 
not  his  first  departure  from  rectitude;  he  has  done  a  good 
many  dirty  things,  he  has  been  mixed  up  in  disgraceful  in- 
trigues, and  you  are  singularly  careful  of  the  honor  of  a  man 
who  cares  as  little  for  his  own  honor  as  he  does  for  yours/' 


474  PETTY  TROUBLES 

Caroline,  alarmed  by  these  words,  lets  go  the  door,  shuts  it 
and  comes  back. 

"What  do  you  mean,  sir  ?"  she  exclaims,  furious  at  this  out- 
rageous broadside. 

"Why,  this  affair—" 

"Chaumontel's  affair  ?" 

"No,  his  speculations  in  houses  that  he  had  built  by  people 
that  were  insolvent/' 

Caroline  remembers  the  enterprise  undertaken  by  Adolphe 
to  double  his  income:  (See  The  Jesuitism  of  Women}  she 
trembles.  Her  curiosity  is  in  the  syndic's  favor. 

"Sit  down  here.  There,  at  this  distance,  I  will  behave 
well,  but  I  can  look  at  you." 

And  he  narrates,  at  length,  the  conception  due  to  du  Tillet 
the  banker,  interrupting  himself  to  say :  "Oh,  what  a  pretty, 
cunning,  little  foot;  no  one  but  you  could  have  such  a  foot 
as  that —  Du  Tillet,  therefore,  compromised.  What  an  ear, 
too !  You  have  been  doubtless  told  that  you  had  a  delicious 
ear —  And  du  Tillet  was  right,  for  judgment  had  already 
been  given —  I  love  small  ears,  let  me  have  a  model  of  yours, 
and  I  will  do  anything  you  like —  du  Tillet  profited  by  this  to 
throw  the  whole  loss  on  your  idiotic  husband:  oh,  what  a 
charming  silk,  you  are  divinely  dressed !" 

"Where  were  we,  sir?" 

"How  can  I  remember  while  admiring  your  Eaphaelistic 
head?" 

At  the  twenty-seventh  compliment,  Caroline  considers  the 
syndic  a  man  of  wit :  she  makes  him  a  polite  speech,  and  goes 
away  without  learning  much  more  of  the  enterprise  which, 
not  long  before,  had  swallowed  up  three  hundred  thousand 
francs. 

There  are  many  huge  variations  of  this  petty  trouble. 

EXAMPLE.  Adolphe  is  brave  and  susceptible :  he  is  walking 
on  the  Champs  Elysees,  where  there  is  a  crowd  of  people;  in 
this  crowd  are  several  ill-mannered  young  men  who  indulge 
in  jokes  of  doubtful  propriety :  Caroline  puts  up  with  them 
and  pretends  not  to  hear  them,  in  order  to  keep  her  husband 
out  of  a  duel. 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE         .  475 

ANOTHER  EXAMPLE.  A  child  belonging  to  the  genus  Ter- 
rible, exclaims  in  the  presence  of  everybody: 

"Mamma,  would  you  let  Justine  hit  me?" 

"Certainly  not." 

"Why  do  you  ask,  my  little  man  ?"  inquires  Madame  Foulle- 
pointe. 

"Because  she  just  gave  father  a  big  slap,  and  he's  ever  so 
much  stronger  than  me." 

Madame  Foullepointe  laughs,  and  Adolphe,  who  intended 
to  pay  court  to  her,  is  cruelly  joked  by  her,  after  having  had  a 
first  last  quarrel  with  Caroline. 

THE  LAST  QUARREL. 

In  every  household,  husbands  and  wives  must  one  day  hear 
the  striking  of  a  fatal  hour.  It  is  a  knell,  the  death  and  end 
of  jealousy,  a  great,  noble  and  charming  passion,  the  only  true 
symptom  of  love,  if  it  is  not  even  its  double.  When  a  woman 
is  no  longer  jealous  of  her  husband,  all  is  over,  she  loves  him 
no  more.  So,  conjugal  love  expires  in  the  last  quarrel  that 
a  woman  gives  herself  the  trouble  to  raise. 

Axiom. — When  a  woman  ceases  to  quarrel  with  her  husband, 
the  Minotaur  has  seated  himse-lf  in  a  corner  arm-chair,  tap- 
ping his  boots  with  his  cane. 

Every  woman  must  remember  her  last  quarrel,  that  supreme 
petty  trouble  which  often  explodes  about  nothing,  but  more 
often  still  on  some  occasion  of  a  brutal  fact  or  of  a  decisive 
proof.  This  cruel  farewell  to  faith,  to  the  childishness  of 
love,  to  virtue  even,  is  in  a  degree  as  capricious  as  life  itself. 
Like  life  it  varies  in  every  house. 

Here,  the  author  ought  perhaps  to  search  out  all  the  varieties 
of  quarrels,  if  he  desires  to  be  precise. 

Thus,  Caroline  may  have  discovered  that  the  judicial  robe 
of  the  syndic  in  Chaumontel's  affair,  hides  a  robe  of  infinitely 
softer  stuff,  of  an  agreeable,  silky  color:  that  Chaumontel's 
hair,  in  short,  is  fair,  and  that  his  eyes  are  blue. 


476  PETTY  TROUBLES 

Or  else  Caroline,  who  arose  before  Adolphe,  may  have  seen 
his  greatcoat  thrown  wrong  side  out  across  a  chair;  the  edge 
of  a  little  perfumed  paper,  just  peeping  out  of  the  side- 
pocket,  may  have  attracted  her  by  its  whiteness,  like  a  ray  of 
the  sun  entering  a  dark  room  through  a  crack  in  the  window : 
or  else,  while  taking  Adolphe  in  her  arms  and  feeling  his 
pocket,  she  may  have  caused  the  note  to  crackle :  or  else  she 
may  have  been  informed  of  the  state  of  things  by  a  foreign 
odor  that  she  has  long  noticed  upon  him,  and  may  have  read 
these  lines: 

"TJngraitfull  wun,  wot  du  yu  supoz  i  no  About  Hipolite. 
Kum,  and  yu  shal  se  weather  i  Love  yu." 

Or   this: 

"Yesterday,  love,  you  made  me  wait  for  you :  what  will 
it  be  to-morrow  ?" 

Or  this: 

"The  women  who  love  you,  my  dear  sir,  are  very  unhappy 
in  hating  you  so,  when  you  are  not  with  them :  take  care,  for 
the  hatred  which  exists  during  your  absence,  may  possibly 
encroach  upon  the  hours  you  spend  in  their  company." 

Or   this: 

"You  traitorous  Chodoreille,  what  were  you  doing  yester- 
day on  the  boulevard  with  a  woman  hanging  on  your  arm? 
If  it  was  your  wife,  accept  my  compliments  of  condolence 
upon  her  absent  charms :  she  has  doubtless  deposited  them  at 
the  pawnbroker's,  and  the  ticket  to  redeem  them  with  is  lost." 

Four  notes  emanating  from  the  grisette,  the  lady,  the  pre- 
tentious woman  in  middle  life,  and  the  actress,  among  whom 
Adolphe  has  chosen  his  belle  (according  to  the  Fischtaminel- 
lian  vocabulary). 

Or  else  Caroline,  taken  veiled  by  Ferdinand  to  Eanelagh 
Garden,  sees  with  her  own  eyes  Adolphe  abandoning  himself 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  477 

furiously  to  the  polka,  holding  one  of  the  ladies  of  honor  to 
Queen  Pomare  in  his  arms;  or  else,  again,  Adolphe  has  for 
the  seventh  time,  made  a  mistake  in  the  name,  and  called  his 
wife  Juliette,  Charlotte  or  Lisa :  or,  a  grocer  or  restaurateur 
sends  to  the  house,  during  Adolphe's  absence,  certain  damning 
bills  which  fall  into  Caroline's  hands. 

PAPERS  KELATING  TO  CIIAUMONTEI/S  AFFAIR. 

(Private  Tables  Served.) 

M.  Adolphe  to  Perrault,  Dr. 

To  1   Pate  de  Foie  Gras  delivered  at  Madame 

Schontz's,  the  6th  of  January,  fr.  22.50 

Six  bottles  of  assorted  wines,  70.00 

To  one  special  breakfast  delivered  at   Congress 

Hotel,  the  llth  of  February,  at  No.  21— 

stipulated  price,  100.00 


Total,  Francs,  192.50 

Caroline  examines  the  dates  and  remembers  them  as  ap- 
pointments made  for  business  connected  with  Chaumontel's 
affair.  Adolphe  had  designated  the  sixth  of  January  as  the 
day  fixed  for  a  meeting  at  which  the  creditors  in  Chaumon- 
tel's affair  were  to  receive  the  sums  due  them.  On  the  eleventh 
of  February  he  had  an  appointment  with  the  notary,  in  order 
to  sign  a  receipt  relative  to  Chaumontel's  affair. 

Or  else — but  an  attempt  to  mention  all  the  chances  of  dis- 
covery would  be  the  undertaking  of  a  madman. 

Every  woman  will  remember  for  herself  how  the  bandage 
with  which  her  eyes  were  bound  fell  off:  how,  after  many 
doubts,  and  agonies  of  heart,  she  made  up  her  mind  to  have  a 
final  quarrel  for  the  simple  purpose  of  finishing  the  romance, 
putting  the  seal  to  the  book,  stipulating  for  her  independence, 
or  beginning  life  over  again. 

Some  women  are  fortunate  enough  to  have  anticipated  their 
husbands,  and  they  then  have  the  quarrel  as  a  sort  of  justifica- 
tion. 


478  PETTY  TROUBLES 

Nervous  women  give  way  to  a  burst  of  passion  and  commit 
acts  of  violence. 

Women  of  mild  temper  assume  a  decided  tone  which  appals 
the  most  intrepid  husbands.  Those  who  have  no  vengeance 
ready  shed  a  great  many  tears. 

Those  who  love  you  forgive  you.  Ah,  they  conceive  so 
readily,  like  the  woman  called  "Ma  berline,"  that  their 
Adolphe  must  be  loved  by  the  women  of  France,  that  they  are 
rejoiced  to  possess,  legally,  a  man  about  whom  everybody  goes 
crazy. 

Certain  women  with  lips  tight  shut  like  a  vice,  with  a  muddy 
complexion  and  thin  arms,  treat  themselves  to  the  malicious 
pleasure  of  promenading  their  Adolphe  through  the  quagmires 
of  falsehood  and  contradiction:  they  question  him  (see 
Troubles  within  Troubles),  like  a  magistrate  examining  a 
criminal,  reserving  the  spiteful  enjoyment  of  crushing  his 
denials  by  positive  proof  at  a  decisive  moment.  Generally,  in 
this  supreme  scene  of  conjugal  life,  the  fair  sex  is  the  execu- 
tioner, while,  in  the  contrary  case,  man  is  the  assassin. 

This  is  the  way  of  it:  This  last  quarrel  (you  shall  know 
why  the  author  has  called  it  the  last),  is  always  terminated 
by  a  solemn,  sacred  promise,  made  by  scrupulous,  noble,  or 
simply  intelligent  women  (that  is  to  say,  by  all  women),  and 
which  we  give  here  in  its  grandest  form. 

"Enough,  Adolphe !  we  love  each  other  no  more ;  you  have 
deceived  me,  and  I  shall  never  forget  it.  I  may  forgive  it, 
but  I  can  never  forget  it." 

Women  represent  themselves  as  implacable  only  to  render 
their  forgiveness  charming :  they  have  anticipated  God. 

"We  have  now  to  live  in  common  like  two  friends/'  con- 
tinues Caroline.  "Well,  let  us  live  like  two  comrades,  two 
brothers.  I  do  not  wish  to  make  your  life  intolerable,  and  I 
never  again  will  speak  to  you  of  what  has  happened — " 

Adolphe  gives  Caroline  his  hand :  she  takes  it,  and  shakes  it 
in  the  English  style.  Adolphe  thanks  Caroline,  and  catches 
a  glimpse  of  bliss :  he  has  converted  his  wife  into  a  sister,  and 
hopes  to  be  a  bachelor  again. 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  479 

The  next  day  Caroline  indulges  in  a  very  witty  allusion 
(Adolphe  cannot  help  laughing  at  it)  to  Chaumontel's  affair. 
In  society  she  makes  general  remarks  which,  to  Adolphe,  are 
very  particular  remarks,  about  their  last  quarrel. 

At  the  end  of  a  fortnight  a  day  never  passes  without  Caro- 
line's recalling  their  last  quarrel  by  saying:  "It  was  the  day 
when  I  found  Chaumontel's  bill  in  your  pocket:"  or  "it  hap- 
pened since  our  last  quarrel :"  or,  "it  was  the  day  when,  for 
the  first  time,  I  had  a  clear  idea  of  life,"  etc.  She  assassinates 
Adolphe,  she  martyrizes  him !  In  society  she  gives  utterance 
to  terrible  things. 

"We  are  happy,  my  dear  [to  a  lady],  when  we  love  each 
other  no  longer :  it's  then  that  we  learn  how  to  make  ourselves 
beloved,"  and  she  looks  at  Ferdinand. 

In  short,  the  last  quarrel  never  comes  to  an  end,  and  from 
this  fact  flows  the  following  axiom: 

Axiom. — Putting  yourself  in  the  wrong  with  your  lawful 
wife,  is  solving  the  problem  of  Perpetual  Motion. 

A  SIGNAL  FAILURE. 

Women,  and  especially  married  women,  stick  ideas  into  their 
brain-pan  precisely  as  they  stick  pins  into  a  pincushion,  and 
the  devil  himself, — do  you  mind? — could  not  get  them  out: 
they  reserve  to  themselves  the  exclusive  right  of  sticking  them 
in,  pulling  them  out,  and  sticking  them  in  again. 

Caroline  is  riding  home  one  evening  from  Madame  Foulle- 
pointe's  in  a  violent  state  of  jealousy  and  ambition. 

Madame  Foullepointe,  the  lioness — but  this  word  requires 
an  explanation.  It  is  a  fashionable  neologism,  and  gives 
expression  to  certain  rather  meagre  ideas  relative  to  our  pres- 
ent society :  you  must  use  it,  if  you  want  to  describe  a  woman 
who  is  all  the  rage.  This  lioness  rides  on  horseback  every 
day,  and  Caroline  has  taken  it  into  her  head  to  learn  to  ride 
also. 

Observe  that  in  this  conjugal  phase,  Adolphe  and  Caroline 


480  PETTY  TROUBLES 

are  in  the  season  which  we  have  denominated  A  Household 
Revolution,  and  that  they  have  had  two  or  three  Last  Quarrels. 

"Adolphe,"  she  says,  "do  you  want  to  do  me  a  favor  ?" 

"Of  course." 

"Won't  you  refuse  ?" 

"If  your  request  is  reasonable,  I  am  willing — " 

"Ah,  already — that's  a  true  husband's  word — if — " 

"Come,  what  is  it?" 

"I  want  to  learn  to  ride  on  horseback." 

"Now,  is  it  a  possible  thing,  Caroline?" 

Caroline  looks  out  of  the  window,  and  tries  to  wipe  away 
a  dry  tear. 

"Listen,"  resumes  Adolphe;  "I  cannot  let  you  go  alone  to 
the  riding-school;  and  I  cannot  go  with  you  while  business 
gives  me  the  annoyance  it  does  now.  What's  the  matter?  I 
think  I  have  given  you  unanswerable  reasons." 

Adolphe  foresees  the  hiring  of  a  stable,  the  purchase  of  a 
pony,  the  introduction  of  a  groom  and  of  a  servant's  horse 
into  the  establishment — in  short,  all  the  nuisance  of  female 
lionization. 

When  a  man  gives  a  woman  reasons  instead  of  giving  her 
what  she  wants — well,  few  men  have  ventured  to  descend  into 
that  small  abyss  called  the  heart,  to  test  the  power  of  the 
tempest  that  suddenly  bursts  forth  there. 

"Reasons !  If  you  want  reasons,  here  they  are !"  exclaims 
Caroline.  "I  am  your  wife :  you  don't  seem  to  care  to  please 
me  any  more.  And  as  to  the  expenses,  you  greatly  overrate 
them,  my  dear." 

Women  have  as  many  inflections  of  voice  to  pronounce  these 
words,  My  dear,  as  the  Italians  have  to  say  Amico.  I  have 
counted  twenty-nine  which  express  only  various  degrees  of 
hatred. 

"Well,  you'll  see,"  resumes  Caroline,  "I  shall  be  sick,  and 
you  will  pay  the  apothecary  and  the  doctor  as  much  as  the 
price  of  a  horse.  I  shall  be  walled  up  here  at  home,  and  that's 
ail  you  want.  I  asked  the  favor  of  you,  though  I  was  sure  of 
a  refusal :  I  only  wanted  to  know  how  you  would  go  to  work 
to  give  it." 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  481 

"But,  Caroline—" 

"Leave  me  alone  at  the  riding-school !"  she  continues  with- 
out listening.  "Is  that  a  reason?  Can't  I  go  with  Madame 
de  Fischtaminel  ?  Madame  de  Fischtaminel  is  learning  to 
ride  on  horseback,  and  I  don't  imagine  that  Monsieur  de 
Fischtaminel  goes  with  her." 

"But  Caroline—" 

"I  am  delighted  with  your  solicitude.  You  think  a  great  deal 
of  me,  really.  Monsieur  de  Fischtaminel  has  more  confidence 
in  his  wife,  than  you  have  in  yours.  He  does  not  go  with  her, 
not  he !  Perhaps  it's  on  account  of  this  confidence  that  you 
don't  want  me  at  the  school,  where  I  might  see  your  goings  on 
with  the  fair  Fischtaminel." 

Adolphe  tries  to  hide  his  vexation  at  this  torrent  of  words, 
which  begins  when  they  are  still  half  way  from  home,  and  has 
no  sea  to  empty  into.  When  Caroline  is  in  her  room,  she  goes 
on  in  the  same  way. 

"You  see  that  if  reasons  could  restore  my  health  or  prevent 
me  from  desiring  a  kind  of  exercise  pointed  out  by  nature 
herself,  I  should  not  be  in  want  of  reasons,  and  that  I  know 
all  the  reasons  that  there  are,  and  that  I  went  over  with  the 
reasons  before  I  spoke  to  you." 

This,  ladies,  may  with  the  more  truth  be  called  the  pro- 
logue to  the  conjugal  drama,  from  the  fact  that  it  is  vigorously 
delivered,  embellished  with  a  commentary  of  gestures,  orna- 
mented with  glances  and  all  the  other  vignettes  with  which 
you  usually  illustrate  such  masterpieces. 

Caroline,  when  she  has  once  planted  in  Adolphe's  heart  the 
apprehension  of  a  scene  of  constantly  reiterated  demands, 
feels  her  hatred  for  his  control  largely  increase.  Madame 
pouts,  and  she  pouts  so  fiercely,  that  Adolphe  is  forced  to 
notice  it,  on  pain  of  very  disagreeable  consequences,  for  all  is 
over,  be  sure  of  that,  between  two  beings  married  by  the  mayor, 
or  even  at  Gretna  Green,  when  one  of  them  no  longer  notices 
the  sulkings  of  the  other. 

Axiom. — A  sulk  that  lias  struck  in  is  a  deadly  poison. 


482  PETTY  TROUBLES 

It  was  to  prevent  this  suicide  of  love  that  our  ingenious 
France  invented  boudoirs.  Women  could  not  well  have  Vir- 
gil's willows  in  the  economy  of  our  modern  dwellings.  On  the 
downfall  of  oratories,  thes*e  little  cubbies  became  boudoirs. 

This  conjugal  drama  has  three  acts.  The  act  of  the  pro- 
logue is  already  played.  Then  comes  the  act  of  false  coquetry : 
one  of  those  in  which  French  women  have  the  most  success. 

Adolphe  is  walking  about  the  room,  divesting  himself  of  his 
apparel,  and  the  man  thus  engaged,  divests  himself  of  his 
strength  as  well  as  of  his  clothing.  To  every  man  of  forty, 
this  axiom  will  appear  profoundly  just: 

Axiom. — The  ideas  of  a  man  who  has  taken  his  boots  and 
his  suspenders  off,  are  no  longer  those  of  a  man  who  is  still 
sporting  these  two  tyrants  of  the  mind. 

Take  notice  that  this  is  only  an  axiom  in  wedded  life.  In 
morals,  it  is  what  we  call  a  relative  theorem. 

Caroline  watches,  like  a  jockey  on  the  race  course,  the 
moment  when  she  can  distance  her  adversary.  She  makes 
her  preparations  to  be  irresistibly  fascinating  to  Adolphe. 

Women  possess  a  power  of  mimicking  pudicity,  a  knowl- 
edge of  secrets  which  might  be  those  of  a  frightened  dove,  a 
particular  register  for  singing,  like  Isabella,  in  the  fourth 
act  of  Robert  le  Diable:  "Grace  pour  toi!  Grace  pour  moil" 
which  leave  jockeys  and  horse  trainers  whole  miles  behind. 
As  usual,  the  Diable  succumbs.  It  is  the  eternal  history,  the 
grand  Christian  mystery  of  the  bruised  serpent,  of  the  deliv- 
ered woman  becoming  the  great  social  force,  as  the  Fourierists 
say.  It  is  especially  in  this  that  the  difference  between  the 
Oriental  slave  and  the  Occidental  wife  appears. 

Upon  the  conjugal  pillow,  the  second  act  ends  by  a  num- 
ber of  onomatopes,  all  of  them  favorable  to  peace.  Adolphe, 
precisely  like  children  in  the  presence  of  a  slice  of  bread  and 
molasses,  promises  everything  that  Caroline  wants. 


THIRD  ACT.     As  the  curtain  rises,  the  stage  represents  a 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  483 

chamber  in  a  state  of  extreme  disorder.  Adolphe,  in  his  dress- 
ing gown,  tries  to  go  out  furtively  and  without  waking  Caro- 
line, who  is  sleeping  profoundly,  and  finally  does  go  out. 

Caroline,  exceedingly  happy,  gets  up,  consults  her  mirror, 
and  makes  inquiries  about  breakfast.  An  hour  afterward, 
When  she  is  ready,  she  learns  that  breakfast  is  served. 

"Tell  monsieur."  . 

"Madame,  he  is  in  the  little  parlor." 

"What  a  nice  little  man,  he  is/'  she  says,  going  up  to 
Adolphe,  and  talking  the  babyish,  caressing  language  of  the 
honey-moon. 

"What  for,  pray  ?" 

"Why,  to  let  his  little  Liline  ride  the  horsey." 


OBSERVATION.  During  the  honey-moon,  some  few  married 
couples, — very  young  ones, — make  use  of  languages,  which, 
in  ancient  days,  Aristotle  classified  and  defined.  (See  his 
Pedagogy.)  Thus  they  are  perpetually  using  such  termina- 
tions as  lala,  nana,  coachy-poachy ',  just  as  mothers  and  nurses 
use  them  to  babies.  This  is  one  of  the  secret  reasons,  discussed 
and  recognized  in  big  quartos  by  the  Germans,  which  deter- 
mined the  Cabires,  the  creators  of  the  Greek  mythology,  to 
represent  Love  as  a  child.  There  are  other  reasons  very  well 
known  to  women,  the  principal  of  which  is,  that,  in  their 
opinion,  love  in  men  is  always  small. 


<rWhere  did  you  get  that  idea,  my  sweet?  You  must  have 
dreamed  it !" 

"What  I" 

Caroline  stands  stark  still:  she  opens  wide  her  eyes  which 
are  already  considerably  widened  by  amazement.  Being 
inwardly  epileptic,  she  says  not  a  word :  she  merely  gazes  at 
Adolphe.  Under  the  satanic  fires  of  their  gaze,  Adolphe  turns 


484  PETTY  TROUBLES 

half  way  round  toward  the  dining-room;  but  he  asks  himself 
whether  it  would  not  be  well  to  let  Caroline  take  one  lesson, 
and  to  tip  the  wink  to  the  riding-master,  to  disgust  her  with 
equestrianism  by  the  harshness  of  his  style  of  instruction. 

There  is  nothing  so  terrible  as  an  actress  who  reckons  upon 
a  success,  and  who  fait  four. 

In  the  language  of  the  stage,  to  faire  four  is  to  play  to 
a  wretchedly  thin  house,  or  to  .obtain  not  the  slightest 
applause.  It  is  taking  great  pains  for  nothing,  in  short,  a 
signal  failure. 

This  petty  trouble — it  is  very  petty — is  reproduced  in  a 
thousand  ways  in  married  life,  when  the  honey-moon  is  over, 
and  when  the  wife  has  no  personal  fortune. 

In  spite  of  the  author's  repugnance  to  inserting  anecdotes 
in  an  exclusively  aphoristic  work,  the  tissue  of  which  will 
bear  nothing  but  the  most  delicate  and  subtle  observations, — 
from  the  nature  of  the  subject  at  least, — it  seems  to  him  neces- 
sary to  illustrate  this  page  by  an  incident  narrated  by  one  of 
our  first  physicians.  This  repetition  of  the  subject  involves 
a  rule  of  conduct  very  much  in  use  with  the  doctors  of  Paris. 

A  certain  husband  was  in  our  Adolphe's  situation.  His 
Caroline,  having  once  made  a  signal  failure,  was  determined 
to  conquer,  for  Caroline  often  does  conquer !  She  played  the 
farce  of  the  nervous  affection.  (See  The  Physiology  of  Mar- 
riage, Meditation  XXVI,  Paragraph  Nerves.)  She  had  been 
lying  about  on  sofas  for  two  months,  getting  up  at  noon,  tak- 
ing no  part  in  the  amusements  of  the  city.  She  would  not 
go  to  the  theatre, — oh,  the  disgusting  atmosphere ! — the  lights, 
above  all,  the  lights !  Then  the  bustle,  coming  out,  going  in, 
the  music, — it  might  be  fatal,  it's  so  terribly  exciting ! 

She  would  not  go  on  excursions  to  the  country,  oh,  certainly 
it  was  her  desire  to  do  so ! — but  she  would  like  (desiderata)  a 
carriage  of  her  own,  horses  of  her  own — her  husband  would 
not  give  her  an  equipage.  And  as  to  going  in  hacks,  in  hired 
conveyances,  the  bare  thought  gave  her  a  rising  at  the 
stomach ! 

She  would  not  have  any  cooking — the  smell  of  the  meats 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  485 

produced  a  sudden  nausea.  She  drank  innumerable  drugs 
that  her  maid  never  saw  her  take. 

In  short,  she  expended  large  amounts  of  time  and  money 
in  attitudes,  privations,  effects,  pearl-white  to  give  her  the 
pallor  of  a  corpse,  machinery,  and  the  like,  precisely  as  when 
the  manager  of  a  theatre  spreads  rumors  about  a  piece  gotten 
up  in  a  style  of  Oriental  magnificence,  without  regard  to 
expense ! 

This  couple  had  got  so  far  as  to  believe  that  even  a  journey 
to  the  springs,  to  Ems,  to  Hombourg,  to  Carlsbad,  would 
hardly  cure  the  invalid ;  but  madame  would  not  budge,  unless 
she  could  go  in  her  own  carriage.  Always  that  carriage ! 

Adolphe  held  out,  and  would  not  yield. 

Caroline,  who  was  a  woman  of  great  sagacity,  admitted 
that  her  husband  was  right. 

"Adolphe  is  right,"  she  said  to  her  friends,  "it  is  I  who 
am  unreasonable:  he  can  not,  he  ought  not,  have  a  carriage 
yet :  men  know  better  than  we  do  the  situation  of  their  busi- 
ness." 

At  times  Adolphe  was  perfectly  furious !  Women  have  ways 
about  them  that  demand  the  justice  of  Tophet  itself.  Finally, 
during  the  third  month,  he  met  one  of  his  school  friends,  a 
lieutenant  in  the  corps  of  physicians,  modest  as  all  young 
doctors  are ;  he  had  had  his  epaulettes  one  day  only,  and  could 
give  the  order  to  fire ! 

"For  a  young  woman,  a  young  doctor,"  said  our  Adolphe  to 
himself. 

And  he  proposed  to  the  future  Bianchon  to  visit  his  wife  and 
tell  him  the  truth  about  her  condition. 

"My  dear,  it  is  time  that  you  should  have  a  physician,"  said 
Adolphe  that  evening  to  his  wife,  "and  here  is  the  best  for  a 
pretty  woman." 

The  novice  makes  a  conscientious  examination,  questions 
madame,  feels  her  pulse  discreetly,  inquires  into  the  slightest 
symptoms,  and,  at  the  end,  while  conversing,  allows  a  smile, 
an  expression,  which,  if  not  ironical,  are  extremely  incredu- 
lous, to  play  involuntarily  upon  his  lips,  and  his  lips  are 


486  PETTY  TROUBLES 

quite  in  sympathy  with  his  eyes.  He  prescribes  some  insignifi- 
cant remedy,  and  insists  upon  its  importance,  promising  to 
call  again  to  observe  its  effect.  In  the  ante-chamber,  think- 
ing himself  alone  with  his  school-mate,  he  indulges  in  an  inex- 
pressible shrug  of  the  shoulders. 

"There's  nothing  the  matter  with  your  wife,  my  boy/'  he 
says :  "she  is  trifling  with  both  you  and  me." 

"Well,  I  thought  so." 

"But  if  she  continues  the  joke,  she  will  make  herself  sick 
in  earnest :  I  am  too  sincerely  your  friend  to  enter  into  such  a 
speculation,  for  I  am  determined  that  there  shall  be  an  honest 
man  beneath  the  physician,  in  me — " 

"My  wife  wants  a  carriage." 

As  in  the  Solo  on  the  Hearse,  this  Caroline  listened  at 
the  door. 

Even  at  the  present  day,  the  young  doctor  is  obliged  to  clear 
his  path  of  the  calumnies  which  this  charming  woman  is  con- 
tinually throwing  into  it :  and  for  the  sake  of  a  quiet  life,  he 
has  been  obliged  to  confess  his  little  error — a  young  man's 
error — and  to  mention  his  enemy  by  name,  in  order  to  close 
her  lips. 

THE  CHESTNUTS  IN  THE  FIRE. 

No  one  can  tell  how  many  shades  and  gradations  there  are 
in  misfortune,  for  everything  depends  upon  the  character  of 
the  individual,  upon  the  force  of  the  imagination,  upon  the 
strength  of  the  nerves.  If  it  is  impossible  to  catch  these  so  vari- 
able shades,  we  may  at  least  point  out  the  most  striking  colors, 
and  the  principal  attendant  incidents.  The  author  has  there- 
fore reserved  this  petty  trouble  for  the  last,  for  it  is  the  only 
one  that  is  at  once  comic  and  disastrous. 

The  author  flatters  himself  that  he  has  mentioned  the  prin- 
cipal examples.  Thus,  women  who  have  arrived  safely  at 
the  haven,  the  happy  age  of  forty,  the  period  when  they  are 
delivered  from  scandal,  calumny,  suspicion,  when  their  liberty 
begins :  these  women  will  certainly  do  him  the  justice  to  state 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  48* 

that  all  the  critical  situations  of  a  family  are  pointed  out  or 
represented  in  this  book. 

Caroline  has  her  Chaumonters  affair.  She  has  learned  how 
to  induce  Adolphe  to  go  out  unexpectedly,  and  has  an  under- 
standing with  Madame  de  Fischtaminel. 

In  every  household,  within  a  given  time,  ladies  like  Madame 
de  Fischtaminel  become  Caroline's  main  resource. 

Caroline  pets  Madame  de  Fischtaminel  with  all  the  tender- 
ness that  the  African  army  is  now  bestowing  upon  Abd-el- 
Kader:  she  is  as  solicitous  in  her  behalf  as  a  physician  is 
anxious  to  avoid  curing  a  rich  hypochondriac.  Between  the 
two,  Caroline  and  Madame  de  Fischtaminel  invent  occuptions 
for  dear  Adolphe,  when  neither  of  them  desire  the  presence 
of  that  demigod  among  their  penates.  Madame  de  Fisch- 
taminel and  Caroline,  who  have  become,  through  the  efforts 
of  Madame  Foullepointe,  the  best  friends  in  the  world,  have 
even  gone  so  far  as  to  learn  and  employ  that  feminine  free- 
masonry, the  rites  of  which  cannot  be  made  familiar  by  any 
possible  initiation. 

If  Caroline  writes  the  following  little  note  to  Madame  de 
Fischtaminel : 

"Dearest  angel: 

"You  will  probably  see  Adolphe  to-morrow,  but  do  not  k 
him  too  long,  for  I  want  to  go  to  ride  with  him  at  five :  but  i 
you  are  desirous  of  taking  him  to  ride  yourself,  do  so  and  I 
will  take  him  up.     You  ought  to  teach  me  your  secret  for 
entertaining  used-up  people  as  you  do." 

Madame  de  Fischtaminel  says  to  herself:  "Gracious!  So 
I  shall  have  that  fellow  on  my  hands  to-morrow  from  twelve 
o'clock  to  five." 

Axiom.  Men  do  not  always  know  a  woman's  positive 
request  when  they  see  it;  but  another  woman  never  mistakes 
it:  she  does  the  contrary. 

Those  sweet  little  beings  called  women,   and  especially 


488  PETTY  TROUBLES 

Parisian  women,  are  the  prettiest  jewels  that  social  industry 
has  invented.  Those  who  do  not  adore  them,  those  who  do 
not  feel  a  constant  jubilation  at  seeing  them  laying  their  plots 
while  braiding  their  hair,  creating  special  idioms  for  them- 
selves and  constructing  with  their  slender  fingers  machines 
strong  enough  to  destroy  the  most  powerful  fortunes,  must  be 
wanting  in  a  positive  sense. 

On  one  occasion  Caroline  takes  the  most  minute  precautions. 
She  writes  the  day  before  to  Madame  Foullepointe  to  go  to 
St.  Maur  with  Adolphe,  to  look  at  a  piece  of  property  for  sale 
there.  Adolphe  would  go  to  breakfast  with  her.  She  aids 
Adolphe  in  dressing.  She  twits  him  with  the  care  he  bestows 
upon  his  toilet,  and  asks  absurd  questions  about  Madame 
Foullepointe. 

"She's  real  nice,  and  I  think  she  is  quite  tired  of  Charles: 
you'll  inscribe  her  yet  upon  your  catalogue,  you  old  Don  Juan : 
but  you  won't  have  any  further  need  of  ChaumontePs  affair : 
I'm  no  longer  jealous,  you've  got  a  passport.  Do  you  like  that 
better  than  being  adored?  Monster,  observe  how  considerate 
I  am/' 

So  soon  as  her  husband  has  gone,  Caroline,  who  had  not 
omitted,  the  previous  evening,  to  write  to  Ferdinand  to  come 
to  breakfast  with  her,  equips  herself  in  a  costume  which,  in 
that  charming  eighteenth  century  so  calumniated  by  repub- 
licans, humanitarians  and  idiots,  women  of  quality  called  their 
fighting-dress. 

Caroline  has  taken  care  of  everything.  Love  is  the  first 
house  servant  in  the  world,  so  the  table  is  set  with  positively 
diabolic  coquetry.  There  is  the  white  damask  cloth,  the  little 
blue  service,  the  silver  gilt  urn,  the  chiseled  milk  pitcher,  and 
flowers  all  round ! 

If  it  is  winter,  she  has  got  some  grapes,  and  has  rummaged 
the  cellar  for  the  very  best  old  wines.  The  rolls  are  from  the 
most  famous  baker's.  The  succulent  dishes,  the  pate  de  foie 
gras,  the  whole  of  this  elegant  entertainment,  would  have 
made  the  author  of  the  Glutton's  Almanac  neigh  with  impa- 
tience :  it  would  make  a  note-shaver  smile,  and  tell  a  professor 
of  the  Old  University  what  the  matter  in  hand  is. 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  489 

Everything  is  prepared.  Caroline  has  been  ready  since 
the  night  before:  she  contemplates  her  work.  Justine  sighs 
and  arranges  the  furniture.  Caroline  picks  off  the  yellow 
leaves  of  the  plants  in  the  windows.  A  woman,  in  these  cases, 
disguises  what  we  may  call  the  prancings  of  the  heart,  by  those 
meaningless  occupations  in  which  the  fingers  have  all  the 
grip  of  pincers,  when  the  pink  nails  burn,  and  when  this 
unspoken  ejaculation  rasps  the  throat :  "He  hasn't  come  yet !" 

What  a  blow  is  this  announcement  by  Justine:  "Madame, 
here's  a  letter !" 

A  letter  in  place  of  a  Ferdinand !  How  does  she  ever  open 
it  ?  What  ages  of  life  slip  by  as  she  unfolds  it !  Women  know 
this  by  experience !  As  to  men,  when  they  are  in  such  mad- 
dening passes,  they  murder  their  shirt-frills. 

"Justine,  Monsieur  Ferdinand  is  ill !"  exclaims  Caroline. 
"Send  for  a  carriage." 

As  Justine  goes  down  stairs,  Adolphe  comes  up. 

"My  poor  mistress !"  observes  Justine.  "I  guess  she  won't 
want  the  carriage  now." 

"Oh  my !  Where  have  you  come  from  ?"  cries  Caroline,  on 
seeing  Adolphe  standing  in  ecstasy  before  her  voluptuous 
breakfast. 

Adolphe,  whose  wife  long  since  gave  up  treating  him  to 
such  charming  banquets,  does  not  answer.  But  he  guesses 
what  it  all  means,  as  he  sees  the  cloth  inscribed  with  the 
delightful  ideas  which  Madame  de  Fischtaminel  or  the  syndic 
of  Chaumontel's  affair  have  often  inscribed  for  him  upon 
tables  quite  as  elegant. 

"Whom  are  you  expecting?"  he  asks  in  his  turn. 

"Who  could  it  be,  except  Ferdinand  ?"  replies  Caroline. 

"And  is  he  keeping  you  waiting?" 

"He  is  sick,  poor  fellow." 

A  quizzical  idea  enters  Adolphe's  head,  and  he  replies,  wink- 
ing with  one  eye  only :  "I  have  just  seen  him." 

"Where?" 

"In  front  of  the  Cafe  de  Paris,  with  some  friends." 

"But  why  have  you  come  back?"  says  Caroline,  trying  to 
conceal  her  murderous  fury. 


490  PETTY  TROUBLES 

"Madame  Foullepointe,  who  was  tired  of  Charles,  you  said, 
has  been  with  him  at  Ville  d'Avray  since  yesterday." 

Adolphe  sits  down,  saying :  "This  has  happened  very  appro- 
priately, for  I'm  as  hungry  as  two  bears." 

Caroline  sits  down,  too,  and  looks  at  Adolphe  stealthily: 
she  weeps  internally :  but  she  very  soon  asks,  in  a  tone  of  voice 
that  she  manages  to  render  indifferent,  "Who  was  Ferdinand 
with?" 

"With  some  fellows  who  lead  him  into  bad  company.  The 
young  man  is  getting  spoiled :  he  goes  to  Madame  Schontz's. 
You  ought  to  write  to  your  uncle.  It  was  probably  some 
breakfast  or  other,  the  result  of  a  bet  made  at  M'lle  Malaga's." 
He  looks  slyly  at  Caroline,  who  drops  her  eyes  to  conceal  her 
tears.  "How  beautiful  you  have  made  yourself  this  morn- 
ing," Adolphe  resumes.  "Ah,  you  are  a  fair  match  for  your 
breakfast.  I  don't  think  Ferdinand  will  make  as  good  a  meal 
as  I  shall,"  etc.,  etc. 

Adolphe  manages  the  joke  so  cleverly  that  he  inspires  his 
wife  with  the  idea  of  punishing  Ferdinand.  Adolphe,  who 
claims  to  be  as  hungry  as  two  bears,  causes  Caroline  to  forget 
that  a  carriage  waits  for  her  at  the  door. 

The  female  that  tends  the  gate  at  the  house  Ferdinand 
lives  in,  arrives  at  about  two  o'clock,  while  Adolphe  is  asleep 
on  a  sofa.  That  Iris  of  bachelors  comes  to  say  to  Caroline 
that  Monsieur  Ferdinand  is  very  much  in  need  of  some  one. 

"He's  drunk,  I  suppose,"  says  Caroline  in  a  rage. 

"He  fought  a  duel  this  morning,  madame." 

Caroline  swoons,  gets  up  and  rushes  to  Ferdinand,  wishing 
Adolphe  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea. 

When  women  are  the  victims  of  these  little  inventions, 
which  are  quite  as  adroit  as  their  own,  they  are  sure  to  exclaim, 
"What  abominable  monsters  men  are!" 

ULTIMA  RATIO.  i 

I 

We  have  come  to  our  last  observation.  Doubtless  this 
work  is  beginning  to  tire  you  quite  as  much  as  its  subject  does, 
if  you  are  married. 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  491 

This  work,  which,  according  to  the  author,  is  to  the  Physi- 
ology of  Marriage  what  Fact  is  to  Theory,  or  History  to  Phil- 
osophy, has  its  logic,  as  life,  viewed  as  a  whole,  has  its  logic, 
also. 

This  logic — fatal,  terrible — is  as  follows.  At  the  close  of 
the  first  part  of  the  book — a  book  filled  with  serious  pleas- 
antry— Adolphe  has  reached,  as  you  must  have  noticed,  a  point 
of  complete  indifference  in  matrimonial  matters. 

He  has  read  novels  in  which  the  writers  advise  troublesome 
husbands  to  embark  for  the  other  world,  or  to  live  in  peace 
with  the  fathers  of  their  children,  to  pet  and  adore  them :  for 
if  literature  is  the  reflection  of  manners,  we  must  admit  that 
our  manners  recognize  the  defects  pointed  out  by  the  Physi- 
ology of  Marriage  in  this  fundamental  institution.  More  than 
one  great  genius  has  dealt  this  social  basis  terrible  blows,  with- 
out shaking  it. 

Adolphe  has  especially  read  his  wife  too  closely,  and  dis- 
guises his  indifference  by  this  profound  word:  indulgence. 
He  is  indulgent  with  Caroline,  he  sees  in  her  nothing  but 
the  mother  of  his  children,  a  good  companion,  a  sure  friend, 
i  brother. 

When  the  petty  troubles  of  the  wife  cease,  Caroline,  who  is 
more  clever  than  her  husband,  has  come  to  profit  by  this 
advantageous  indulgence:  but  she  does  not  give  her  dear 
Adolphe  up.  It  is  woman's  nature  never  to  yield  any  of  her 
rights.  DIEU  ET  MON  DROIT — CONJUGAL!  is,  as  is  well 
known,  the  motto  of  England,  and  is  especially  so  to-day. 

Women  have  such  a  love  for  domination  that  we  will  relate 
an  anecdote,  not  ten  years  old,  in  point.  It  is  a  very  young 
anecdote. 

One  of  the  grand  dignitaries  of  the  Chamber  of  Peers  had 
a  Caroline,  as  lax  as  Carolines  usually  are.  The  name  is  an 
auspicious  one  for  women.  This  dignitary,  extremely  old 
at  the  time,  was  on  one  side  of  the  fireplace,  and  Caroline 
on  the  other.  Caroline  was  hard  upon  the  lustrum  when 
women  no  longer  tell  their  age.  A  friend  came  in  to  inform 
them  of  the  marriage  of  a  general  who  had  lately  been  inti- 
mate in  their  house. 


492  PETTY  TROUBLES 

Caroline  at  once  had  a  fit  of  despair,  with  genuine  tears: 
she  screamed  and  made  the  grand  dignitary's  head  ache  to 
such  a  degree,  that  he  tried  to  console  her.  In  the  midst 
of  his  condolences,  the  count  forgot  himself  so  far  as  to  say 
— "What  can  you  expect,  my  dear,  he  really  could  not  marry 
you !" 

And  this  was  one  of  the  highest  functionaries  of  the  state, 
but  a  friend  of  Louis  XVIII.,  and  necessarily  a  little  hit 
Pompadour. 

The  whole  difference,  then,  between  the  situation  of  Adolphe 
and  that  of  Caroline,  consists  in  this:  though  he  no  longer 
cares  about  her,  she  retains  the  right  to  care  about  him. 

Now,  let  us  listen  to  "What  they  say,"  the  theme  of  the 
concluding  chapter  of  this  work. 

COMMENTARY. 
IN  WHICH  IS  EXPLAINED  LA  FELICITA  OF  FINALES. 

Who  has  not  heard  an  Italian  opera  in  the  course  of  his 
life?  You  must  then  have  noticed  the  musical  abuse  of  the 
word  felicita,  so  lavishly  used  by  the  librettist  and  the  chorus 
at  the  moment  when  everybody  is  deserting  his  box  or  leaving 
the  house. 

Frightful  image  of  life.  We  quit  it  just  when  we  hear  la 
felicita. 

Have  you  reflected  upon  the  profound  truth  conveyed  by 
this  finale,  at  the  instant  when  the  composer  delivers  his  last 
note  and  the  author  his  last  line,  when  the  orchestra  gives  the 
last  pull  at  the  fiddle-bow  and  the  last  puff  at  the  bassoon, 
when  the  principal  singers  say  "Let's  go  to  supper !"  and  the 
chorus  people  exclaim  "How  lucky,  it  doesn't  rain !"  Well, 
in  every  condition  in  life,  as  in  an  Italian  opera,  there  comes 
a  time  when  the  joke  is  over,  when  the  trick  is  done,  when 
people  must  make  up  their  minds  to  one  thing  or  the  other, 
when  everybody  is  singing  his  own  felicita  for  himself.  After 
having  gone  through  with  all  the  duos,  the  solos,  the  stretti, 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  493 

the  codas,  the  concerted  pieces,  the  duettos,  the  nocturnes,  the 
phases  which  these  few  scenes,  chosen  from  the  ocean  of  mar- 
ried life,  exhibit  you,  and  which  are  themes  whose  variations 
have  doubtless  been  divined  by  persons  with  brains  as  well  as 
by  the  shallow — for  so  far  as  suffering  is  concerned,  we  are 
all  equal — the  greater  part  of  Parisian  households  reach, 
within  a  given  time,  the  following  final  chorus : 

THE  WIFE,  to  a  young  woman  in  the  conjugal  Indian  Sum- 
mer. My  dear,  I  am  the  happiest  woman  in  the  world. 
Adolphe  is  the  model  of  husbands,  kind,  obliging,  not  a  bit  of 
a  tease.  Isn't  he,  Ferdinand? 

Caroline  addresses  Adolphe's  cousin,  a  young  man  with  a 
nice  cravat,  glistening  hair  and  patent  leather  boots :  his  coat 
is  cut  in  the  most  elegant  fashion:  he  has  a  crush  hat,  kid 
gloves,  something  very  choice  in  the  way  of  a  waistcoat,  the 
very  best  style  of  moustaches,  whiskers,  and  a  goatee  a  la 
Mazarin;  he  is  also  endowed  with  a  profound,  mute,  atten- 
tive admiration  of  Caroline. 

FERDINAND.  Adolphe  is  happy  to  have  a  wife  like  you! 
What  does  he  want?  Nothing. 

THE  WIFE.  In  the  beginning,  we  were  always  vexing  each 
other :  but  now  we  get  along  marvelously.  Adolphe  no  longer 
does  anything  but  what  he  likes,  he  never  puts  himself  out: 
I  never  ask  him  where  he  is  going  nor  what  he  has  seen.  In- 
dulgence, my  dear,  is  the  great  secret  of  happiness.  You, 
doubtless,  are  still  in  the  period  of  petty  troubles,  causeless 
jealousies,  cross-purposes,  and  all  sorts  of  little  botherations. 
What  is  the  good  of  all  this?  We  women  have  but  a  short 
life,  at  the  best.  How  much  ?  Ten  good  years !  Why 
should  we  fill  them  with  vexation  ?  I  was  like  you.  But, 
one  fine  morning,  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  Madame  de 
Fischtaminel,  a  charming  woman,  who  taught  me  how  to  make 
a  husband  happy.  Since  then,  Adolphe  has  changed  radically ; 
he  has  become  perfectly  delightful.  He  is  the  first  to  say  to 
me,  with  anxiety,  with  alarm,  even,  when  I  am  going  to  the 
theatre,  and  he  and  I  are  still  alone  at  seven  o'clock:  "Fer- 
dinand is  coming  for  you,  isn't  he?"  Doesn't  he,  Ferdinand? 

FERDINAND.     We  are  the  best  cousins  in  the  world. 


494  PETTY  TROUBLES 

THE  INDIAN  SUMMER  WIFE,  very  much  afflicted.  Shall  I 
ever  come  to  that  ? 

THE  HUSBAND,  on  the  Italian  Boulevard.  My  dear  boy 
[he  has  button-holed  Monsieur  de  Fischtaminel],  you  still  be- 
lieve that  marriage  is  based  upon  passion.  Let  me  tell  you 
that  the  best  way,  in  conjugal  life,  is  to  have  a  plenary  indul- 
gence, one  for  the  other,  on  condition  that  appearances  be  pre- 
served. I  am  the  happiest  husband  in  the  world.  Caroline 
is  a  devoted  friend,  she  would  sacrifice  everything  for  me,  even 
my  cousin  Ferdinand,  if  it  were  necessary :  oh,  you  may  laugh, 
but  -she  is  ready  to  do  anything.  You  entangle  yourself  in 
your  laughable  ideas  of  dignity,  honor,  virtue,  social  order. 
We  can't  have  our  life  over  again,  so  we  must  cram  it  full  of 
pleasure.  Not  the  smallest  bitter  word  has  been  exchanged 
between  Caroline  and  me  for  two  years  past.  I  have,  in 
Caroline,  a  friend  to  whom  I  can  tell  everything,  and  who 
would  be  amply  able  to  console  me  in  a  great  emergency. 
There  is  not  the  slightest  deceit  between  us,  and  we  know 
perfectly  well  what  the  state  of  things  is.  We  have  thus 
changed  our  duties  into  pleasures.  We  are  often  happier, 
thus,  than  in  that  insipid  season  called  the  honeymoon.  She 
says  to  me,  sometimes,  "I'm  out  of  humor,  go  away."  The 
storm  then  falls  upon  my  cousin.  Caroline  never  puts  on 
her  airs  of  a  victim,  now,  but  speaks  in  the  kindest  manner  of 
me  to  the  whole  world.  In  short,  she  is  happy  in  my  pleasures. 
And  as  she  is  a  scrupulously  honest  woman,  she  is  conscien- 
tious to  the  last  degree  in  her  use  of  our  fortune.  My  house 
is  well  kept.  My  wife  leaves  me  the  right  to  dispose  of  my 
reserve  without  the  slightest  control  on  her  part.  That's  the 
way  of  it.  We  have  oiled  our  wheels  and  cogs,  while  you,  my 
dear  Fischtaminel,  have  put  gravel  in  yours. 

CHORUS,  in  a  parlor  during  a  ball.  Madame  Caroline  is  a 
charming  woman. 

A  WOMAN  IN  A  TURBAN.  Yes,  she  is  very  proper,  very  dig- 
nified. 

A  WOMAN  WHO  HAS  SEVEN  CHILDREN.  Ah!  she  learned 
early  how  to  manage  her  husband. 


OF  MARRIED  LIFE  495 

ONE  OF  FERDINAND'S  FRIENDS.  But  she  loves  her  husband 
exceedingly.  Besides,  Adolphe  is  a  man  of  great  distinction 
and  experience. 

ONE  OF  MADAME  DE  FISCHTAMINEL'S  FRIENDS.  He  adores 
his  wife.  There's  no  fuss  at  their  house,  everybody  is  at  home 
there. 

MONSIEUR  FOULLEPOINTE.    Yes,  it's  a  very  agreeable  house. 

A  WOMAN  ABOUT  WHOM  THERE  IS  A  GOOD  DEAL  OF  SCANDAL. 

Caroline  is  kind  and  obliging,  and  never  talks  scandal  of  any- 
body. 

A  YOUNG  LADY,  returning  to  her  place  after  a  dance.  Don't 
you  remember  how  tiresome  she  was  when  she  visited  the 
Deschars  ? 

MADAME  DE  FISCHTAMINEL.  Oh!  She  and  her  husband 
were  two  bundles  of  briars — continually  quarreling.  [She 
goes  away.~\ 

AN  ARTIST.  I  hear  that  the  individual  known  as  Des- 
chars is  getting  dissipated :  he  goes  round  town — 

A  WOMAN,  alarmed  at  the  turn  the  conversation  is  taking, 
as  her  daughter  can  hear.  Madame  de  Fischtaminel  is  charm- 
ing, this  evening. 

A  WOMAN  OF  FORTY,  without  employment.  Monsieur 
Adolphe  appears  to  be  as  happy  as  his  wife. 

A  YOUNG  LADY.  Oh!  what  a  sweet  young  man  Monsieur 
Ferdinand  is!  [Her  mother  reproves  her  by  a  sharp  nudge 
icith  her  footJ]  What's  the  matter,  mamma  ? 

HER  MOTHER,  looking  at  her  fixedly.  A  young  woman 
should  not  speak  so,  my  dear,  of  any  one  but  her  betrothed, 
and  Monsieur  Ferdinand  is  not  a  marrying  man. 

A  LADY  DRESSED  RATHER  LOW  IN  THE  NECK,  to  another  lady 

dressed  equally  low,  in  a  whisper.  The  fact  is,  my  dear,  the 
moral  of  all  this  is  that  there  are  no  happy  couples  but  couples 
of  four. 

A  FRIEND,  whom  the  author  was  so  imprudent  as  to  consult. 
Those  last  words  are  false. 

THE  AUTHOR.    Do  you  think  so? 

THE  FRIEND,  who  has  just  been  married.    You  all  of  you  use 


496  PETTY  TROUBLES  OF  MARRIED  LIFE 

your  ink  in  depreciating  social  life,  on  the  pretext  of  enlight- 
ening us !  Why,  there  are  couples  a  hundred,  a  thousand 
times  happier  than  your  boasted  couples  of  four. 

THE  AUTHOR.  Well,  shall  I  deceive  the  marrying  class  of 
the  population,  and  scratch  the  passage  out  ? 

THE  FKIEND.  No,  it  will  be  taken  merely  as  the  point  of  a 
song  in  a  vaudeville. 

THE  AUTHOR.  Yes,  a  method  of  passing  truths  off  upon 
society. 

THE  FRIEND,  who  sticks  to  his  opinion.  Such  truths  as  are 
destined  to  be  passed  off  upon  it. 

THE  AUTHOR,  who  wants  to  have  the  last  word.  Who  and 
what  is 'there  that  does  not  pass  off,  or  become  passe?  When 
your  wife  is  twenty  years  older,  we  will  resume  this  conversa- 
tion. 

THE  FRIEND.  You  revenge  yourself  cruelly  for  your  in- 
ability to  write  the  history  of  happy  homes. 

THE    END. 


TRANSLATOR'S  PREFACE 


"Work  crowned  by  the  French  Academy"  is  a  significant 
line  borne  by  the  title-page  of  the  original  edition  of  Mes- 
sieurs Cerfberr  and  Christophers  monumental  work.  The 
motto  indicates  the  high  esteem  in  which  the  French  authori- 
ties hold  this  very  necessary  adjunct  to  the  great  Balzacian 
structure.  And  even  without  this  word  of  approval,  the 
intelligent  reader  needs  but  a  glance  within  the  pages  of  the 
Repertory  of  the  Comedie  Humaine  to  convince  him  at  once 
of  its  utility. 

In  brief,  the  purpose  of  the  Repertory  is  to  give  in  alpha- 
betical sequence  the  names  of  all  the  characters  forming 
this  Balzacian  society,  together  with  the  salient  points  in 
their  lives.  It  is,  of  course,  well  known  that  Balzac  made 
his  characters  appear  again  and  again,  thus  creating  out  of 
his  distinct  novels  a  miniature  world.  To  cite  a  case  in 
point,  Rastignac,  who  comes  as  near  being  the  hero  of  the 
Comedie  as  any  other  single  character,  makes  his  first  ap- 
pearance in  Father  Goriot,  as  a  student  of  law;  then  appearing 
and  disappearing  fitfully  in  a  score  of  the  principal  novels, 
he  is  finally  made  a  minister  and  peer  of  France.  Without 
the  aid  of  the  Repertory  it  would  be  difficult  for  any  save 
a  reader  of  the  entire  Come'die  to  trace  out  his  career.  But 
here  it  is  arranged  in  temporal  sequence,  thus  giving  us  a 
concrete  view  of  the  man  and  his  relation  to  this  society. 

In  reading  any  separate  story,  when  reference  is  made  in 
passing  to  a  character,  the  reader  will  find  it  helpful  and  in- 
teresting to  turn  to  the  Repertory  and  find  what  manner 

(iii) 


tv  TRANSLATOR'S  PREFACE 

of  man  it  is  that  is  under  advisement.  A  little  systematic 
reading  of  this  nature  will  speedily  render  the  reader  a  "con- 
firmed Balzacian." 

A  slight  confusion  may  arise  in  the  use  of  the  Repertory 
on  account  of  the  subdivision  of  titles.  This  is  the  fault 
neither  of  Messieurs  Cerfberr  and  Christophe  nor  of  the  trans- 
lator, but  of  Balzac  himself,  who  was  continually  changing 
titles,  dividing  and  subdividing  stories,  and  revamping  and 
working  other  changes  in  his  books.  Cousin  Betty  and 
Cousin  Pons  were  placed  together  by  him  under  the  general 
title  of  Poor  Relations.  Being  separate  stories,  we  have 
retained  the  separate  titles.  Similarly,  the  three  divisions 
of  Lost  Illusions  were  never  published  together  until  1843 — 
in  the  first  complete  edition  of  the  Come'die;  before  assuming 
final  shape  its  parts  had  received  several  different  titles.  In 
the  present  text  the  editor  has  deemed  it  best  to  retain  two 
of  the  parts  under  Lost  Illusions,  while  the  third,  which  pre- 
sents a  separate  Rubempre"  episode,  is  given  as  A  Distin- 
guished Provincial  at  Paris.  The  three  parts  of  The  Thir- 
teen— Ferragus,  The  Duchesse  de  Langeais,  and  The  Girl  with 
the  Golden  Eyes — are  given  under  the  general  title.  The 
fourth  part  of  Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life,  Vautrin's  Last 
Avatar,  which  until  the  Edition  Definitive  had  been  pub- 
lished separately,  is  here  merged  into  its  final  place.  But  the 
three  parts  of  The  Celibates — Pierrette,  The  Vicar  of  Tours  and 
A  Bachelor's  Establishment,  being  detached,  are  given  separate- 
ly. Other  minor  instances  occur,  but  should  be  readily  cleared 
up  by  reference  to  the  Indices,  also  to  the  General  Introduc- 
tion given  elsewhere. 

In  the  preparation  of  this  English  text,  great  care  has 
been  exercised  to  gain  accuracy — a  quality  not  found  in 
other  versions  now  extant.  In  one  or  two  instances,  errors 


TRANSLATOR'S  PREFACE  * 

have  been  discovered  in  the  original  French,  notably  in  dates 
— probably  typographical  errors — which  have  been  corrected 
by  means  of  foot-notes.  A  few  unimportant  elisions  have 
been  made  for  the  sake  of  brevity  and  coherence.  Many 
difficulties  confront  the  translator  in  the  preparation  of 
material  of  this  nature,  involving  names,  dates  and  titles. 
Opportunities  are  constantly  afforded  for  error,  and  the 
work  must  necessarily  be  painstaking  in  order  to  be  successful. 
We  desire  here  to  express  appreciation  for  the  valuable  as- 
sistance of  Mr.  Norman  Hinsdale  Pitman. 

To  Balzac,  more  than  to  any  other  author,  a  Repertory 
of  characters  is  applicable;  for  he  it  was  who  not  only  created 
an  entire  human  society,  but  placed  therein  a  multitude 
of  personages  so  real,  so  instinct  with  vitality,  that  biographies 
of  them  seem  no  more  than  simple  justice.  We  can  do  no 
more,  then,  than  follow  the  advice  of  Balzac — to  quote  again 
from  the  original  title-page — and  "give  a  parallel  to  the  civil 
register." 

J.  WALKER  MCSPADDEN 


INTRODUCTION 


Are  you  a  confirmed  Balzacian? — to  employ  a  former  ex- 
pression of  Gautier  in  Jeune  France  on  the  morrow  fol- 
lowing the  appearance  of  that  mystic  Rabelaisian  epic,  The 
Magic  Skin.  Have  you  experienced,  while  reading  at  school 
or  clandestinely  some  stray  volume  of  the  Comedie  Humaine, 
a  sort  of  exaltation  such  as  no  other  book  had  aroused  hitherto, 
and  few  have  caused  since?  Have  you  dreamed  at  an  age 
when  one  plucks  in  advance  all  the  fruit  from  the  tree  of 
life — yet  in  blossom — I  repeat,  have  you  dreamed  of  being  a 
Daniel  d'Arthez,  and  of  covering  yourself  with  glory  by  the 
force  of  your  achievements,  in  order  to  be  requited,  some 
day,  for  all  the  sufferings  of  your  poverty-stricken  youth, 
by  the  sublime  Diane,  Duchesse  de  Maufrigneuse,  Princesse 
de  Cadignan? 

Or,  perchance,  being  more  ambitious  and  less  literary, 
you  have  desired  to  see — like  a  second  Rastignac — the  doors 
of  high  society  opened  to  your  eager  gaze  by  means  of  the 
golden  key  suspended  from  Delphine  de  Nucingen's  bracelet? 

Romancist,  have  you  sighed  for  the  angelic  tenderness 
of  a  Henriette  de  Mortsauf,  and  realized  in  your  dreams 
the  innocent  emotions  excited  by  culling  nosegays,  by  listen- 
ing to  tales  of  grief,  by  furtive  hand-clasps  on  the  banks  of 
a  narrow  river,  blue  and  placid,  in  a  valley  where  your  friend- 
ship flourishes  like  a  fair,  delicate  lily  the  ideal,  the  chaste 
flower? 

Misanthrope,  have  you  caressed  the  chimera,  to  ward  off 
the  dark  hours  of  advancing  age,  of  a  friendship  equal  to  that 


viii  INTRODUCTION 

with  which  the  good  Schmucke  enveloped  even  the  whims 
of  his  poor  Pons?  Have  you  appreciated  the  sovereign 
power  of  secret  societies,  and  deliberated  with  yourself  as 
to  which  of  your  acquaintances  would  be  most  worthy  to 
enter  The  Thirteen?  In  your  mind's  eye  has  the  map  of 
France  ever  appeared  to  be  divided  up  into  as  many  provinces 
as  the  Comedie  Humaine  has  stories?  Has  Tours  stood  for 
Birotteau,  La  Gamard,  for  the  formidable  Abbe  Troubert; 
Douai,  Claes;  Limoges,  Madame  Graslin;  Besangon,  Savarus 
and  his  misguided  love;  Angoule'me,  Rubempre";  Sancerre, 
Madame  de  la  Baudraye;  Alengon,  that  touching,  artless 
old  maid  to  whom  her  uncle,  the  Abbe  de  Sponde,  remarked 
with  gentle  irony:  "You  have  too  much  wit.  You  don't 
need  so  much  to  be  happy"? 

Oh,  sorcery  of  the  most  wonderful  magician  of  letters  the 
world  has  seen  since  Shakespeare!  If  you  have  come  under 
the  spell  of  his  enchantments,  be  it  only  for  an  hour,  here  is  a 
book  that  will  delight  you,  a  book  that  would  have  pleased 
Balzac  himself — Balzac,  who  was  more  the  victim  of  his  work 
than  his  most  fanatical  readers,  and  whose  dream  was  to 
compete  with  the  civil  records.  This  volume  of  nearly 
six  hundred  pages  is  really  the  civil  record  of  all  the  char- 
acters in  the  Comedie  Humaine,  by  which  you  may  locate, 
detail  by  detail,  the  smallest  adventures  of  the  heroes  who 
pass  and  repass  through  the  various  novels,  and  by  which 
you  can  recall  at  a  moment's  notice  the  emotions  once  awak- 
ened by  the  perusal  of  such  and  such  a  masterpiece.  More 
modestly,  it  is  a  kind  of  table  of  contents,  of  a  unique  type; 
a  table  of  living  contents! 

Many  Balzacians  have  dreamed  of  compiling  such  a  civil 
record.  I  myself  have  known  of  five  or  six  who  attempted 
this  singlar  task.  To  cite  only  two  names  out  of  the  many, 


INTRODUCTION  ix 

the  idea  of  this  unusual  Vapereau  ran  through  the  head  of 
that  keen  and  delicate  critic,  M.  Henri  Meilhac,  and  of  that 
detective  in  continued  stories,  Emile  Gaboriau.  I  believe 
that  I  also  have  among  the  papers  of  my  eighteenth  year 
some  sheets  covered  with  notes  taken  with  the  same  inten- 
tion. But  the  labor  was  too  exhaustive.  It  demanded 
an  infinite  patience,  combined  with  an  inextinguishable 
ardor  and  enthusiasm.  The  two  faithful  disciples  of  the 
master  who  have  conjoined  their  efforts  to  uprear  this  monu- 
ment, could  not  perhaps  have  overcome  the  difficulties  of  the 
undertaking  if  they  had  not  supported  each  other,  bringing 
to  the  common  work,  M.  Christophe  his  painstaking  method, 
M.  Cerfberr  his  accurate  memory,  his  passionate  faith  in  the 
genius  of  the  great  Honore,  a  faith  that  carried  unshakingly 
whole  mountains  of  documents. 

A  pleasing  chapter  of  literary  gossip  might  be  written 
anent  this  collaboration;  a  melancholy  chapter,  since  it  brings 
with  it  the  memory  of  a  charming  man,  who  first  brought 
Messieurs  Cerfberr  and  Christophe  together,  and  who  has 
since  died  under  mournful  circumstances.  His  name  was 
Albert  Allenet,  and  he  was  chief  editor  of  a  courageous  little 
review,  La  Jeune  France,  which  he  maintained  for  some  years 
with  a  perseverance  worthy  of  the  Man  of  Business  in  the 
Comedie  Humaine.  I  can  see  him  yet,  a  feverish  fellow, 
wan  and  haggard,  but  with  his  face  always  lit  up  by  enthusi- 
asm, stopping  me  in  a  theatre  lobby  to  tell  me  about  a  plan  of 
M.  Cerfberr's;  and  almost  immediately  we  discovered  that 
the  same  plan  had  been  conceived  by  M.  Christophe.  The 
latter  had  already  prepared  a  cabinet  of  pigeon-holes,  ar- 
ranged and  classified  by  the  names  of  Balzacian  characters. 
When  two  men  encounter  in  the  same  enterprise  as  compilers, 
they  will  either  hate  each  other  or  unite  their  efforts.  Thanks 


S  INTRODUCTION 

to  the  excellent  Allenet,  the  two  confirmed  Balzacians  took 

to  each  other  wonderfully. 

Poor  Allenet  1  It  was  not  long  afterwards  that  we  accom- 
panied his  body  to  the  grave,  one  gloomy  afternoon  towards 
the  end  of  autumn — all  of  us  who  had  known  and  loved  him. 
He  is  dead  also,  that  other  Balzacian  who  was  so  much  in- 
terested in  this  work,  and  for  whom  the  Come'die  Humaine 
was  an  absorbing  thought,  Honore  Granoux.  He  was  a 
merchant  of  Marseilles,  with  a  wan  aspect  and  already  an 
invalid  when  I  met  him.  But  he  became  animated  when 
speaking  of  Balzac;  and  with  what  a  mysterious,  conspirator- 
like  veneration  did  he  pronounce  these  words:  "The  Vi- 
comte  " — meaning,  of  course,  to  the  thirty-third  degree  Bal- 
zacolatrites,  that  incomparable  bibliophile  to  whom  we  owe 
the  history  of  the  novelist's  works,  M.  de  Spoelberch  de 
Lovenjoul! — "The  Vicomte  will  approve — or  disapprove.!! 
That  was  the  unvarying  formula  for  Granoux,  who  had  de- 
voted himself  to  the  enormous  task  of  collecting  all  the  articles, 
small  or  great,  published  about  Balzac  since  his  entry  as  a 
writer.  And  just  see  what  a  fascination  this  devil  of  a  man — 
as  Theophile  Gautier  once  called  him — exercises  over  his  fol- 
lowers; I  am  fully  convinced  that  these  little  details  of  Bal- 
zacian mania  will  cause  the  reader  to  smile.  As  for  me,  I 
have  found  them,  and  still  find  them,  as  natural  as  Balzac's 
own  remark  to  Jules  Sandeau,  who  was  telling  him  about  a 
sick  sister :  "  Let  us  go  back  to  reality.  Who  is  going  to  marry 
Eugenie  Grandet?" 

Fascination!  That  is  the  only  word  that  quite  character- 
izes the  sort  of  influence  wielded  by  Balzac  over  those 
who  really  enjoy  him;  and  it  is  not  to-day  that  the  phe- 
nomenon began.  Vallies  pointed  it  out  long  ago  in  an  elo- 
quent page  of  the  Refractaires  concerning  "book  victims.iJ 


INTRODUCTION  li 

Sainte  Beuve,  who  can  scarcely  be  suspected  of  fondness 
towards  the  editor-in-chief  of  the  Revue  Parisienne,  tells  a 
story  stranger  and  more  significant  than  every  other.  At  one 
time  an  entire  social  set  in  Venice,  and  the  most  aristocratic, 
decided  to  give  out  among  its  members  different  characters 
drawn  from  the  Comedie  Humaine;  and  some  of  these  roles, 
the  critic  adds,  mysteriously,  were  artistically  carried  out 
to  the  very  end; — a  dangerous  experiment,  for  we  are  well 
aware  that  the  heroes  and  heroines  of  Balzac  often  skirt 
the  most  treacherous  abysses  of  the  social  Hell. 

All  that  happened  about  1840.  The  present  year  is  1887, 
and  there  seems  no  prospect  of  the  sorcery  weakening.  The 
work  to  which  these  notes  serve  as  an  introduction  may 
be  taken  as  a  proof.  Indeed,  somebody  has  said  that  the 
men  of  Balzac  have  appeared  as  much  in  literature  as  in 
life,  especially  since  the  death  of  the  novelist.  Balzac 
seems  to  have  observed  the  society  of  his  day  less  than  he 
contributed  to  form  a  new  one.  Such  and  such  personages 
are  truer  to  life  in  1860  than  in  1835.  When  one  considers  a 
phenomenon  of  such  range  and  intensity,  it  does  not  suffice 
to  employ  words  like  infatuation,  fashion,  mania.  The 
attraction  of  an  author  becomes  a  psychological  fact  of  prime 
importance  and  subject  to  analysis.  I  think  I  can  see  two 
reasons  for  this  particular  strength  of  Balzac's  genius.  One 
dwells  in  the  special  character  of  his  vision,  the  other  in  the 
philosophical  trend  which  he  succeeded  in  giving  to  all  his 
writing. 

As  to  the  scope  of  his  vision,  this  Repertory  alone  will  suf- 
fice to  show.  Turn  over  the  leaves  at  random  and  estimate 
the  number  of  fictitious  deeds  going  to  make  up  these  two 
thousand  biographies,  each  individual,  each  distinct,  and 


Xii  INTRODUCTION 

most  of  them  complete — that  is  to  say,  taking  the  character 
at  his  birth  and  leaving  him  only  at  his  death.  Balzac  not 
only  knows  the  date  of  birth  or  of  death,  he  knows  as  well 
the  local  coloring  of  the  time  and  the  country  and  profession 
to  which  the  man  belongs.  He  is  thoroughly  conversant 
with  questions  of  taxation  and  income  and  the  agricultural 
conditions.  He  is  not  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  Grandet 
cannot  make  his  fortune  by  the  same  methods  employed  by 
Gobseck,  his  rival  in  avarice;  nor  Ferdinand  du  Tillet,  that 
jackal,  with  the  same  magnitude  of  operations  worked  out 
by  that  elephant  of  a  Nucingen.  He  has  outlined  and 
measured  the  exact  relation  of  each  character  to  his  environ- 
ment in  the  same  way  that  he  has  outlined  and  measured 
the  bonds  uniting  the  various  characters;  so  well  that  each 
individual  is  defined  separately  as  to  his  personal  and  his 
social  side,  and  in  the  same  manner  each  family  is  defined. 
It  is  the  skeleton  of  these  individuals  and  of  these  families 
that  is  laid  bare  for  your  contemplation  in  these  notes  of 
Messieurs  Cerfberr  and  Christophe.  But  this  structure  of 
facts,  dependent  one  upon  another  by  a  logic  equal  to  that 
of  life  itself,  is  the  smallest  effort  of  Balzac's  genius.  Does 
a  birth-certificate,  a  marriage-contract  or  an  inventory  of 
wealth  represent  a  person?  Certainly  not.  There  is  still 
lacking,  for  a  bone  covering,  the  flesh,  the  blood,  the  muscles 
and  the  nerves.  A  glance  from  Balzac,  and  all  these  tabu- 
lated facts  become  imbued  with  life;  to  this  circumstantial 
view  of  the  conditions  of  existence  with  certain  beings  is  added 
as  full  a  view  of  the  beings  themselves. 

And  first  of  all  he  knows  them  physiologically.  The  inner 
workings  of  their  corporeal  mechanism  is  no  mystery  for  him. 
Whether  it  is  Birotteau's  gout,  or  Mortsauf's  nervousness, 
or  Fraisier's  skin  trouble,  or  the  secret  reason  for  Rouget's 
subjugation  by  Flore,  or  Louis  Lambert's  catalepsy,  he  is  as 


INTRODUCTION  xiii 

conversant  with  the  case  as  though  he  were  a  physician; 
and  he  is  as  well  informed,  also,  as  a  confessor  concerning  the 
spiritual  mechanism  which  this  animal  machine  supports. 
The  slightest  frailties  of  conscience  are  perceptible  to  him. 
From  the  portress  Cibot  to  the  Marquise  d'Espard,  not  one 
of  his  women  has  an  evil  thought  that  he  does  not  fathom. 
With  what  art,  comparable  to  that  of  Stendhal,  or  Laclos,  or 
the  most  subtle  analysts,  does  he  note — in  The  Secrets  of  a 
Princess — the  transition  from  comedy  to  sincerity !  He  knows 
when  a  sentiment  is  simple  and  when  it  is  complex,  when 
the  heart  is  a  dupe  of  the  mind  and  when  of  the  senses. 
And  through  it  all  he  hears  his  character^  speak,  he  dis- 
tinguishes their  voices,  and  we  ourselves  distinguish  them  in 
the  dialogue.  The  growling  of  Vautrin,  the  hissing  of  La 
Gamard,  the  melodious  tones  of  Madame  de  Mortsauf  still 
linger  in  our  ears.  For  such  intensity  of  evocation  is  as 
contagious  as  an  enthusiasm  or  a  panic. 

There  is  abundant  testimony  going  to  show  that  with 
Balzac  this  evocation  is  accomplished,  as  in  the  mystic  arts, 
by  releasing  it,  so  to  speak,  from  the  ordinary  laws  of  life. 
Pray  note  in  what  terms  M.  le  Docteur  Fournier,  the  real 
mayor  of  Tours,  relates  incidents  of  the  novelist's  method  of 
work,  according  to  the  report  of  a  servant  employed  at  the 
chateau  of  Sach6 :  "  Sometimes  he  would  shut  himself  up  in 
his  room  and  stay  there  several  days.  Then  it  was  that, 
plunged  into  a  sort  of  ecstasy  and  armed  with  a  crow  quill, 
he  would  write  night  and  day,  abstaining  from  all  food  and 
merely  contenting  himself  with  decoctions  of  coffee  which 
he  himself  prepared."1 

1  Brochure  of  M.  le  Docteur  Fournier  in  regard  to  the  Btatue  of  Balzac,  that  statue 
a  piece  of  work  to  which  M.  Henry  Renault — another  devotee  who  had  established 
Lf  Balzac — had  given  himself  so  ardently.  In  this  brochure  is  found  a  very  curious 
portrait  of  Balzac,  after  a  sepia  by  Louis  Boulanger  belonging  to  M.  le  Baron 
Larrey. 


KiT  INTRODUCTION 

In  the  opening  pages  of  Facino  Cane  this  phenomenon 
is  thus  described:  "With  me  observation  had  become  in- 
tuitive from  early  youth.  It  penetrated  the  soul  without 
neglecting  the  body,  or  rather  it  seized  so  completely  the 
external  details  that  it  went  beyond  them.  It  gave  me  the 
faculty  of  living  the  life  of  the  individual  over  whom  it  ob- 
tained control,  and  allowed  me  to  substitute  myself  for  him 
like  the  dervish  in  Arabian  Nights  assumed  the  soul  and 
the  body  of  persons  over  whom  he  pronounced  certain  words." 
And  he  adds,  after  describing  how  he  followed  a  workman 
and  his  wife  along  the  street:  "I  could  espouse  their  very 
life,  I  felt  their  rags  on  my  back.  I  trod  in  their  tattered 
shoes.  Their  desires,  their  needs,  all  passed  into  my  soul, 
or  my  soul  passed  into  them.  It  was  the  dream  of  a  man 
awakened."  One  day  while  he  and  a  friend  of  his  were 
watching  a  beggar  pass  by,  the  friend  was  astonished  to  see 
Balzac  touch  his  own  sleeve ;  he  seemed  to  feel  the  rent  which 
gaped  at  the  elbow  of  the  beggar. 

Am  I  wrong  in  connecting  this  sort  of  imagination  with 
that  which  one  witnesses  in  fanatics  of  religious  faith?  With 
such  a  faculty  Balzac  could  not  be,  like  Edgar  Poe,  merely  a 
narrator  of  nightmares.  He  was  preserved  from  the  fan- 
tastic by  another  gift  which  seems  contradictory  to  the  first. 
This  visionary  was  in  reality  a  philosopher,  that  is  to  say,  an 
experimenter  and  a  manipulator  of  general  ideas.  Proof 
of  this  may  be  found  in  his  biography,  which  shows  him  to  us, 
during  his  college  days  at  Vendome,  plunged  into  a  whirl  of 
abstract  reading.  The  entire  theological  and  occult  library 
which  he  discovered  in  the  old  Oratorian  institution  was 
absorbed  by  the  child,  till  he  had  to  quit  school  sick,  his  brain 
benumbed  by  this  strange  opium.  The  story  of  Louis  Lam- 
bert is  a  monograph  of  his  own  mind.  During  his  youth 


INTRODUCTION  xt 

and  in  the  moments  snatched  from  his  profession,  to  what 
did  he  turn  his  attention?  Still  to  general  ideas.  We  find  him 
an  interested  onlooker  at  the  quarrel  of  Geoffrey  Saint- 
Hilaire  and  Cuvier,  troubling  himself  about  the  hypothesis 
of  the  unity  of  creation,  and  still  dealing  with  mysticism; 
and,  in  fact,  his  romances  abound  in  theories.  There  is  not 
one  of  his  works  from  which  you  cannot  obtain  abstract 
thoughts  by  the  hundreds.  If  he  describes,  as  in  The  Vicar 
of  Tours,  the  woes  of  an  old  priest,  he  profits  by  the  oppor- 
tunity to  exploit  a  theory  concerning  the  development  of 
sensibility,  and  a  treatise  on  the  future  of  Catholicism.  If 
he  describes,  as  in  The  Firm  of  Nucingen,  a  supper  given  to 
Parisian  biases,  he  introduces  a  system  of  credit,  reports  of  the 
Bank  and  Bureau  of  Finance,  and — any  number  of  other 
things!  Speaking  of  Daniel  d'Arthez,  that  one  of  his  heroes 
who,  with  Albert  Savarus  and  Raphael,  most  nearly  resembles 
himself,  he  writes:  "Daniel  would  not  admit  the  existence 
of  talent  without  profound  metaphysical  knowledge.  At 
this  moment  he  was  in  the  act  of  despoiling  both  ancient 
and  modern  philosophy  of  all  their  wealth  in  order  to  as- 
similate it.  He  desired,  like  Moliere,  to  become  a  profound 
philosopher  first  of  all,  a  writer  of  comedies  afterwards." 
Some  readers  there  are,  indeed,  who  think  that  philosophy 
superabounds  with  Balzac,  that  the  surplus  of  general  hypoth- 
eses overflows  at  times,  and  that  the  novels  are  too  prone  to 
digressions.  Be  that  as  it  may,  it  seems  incontestible  that 
this  was  his  master  faculty,  the  virtue  and  vice  of  his  thought. 
Let  us  see,  however,  by  what  singular  detour  this  power  of 
generalization — the  antithesis,  one  might  say,  of  the  creative 
power — increased  in  him  the  faculty  of  the  poetic  visionary. 
It  is  important,  first  of  all,  to  note  that  this  power  of  the 
visionary  could  not  be  put  directly  into  play.  Balzac  had 


xvl  INTRODUCTION 

not  long  enough  to  live.  The  list  of  his  works,  year  by  year, 
prepared  by  his  sister,  shows  that  from  the  moment  he 
achieved  his  reputation  till  the  day  of  his  death  he  never 
took  time  for  rest  or  observation  or  the  study  of  mankind 
by  daily  and  close  contact,  like  Moliere  or  Saint-Simon.  He 
cut  his  life  in  two,  writing  by  night,  sleeping  by  day,  and  after 
sparing  not  a  single  hour  for  calling,  promenades  or  senti- 
ment. Indeed,  he  would  not  admit  this  troublesome  factor 
of  sentiment,  except  at  a  distance  and  through  letters — 
"  because  it  forms  one's  style  " !  At  any  rate,  that  is  the  kind 
of  love  he  most  willingly  admitted — unless  an  exception  be 
made  of  the  mysterious  intimacies  of  which  his  correspond- 
ence has  left  traces.  During  his  youth  he  had  followed  this 
same  habit  of  heavy  labor,  and  as  a  result  the  experience 
of  this  master  of  exact  literature  was  reduced  to  a  minimum; 
but  this  minimum  sufficed  for  him,  precisely  because  of  the 
philosophical  insight  which  he  possessed  to  so  high  a  degree. 
To  this  meagre  number  of  positive  faculties  furnished  by 
observation,  he  applied  an  analysis  so  intuitive  that  he  dis- 
covered, behind  the  small  facts  amassed  by  him  in  no  un- 
usual quantity,  the  profound  forces,  the  generative  in- 
fluences, so  to  speak. 

He  himself  describes — once  more  in  connection  with  Daniel 
d'Arthez — the  method  pursued  in  this  analytical  and  general- 
izing work.  He  calls  it  a  "retrospective  penetration." 
Probably  he  lays  hold  of  the  elements  of  experience  and  casts 
them  into  a  seeming  retort  of  reveries.  Thanks  to  an  alchemy 
somewhat  analogous  to  that  of  Cuvier,  he  was  enabled  to 
reconstruct  an  entire  temperament  from  the  smallest  detail, 
and  an  entire  class  from  a  single  individual;  but  that  which 
guided  him  in  this  work  of  reconstruction  was  always  and 
everywhere  the  habitual  process  of  philosophers:  the  quest 
and  investigation  of  causes. 


INTRODUCTION  xrii 

It  is  due  to  this  analysis  that  this  dreamer  has  defined 
almost  all  the  great  principles  of  the  psychological  changes 
incident  to  our  time.  He  saw  clearly,  while  democracy  was 
establishing  itself  with  us  on  the  ruins  of  the  ancient  regime, 
the  novelty  of  the  sentiments  which  these  transfers  from  class 
to  class  were  certain  to  produce.  He  fathomed  every  com- 
plication of  heart  and  mind  in  the  modern  woman  by  an 
intuition  of  the  laws  which  control  her  development.  He 
divined  the  transformation  in  the  lives  of  artists,  keeping 
pace  with  the  change  in  the  national  situation;  and  to  this 
day  the  picture  he  has  drawn  of  journalism  in  Lost  Illusions1 
remains  strictly  true.  It  seems  to  me  that  this  same  power 
of  locating  causes,  which  has  brought  about  such  a  wealth 
of  ideas  in  his  work,  has  also  brought  about  the  magic  of  it 
all.  While  other  novelists  describe  humanity  from  the  out- 
side, he  has  shown  man  to  us  both  from  within  and  without. 
The  characters  which  crowd  forth  from  his  brain  are  sustained 
and  impelled  by  the  same  social  waves  which  sustain  and 
impel  us.  The  generative  facts  which  created  them  are 
the  same  which  are  always  in  operation  about  us.  If  many 
young  men  have  taken  as  a  model  a  Rastignac,  for  instance, 
it  is  because  the  passions  by  which  this  ambitious  pauper 
was  consumed  are  the  same  which  our  age  of  unbridled  greed 
multiplies  around  disinherited  youth.  Add  to  this  that 
Balzac  was  not  content  merely  to  display  the  fruitful  sources 
of  a  modern  intellect,  but  that  he  cast  upon  them  the  glare 
of  the  most  ardent  imagination  the  world  has  ever  known. 
By  a  rare  combination  this  philosopher  was  also  a  man,  like 
the  story-tellers  of  the  Orient,  to  whom  solitude  and  the 
over-excitement  of  night- work  had  communicated  a  brilliant 
and  unbroken  hallucination.  He  was  able  to  impart  this 

1  "A  Distinguished  Provincial  at  Park." 


INTRODUCTION 

fever  to  his  readers,  and  to  plunge  them  into  a  sort  of  Arabian 
Nights  country,  where  all  the  passions,  all  the  desires  of  real 
life  appear,  but  expanded  to  the  point  of  fantasy,  like  the 
dreams  brought  on  by  laudanum  or  hasheesh.  Why,  then, 
should  we  not  understand  the  reason  that,  for  certain  readers, 
this  world  of  Balzac's  is  more  real  than  the  actual  world, 
and  that  they  devoted  their  energies  to  imitating  it? 

It  is  possible  that  to-day  the  phenomenon  is  becoming 
rarer,  and  that  Balzac,  while  no  less  admired,  does  not  exer- 
cise the  same  fascinating  influence.  The  cause  for  this  is 
that  the  great  social  forces  which  he  defined  have  almost 
ended  their  work.  Other  forces  now  shape  the  oncoming 
generations  and  prepare  them  for  further  sensitive  influences. 
It  is  none  the  less  a  fact  that,  to  penetrate  the  central  portions 
of  the  nineteenth  century  in  France,  one  must  read  and  re- 
read the  Comedie  Humaine.  And  we  owe  sincere  thanks  to 
Messieurs  Cerfberr  and  Christophe  for  this  Repertory.  Thanks 
to  them,  we  shall  the  more  easily  traverse  the  long  galleries, 
painted  and  frescoed,  of  this  enormous  palace — a  palace  still 
unfinished,  inasmuch  as  it  lacks  those  Scenes  of  Military  Life 
whose  titles  awaken  dreams  within  us:  Forced  Marches;  The 
Battle  of  Austerlitz;  After  Dresden.  Incontestably,  Tolstoy's 
War  and  Peace  is  an  admirable  book,  but  how  can  we  help 
regretting  the  loss  of  the  painting  of  the  Grand  Army  and  of 
our  Great  Emperor,  by  Balzac,  our  Napoleon  of  letters  ? 

PAUL  BOURGET. 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 


Abramko,  Polish  Jew  of  gigantic  strength,  thoroughly 
devoted  to  the  broker,  Elie  Magus,  whose  porter  he  was,  and 
whose  daughter  and  treasures  he  guarded  with  the  aid  of  three 
fierce  dogs,  in  1844,  in  an  old  house  on  the  Minimes  road  hard 
by  the  Palais  Royale,  Paris.  Abramko  had  allowed  himself 
to  be  compromised  in  the  Polish  insurrection  and  Magus  was 
interested  in  saving  him.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Adele,  sturdy,  good-hearted  Briarde  servant  of  Denis  Rog- 
ron  and  his  sister,  Sylvie,  from  1824  to  1827  at  Provins. 
Contrary  to  her  employers,  she  displayed  much  sympathy  and 
pity  for  their  youthful  cousin,  Pierrette  Lorrain.  [Pierrette.] 

Adele,  chambermaid  of  Madame  du  Val-Noble  at  the  time 
when  the  latter  was  maintained  so  magnificently  by  the  stock- 
broker, Jacques  Falleix,  who  failed  in  1829.  [Scenes  from  a 
Courtesan's  Life.] 

Adolphe,  slight,  blonde  young  man  employed  at  the  shop 
of  the  shawl  merchant,  Fritot,  in  the  Bourse  quarter,  Paris, 
at  the  time  of  the  reign  of  Louis  Philippe.  [Gaudissart  II.] 

Adolphus,  head  of  the  banking  firm  of  Adolphus  &  Com- 
pany of  Manheim,  and  father  of  the  Baroness  Wilhelmine 
d'Aldrigger.  [The  Firm  of  Nucingen.] 

Agathe  (Sister),  nee  Langeais,  nun  of  the  convent  of  Chel- 
les,  and,  with  her  sister  Martha  and  the  Abbe"  de  Marolles,  a 
refugee  under  the  Terror  in  a  poor  house  of  the  Faubourg 
Saint-Martin,  Paris.  [An  Episode  Under  the  Terror.] 

Aiglemont  (General,  Marquis  Victor  d'),  heir  of  the  Mar- 
quis d'Aiglemont  and  nephew  of  the  dowager  Comtesse  de 
Listomere-Landon;  born  in  1783.  After  having  been  the 

(I) 


2  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

lover  of  the  Marechale  de  Carigliano,  he  married,  in  the 
latter  part  of  1813  (at  which  time  he  was  one  of  the  youngest 
and  most  dashing  colonels  of  the  French  cavalry),  Mile. 
Julie  de  Chatillonest,  his  cousin,  with  whom  he  resided  suc- 
cessively at  Touraine,  Paris  and  Versailles.1  He  took  part 
in  the  great  struggle  of  the  Empire;  but  the  Restoration 
freed  him  from  his  oath  to  Napoleon,  restored  his  titles, 
entrusted  to  him  a  station  in  the  Body  Guard,  which  gave 
him  the  rank  of  general,  and  later  made  him  a  peer  of  France. 
Gradually  he  forsook  his  wife,  whom  he  deceived  on  account 
of  Madame  de  Se"rizy.  In  1817  the  Marquis  d'Aiglemont 
became  the  father  of  a  daughter  (See  H41ene  d'Aiglemont) 
who  was  his  image  physically  and  morally;  his  last  three 
children  came  into  the  world  during  a  liaison  between  the 
Marquise  d'Aiglemont  and  the  brilliant  diplomat,  Charles 
de  Vandenesse.  In  1827  the  general,  as  well  as  his  protege" 
and  cousin,  Godefroid  de  Beaudenord,  was  hurt  by  the 
fraudulent  failure  of  the  Baron  de  Nucingen.  Moreover, 
he  sank  a  million  in  the  Wortschin  mines  where  he  had  been 
speculating  with  hypothecated  securities  of  his  wife's.  This 
completed  his  ruin.  He  went  to  America,  whence  he  returned, 
six  years  later,  with  a  new  fortune.  The  Marquis  d'Aiglemont 
died,  overcome  by  his  exertions,  in  1833.2  [At  the  Sign  of 
the  Cat  and  Racket.  The  Firm  of  Nucingen.  A  Woman  of 
Thirty.] 

Aiglemont  (Ge'ne'rale,  Marquise  Julie  d'),  wife  of  the  pre- 
ceding; born  in  1792.  Her  father,  M.  de  Chatillonest,  advised 
her  against,  but  gave  her  in  marriage  to  her  cousin,  the 
attractive  Colonel  Victor  d'Aiglemont,  in  1813.  Quickly 
disillusioned  and  attacked  from  another  source  by  an  "in- 
flammation very  often  fatal,  and  which  is  spoken  of  by  women 
only  in  confidence,"  she  sank  into  a  profound  melancholy. 
The  death  of  the  Comtesse  de  Listomere-Landon,  her  aunt  by 
marriage,  deprived  her  of  valuable  protection  and  advice. 

1  It  appears  that  the  residence  of  the  Marquis  d'Aiglemont  at  Versailles  was 
located  at  number  57,  on  the  present  Avenue  de  Paris  ;  until  recently  it  was  occu- 
pied by  one  of  the  authors  of  this  work. 

*  Given  erroneously  in  the  original  as  1835. 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  3 

Shortly  thereafter  she  became  a  mother  and  found,  in  the  re- 
alization of  her  new  duties,  strength  to  resist  the  mutual  attach- 
ment between  herself  and  the  young  and  romantic  English- 
man, Lord  Arthur  Ormond  Grenville,  a  student  of  medicine 
who  had  nursed  her  and  healed  her  bodily  ailments,  and 
who  died  rather  than  compromise  her.  Heart-broken,  the 
marquise  withdrew  to  the  solitude  of  an  old  chateau  situated 
between  Moret  and  Montereau  in  the  midst  of  a  neglected 
waste.  She  remained  a  recluse  for  almost  a  year,  given 
over  utterly  to  her  grief,  refusing  the  consolations  of  the 
Church  offered  her  by  the  old  cure  of  the  village  of  Saint- 
Lange.  Then  she  re-entered  society  at  Paris.  There,  at 
the  age  of  about  thirty,  she  yielded  to  the  genuine  passion 
of  the  Marquis  de  Vandenesse.  A  child,  christened  Charles, 
was  born  of  this  union,  but  he  perished  at  an  early  age  under 
very  tragic  circumstances.  Two  other  children,  Moi'na 
and  Abel,  were  also  the  result  of  this  love  union.  They 
were  favored  by  their  mother  above  the  two  eldest  children, 
Helene  and  Gustave,  the  only  ones  really  belonging  to  the 
Marquis  d'Aiglemont.  Madame  d'Aiglemont,  when  nearly 
fifty,  a  widow,  and  having  none  of  her  children  remaining 
alive  save  her  daughter  Moma,  sacrificed  all  her  own  fortune 
for  a  dower  in  order  to  marry  the  latter  to  M.  de  Saint- 
He"reen,  heir  of  one  of  the  most  famous  families  of  France. 
She  then  went  to  live  with  her  son-in-law  in  a  magnificent 
mansion  overlooking  the  Esplanade  des  Invalides.  But 
her  daughter  gave  her  slight  return  for  her  love.  Ruffled 
one  day  by  some  remarks  made  to  her  by  Madame  d'Aiglemont 
concerning  the  suspicious  devotion  of  the  Marquis  de  Van- 
denesse, Moma  went  so  far  as  to  fling  back  at  her  mother 
the  remembrance  of  the  latter's  own  guilty  relations  with 
the  young  man's  father.  Terribly  overcome  by  this  attack, 
the  poor  woman,  who  was  a  physical  wreck,  deaf  and  sub- 
ject to  heart  disease,  died  in  1844.  [A  Woman  of  Thirty.] 

Aiglemont  (Helene  d'),  eldest  daughter  of  the  Marquis 
and  Marquise  Victor  d'Aiglemont;  born  in  1817.  She  and 
her  brother  Gustave  were  neglected  by  her  mother  for  Charles, 


4  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Abel  and  Moina.  On  this  account  Helene  became  jealous 
and  defiant.  When  about  eight  years  old,  in  a  paroxysm 
of  ferocious  hate,  she  pushed  her  brother  Charles  into  the 
Bievre,  where  he  was  drowned.  This  childish  crime  always 
passed  for  a  terrible  accident.  When  a  young  woman 
--one  Christmas  night — He"lene  eloped  with  a  mysterious 
adventurer  who  was  being  tracked  by  justice  and  who 
was,  for  the  time  being,  in  hiding  at  the  home  of  the 
Marquis  Victor  d'Aiglemont,  at  Versailles.  Her  despairing 
father  sought  her  vainly.  He  saw  her  no  more  till  seven 
years  later,  and  then  only  once,  when  on  his  return  from 
America  to  France.  The  ship  on  which  he  returned  was 
captured  by  pirates,  whose  captain,  "The  Parisian,"  the 
veritable  abductor  of  He'le'ne,  protected  the  marquis  and 
his  fortune.  The  two  lovers  had  four  beautiful  children  and 
lived  together  in  the  most  perfect  happiness,  sharing  the 
same  perils.  HelSne  refused  to  follow  her  father.  In  1835, 
some  months  after  the  death  of  her  husband,  Madame  d'Aigle- 
mont, while  taking  the  youthful  Moi'na  to  a  Pyrenees  watering- 
place,  was  asked  to  aid  a  poor  sufferer.  It  was  her  daughter, 
Helene,  who  had  just  escaped  shipwreck,  saving  only  one 
child.  Both  presently  succumbed  before  the  eyes  of  Madame 
d'Aiglemont.  [A  Woman  of  Thirty.] 

Aiglemont  (Gustave  d'),  second  child  of  the  Marquis  and 
Marquise  Victor  d'Aiglemont,  and  born  under  the  Restoration. 
His  first  appearance  is  while  still  a  child,  about  1827  or  1828, 
when  returning  in  company  with  his  father  and  his  sister 
He"16ne  from  the  presentation  of  a  gloomy  melodrama  at 
the  Gaite"  theatre.  He  was  obliged  to  flee  hastily  from 
a  scene,  which  violently  agitated  He*lene,  because  it  recalled 
the  circumstances  surrounding  the  death  of  his  brother, 
some  two  or  three  years  earlier.  Gustave  d'Aiglemont 
is  next  found  in  a  Lyceum  garb  reading  "Arabian  Nights" 
in  the  drawing-room  at  Versailles,  where  the.  family  is  assem- 
bled, on  the  same  evening  of  the  abduction  of  He"l£ne.  He 
died  at  an  early  age  of  the  cholera,  leaving  a  widow  and 
children  for  whom  the  Dowager  Marquise  d'Aiglemont 
showed  little  love.  [A  Woman  of  Thirty.] 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  5 

Aiglemont  (Charles  d'),  third  child  of  the  Marquis  and  the 
Marquise  d'Aiglemont,  born  at  the  time  of  the  intimacy 
of  Madame  d'Aiglemont  with  the  Marquis  de  Vandenesse. 
He  appears  but  a  single  time,  one  spring  morning  about 
1824  or  1825,  then  being  four  years  old.  He  was  out  walking 
with  his  sister  Helene,  his  mother  and  the  Marquis  de  Van- 
denesse. In  a  sudden  outburst  of  jealous  hate,  Helene 
pushed  the  little  Charles  into  the  Bi£vre,  where  he  was 
drowned.  [A  Woman  of  Thirty.] 

Aiglemont  (Mo'ina  d'),  fourth  child  and  second  daughter 
of  the  Marquis  and  Marquise  Victor  d'Aiglemont.  (See 
Comtesse  de  Saint-He'reen.)  [A  Woman  of  Thirty.] 

Aiglemont  (Abel  d'),  fifth  and  last  child  of  the  Marquis 
and  Marquise  Victor  d'Aiglemont,  born  during  the  relations 
of  his  mother  with  M.  de  Vandenesse.  Moina  and  he  were 
the  favorites  of  Madame  d'Aiglemont.  Killed  in  Africa 
before  Constantine.  [A  Woman  of  Thirty.]" 

Ajuda-Pinto  (Marquis  Miguel  d'),  Portuguese  belonging 
to  a  very  old  and  wealthy  family,  the  oldest  branch  of 
which  was  connected  with  the  Bragance  and  the  Grandlieu 
houses.  In  1819  he  was  enrolled  among  the  most  distinguished 
dandies  who  graced  Parisian  society.  At  this  same  period 
he  began  to  forsake  Claire  de  Bourgogne,  Vicomtesse  de  Beau- 
se"ant,  with  whom  he  had  been  intimate  for  three  years. 
After  having  caused  her  much  uneasiness  concerning  his 
real  intentions,  he  returned  her  letters,  on  the  intervention 
of  Eugene  de  Rastignac,  and  married  Mile.  Berthe  de  Roche- 
fide.  [Father  Goriot.  Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 
In  1832  he  was  present  at  one  of  Madame  d'Espard's  receptions, 
where  every  one  there  joined  in  slandering  the  Princesse 
de  Cadignan  before  Daniel  d' Arthez,  then  violently  enamored 
of  her.  [The  Secrets  of  a  Princess.]  Towards  1840,  the 
Marquis  d' Ajuda-Pinto,  then  a  widower,  married  again — 
this  time  Mile.  Josephine  dc  Grandlieu,  third  daughter  of 
the  last  duke  of  this  name.  Shortly  thereafter,  the  marquis 
was  accomplice  in  a  plot  hatched  by  the  friends  of  the  Duchesse 


de  Grandlieu  and  Madame  du  Gu£nic  to  rescue  Calyste 
du  Gu6nic  from  the  clutches  of  the  Marquise  de  Rochefide. 
[Beatrix.] 

Ajuda-Pinto  (Marquise  Berthe  d'),  n6e  Rochefide.  Married 
to  the  Marquis  Miguel  d' Ajuda-Pinto  in  1820.  Died  about 
1840.  [Beatrix.] 

Ajuda-Pinto  (Marquise  Josephine  d'),  daughter  of  the 
Due  and  Duchesse  Ferdinand  de  Grandlieu;  second  wife 
of  the  Marquis  Miguel  d' Ajuda-Pinto,  her  kinsman  by  mar- 
riage. Their  marriage  was  celebrated  about  1840.  [Scenes 
from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Alain  (Frederic),  born  about  1767.  He  was  clerk  in  the 
office  of  Bordin,  procureur  of  Chatelet.  In  1798  he  lent 
one  hundred  crowns  in  gold  to  Monegod  his  life-long  friend. 
This  sum  not  being  repaid,  M.  Alain  found  himself  almost 
insolvent,  and  was  obliged  to  take  an  insignificant  position 
at  the  Mont-de-PiSte1.  In  addition  to  this  he  kept  the  books 
of  C£sar  Birotteau,  the  well-known  perfumer.  Monegod 
became  wealthy  in  1816,  and  he  forced  M.  Alain  to  accept  a 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  francs  in  payment  of  the  loan  of 
the  hundred  crowns.  The  good  man  then  devoted  his  unlooked- 
for  fortune  to  philanthropies  in  concert  with  Judge  Popinot. 
Later,  at  the  close  of  1825,  he  became  one  of  the  most  active 
aides  of  Madame  de  la  Chanterie  and  her  charitable  associa- 
tion. It  was  M.  Alain  who  introduced  Godefroid  into  the 
Brotherhood  of  the  Consolation.  [The  Seamy  Side  of.  History.] 

Albertine,  Madame  de  Bargeton's  chambermaid,  between 
the  years  1821  and  1824.  [Lost  Illusions.] 

Albon  (Marquis  d'),  court  councillor  and  ministerial 
deputy  under  the  Restoration.  Born  in  1777.  In  Septem- 
ber, 1819,  he  went  hunting  in  the  edge  of  the  forest  of  Plsle- 
Adam  with  his  friend  Philippe  de  Sucy,  who  suddenly  fell 
senseless  at  the  sight  of  a  poor  madwoman  whom  he  recognized 
as  a  former  mistress,  Stephanie  dc  Vandieres.  The  Marquis 
d'Albon,  assisted  by  two  passers  by,  M.  and  Mme.  de  Granville, 


resuscitated  M.  de  Sucy.  Then  the  marquis  returned,  at 
his  friend  's  entreaty,  to  the  home  of  Stephanie,  where  he 
learned  from  the  uncle  of  this  unfortunate  one  the  sad  story 
of  the  love  of  his  friend  and  Madame  de  Vandieres.  [Farewell.] 

Albrizzi  (Comtesse),  a  friend,  in  1820,  at  Venice,  of  the 
celebrated  melomaniac,  Capraja.  [Massimilla  Doni.] 

Aldrigger  (Jean-Baptiste,  Baron  d'),  born  in  Alsace  in 
1764.  In  1800  a  banker  at  Strasbourg,  where  he  was  at  the 
apogee  of  a  fortune  made  during  the  Revolution,  he  wedded, 
partly  through  ambition,  partly  through  inclination,  the 
heiress  of  the  Adolphuses  of  Manheim.  The  young  daughter 
was  idolized  by  every  one  in  her  family  and  naturally  inherited 
all  their  fortune  after  some  ten  years.  Aldrigger,  created  bar- 
on by  the  Emperor,  was  passionately  devoted  to  the  great 
man  who  had  bestowed  upon  him  his  title,  and  he  ruined 
himself,  between  1814  and  1815,  by  believing  too  deeply 
in  "  the  sun  of  Austerlitz. "  At  the  time  of  the  invasion, 
the  trustworthy  Alsatian  continued  to  pay  on  demand  and 
closed  up  his  bank,  thus  meriting  the  remark  of  Nucingen, 
his  former  head-clerk:  "Honest,  but  stoobid."  The  Baron 
d'Aldrigger  went  at  once  to  Paris.  There  still  remained 
to  him  an  income  of  forty-four  thousand  francs,  reduced 
at  his  death,  in  1823,  by  more  than  half  on  account  of  the 
expenditures  and  carelessness  of  his  wife.  The  latter  was  left 
a  widow  with  two  daughters,  Malvina  and  Isaure.  [The  Firm 
of  Nucingen.] 

Aldrigger  (The'odora-Marguerite-Wilhelmine,  Baronne  d'), 
nee  Adolphus.  Daughter  of  the  banker  Adolphus  of  Man- 
heim, greatly  spoiled  by  her  parents.  In  1800  she  married 
the  Strasbourg  banker,  Aldrigger,  who  spoiled  her  as  badly 
as  they  had  done  and  as  later  did  the  two  daughters  whom 
she  had  by  her  husband.  She  was  superficial,  incapable, 
egotistic,  coquettish  and  pretty.  At  forty  years  of  age 
she  still  preserved  almost  all  her  freshness  and  could  be 
called  "  the  little  Shepherdess  of  the  Alps.  "  In  1823,  when 
the  baron  died,  she  came  near  following  him  through  her 


8  [REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

violent  grief.  The  following  morning  at  breakfast  she 
was  served  with  small  pease,  of  which  she  was  very  fond, 
and  these  small  pease  averted  the  crisis.  She  resided  in 
the  rue  Joubert,  Paris,  where  she  held  receptions  until  the 
marriage  of  her  younger  daughter.  [The  Firm  of  Nucingen.] 

Aldrigger  (Malvina  d'),  elder  daughter  of  the  Baron  and 
Baroness  d'Aldrigger,  born  at  Strasbourg  in  1801,  at  the 
time  when  the  family  was  most  wealthy.  Dignified,  slender, 
swarthy,  sensuous,  she  was  a  good  type  of  the  woman  "you 
have  seen  at  Barcelona."  Intelligent,  haughty,  whole- 
souled,  sentimental  and  sympathetic,  she  was  nevertheless 
smitten  by  the  dry  Ferdinand  du  Tillet,  who  sought  her 
hand  in  marriage  at  one  time,  but  forsook  her  when  he 
learned  of  the  bankruptcy  of  the  Aldrigger  family.  The 
lawyer  Desroches  also  considered  asking  the  hand  of  Malvina, 
but  he  too  gave  up  the  idea.  The  young  girl  was  counseled 
by  Eugdne  de  Rastignac,  who  took  it  upon  himself  to  see 
that  she  got  married.  Nevertheless,  she  ended  by  being 
an  old  maid,  withering  day  by  day,  giving  piano  lessons, 
living  rather  meagrely  with  her  mother  in  a  modest  flat 
on  the  third  floor,  in  the  rue  du  Mont-Thabor.  [The  Firm 
of  Nucingen.] 

Aldrigger  (Isaure  d'),  second  daughter  of  the  Baron  and 
Baroness  d'Aldrigger,  married  to  Godefroid  de  Beaudenord. 
(See  that  name.)  [The  Firm  of  Nucingen.] 

Aline,  a  young  Auvergne  chambermaid  in  the  service  of 
Madame  Veronique  Graslin,  to  whom  she  was  devoted  body 
and  soul.  She  was  probably  the  only  one  to  whom  was 
confided  all  the  terrible  secrets  pertaining  to  the  life  of 
Madame  Graslin.  [The  Country  Parson.] 

AUegrain1  (Christophe-Gabriel),  French  sculptor,  born  in 
1710.  With  Lauterbourg  and  Vien,  at  Rome,  in  1758,  he 
assisted  his  friend  Sarrasine  to  abduct  Zambinella,  then  a  fa- 
mous singer.  The  prima-donna  was  a  eunuch.  [Sarrasine.] 

1  To  the  sculptor  Allegrain  who  died  in  1795,  the  Louvre  Museum  is  indebted  for 
a  Narcisse,"  a  "  Diana,"  and  a  "  Venus  entering  the  Bath." 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  9 

Alphonse,  a  friend  of  the  ruined  orphan,  Charles  Grandet, 
tarrying  temporarily  at  Saumur.  In  1819  he  acquitted 
himself  most  creditably  of  a  mission  entrusted  to  him  by 
that  young  man.  He  wound  up  Charles'  business  at  Paris, 
paying  all  his  debts  by  a  single  little  sale.  [Eugenie  Grandet.] 

Al-Sartchild,  name  of  a  German  banking-house,  where 
Ge"de*on  Brunner  was  compelled  to  deposit  the  funds  belonging 
to  his  son  Frederic  and  inherited  from  his  mother.  [Cousin 
Pons.] 

Althor  (Jacob),  a  Hambourg  banker,  who  opened  up  a 
business  at  Havre  in  1815.  He  had  a  son,  whom  in  1829 
M.  and  Mme.  Mignon  desired  for  a  son-in-law.  [Modeste 
Mignon.] 

Althor  (Francisque),  son  of  Jacob  Althor.  Francisque 
was  the  dandy  of  Havre  in  1829.  He  wished  to  marry 
Modeste  Mignon,  but  forsook  her  quickly  enough  when  he 
found  out  that  her  family  was  bankrupt.  Not  long  after- 
wards he  married  Mile.  Vilquin  the  elder.  [Modeste  Mignon.] 

Amanda,  Parisian  modiste  at  the  time  of  Louis  Philippe. 
Among  her  customers  was  Marguerite  Turquet,  known  as 
Malaga,  who  was  slow  in  paying  bills.  [A  Man  of  Business.] 

Amaury  (Madame),  owner,  in  1829,  of  a  pavilion  at  Sauvic, 
near  Ingouville,  which  Canalis  leased  when  he  went  to 
Havre  to  see  Mile.  Mignon.  [Modeste  Mignon.] 

Ambermesnil  (Comtesse  do  1')  went  in  1819,  when  about 
thirty-six  years  old,  to  board  with  the  widow,  Mme.  Vauquer, 
rue  Neuve  Sainte-Genevieve,  now  Tournefort,  Paris.  Mme. 
de  1' Ambermesnil  gave  it  out  that  she  was  awaiting  the 
settlement  of  a  pension  which  was  due  her  on  account  of  being 
the  widow  of  a  general  killed  "  on  the  battlefield. "  Mme. 
Vauquer  gave  her  every  attention,  confiding  all  her  own 
affairs  to  her.  The  comtesse  vanished  at  the  end  of  six 
months,  leaving  a  board  bill  unsettled.  Mme.  Vauquer  sought 
her  eagerly,  but  was  never  able  to  obtain  a  trace  of  this 
adventuress.  [Father  Goriot.l 


10  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Am6d6e,  nickname  bestowed  on  Felix  de  Vandenesse 
by  Lady  Dudley  when  she  thought  she  saw  a  rival  in  Madame 
de  Mortsauf.  [The  Lily  of  the  Valley.] 

Anchise  (Pere),  a  surname  given  by  La  Palf6rine  to  a 
little  Savoyard  of  ten  years  who  worked  for  him  without 
pay.  "I  have  never  seen  such  silliness  coupled  with  such 
intelligence,"  the  Prince  of  Bohemia  said  of  this  child; 
"he  would  go  through  fire  for  me,  he  understands  everything, 
and  yet  he  does  not  see  that  I  cannot  help  him. "  [A  Prince 
of  Bohemia.] 

Angard — At  Paris,  in  1840,  the  "professor"  Angard  was 
consulted,  in  connection  with  the  Doctors  Bianchon  and 
Larabit,  on  account  of  Mme.  Hector  Hulot,  who  it  was  feared 
was  losing  her  reason.  [Cousin  Betty.  J 

Angelique  (Sister),  nun  of  the  Carmellite  convent  at  Blois 
under  Louis  XVIII.  Celebrated  for  her  leanness.  She 
was  known  by  Rene"e  de  1'Estorade  (Mme.  de  Maucombe) 
and  Louise  de  Chaulieu  (Mme.  Marie  Gaston),  who  went  to 
school  at  the  convent.  [Letters  of  Two  Brides.] 

Anicette,  chambermaid  of  the  Princesse  de  Cadignan  in 
1839.  The  artful  and  pretty  Champagne  girl  was  sought 
by  the  sub-prefect  of  Arcis-sur-Aube,  by  Maxime  de  Trailles, 
and  by  Mme.  Beauvisage,  the  mayor's  wife,  each  trying  to 
bribe  and  enlist  her  on  the  side  of  one  of  the  various  candi- 
dates for  deputy.  [The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Annette,  Christian  name  of  a  young  woman  of  the  Parisian 
world,  under  the  Restoration.  She  had  been  brought  up 
at  Ecouen,  where  she  had  received  the  practical  counsels 
of  Mme.  Campan.  Mistress  of  Charles  Grandet  before  his 
father's  death.  Towards  the  close  of  1819,  a  prey  to  suspicion, 
she  must  needs  sacrifice  her  happiness  for  the  time  being, 
so  she  made  a  weary  journey  with  her  husband  into  Scotland. 
She  made  her  lover  effeminate  and  materialistic,  advising 
with  him  about  everything.  He  returned  from  the  Indies 
in  1827,  when  she  quickly  brought  about  his  engagement 
with  Mile.  d'Aubrion.  [Euge"nie  Grandet.  j] 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  11 

Annette,  maid  servant  of  Rigou  at  Blangy,  Burgundy. 
She  was  nineteen  years  old,  in  1823,  and  had  held  this  place 
for  more  than  three  years,  although  Gre"goire  Rigou  never 
kept  servants  for  a  longer  period  than  this,  however  much 
he  might  and  did  favor  them.  Annette,  sweet,  blonde, 
delicate,  a  true  masterpiece  of  dainty,  piquant  loveliness, 
worthy  to  wear  a  duchess'  coronet,  earned  nevertheless 
only  thirty  francs  a  year.  She  kept  company  with  Jean- 
Louis  Tonsard  without  letting  her  master  once  suspect  it; 
ambition  had  prompted  this  young  woman  to  flatter  her 
employer  as  a  means  of  hoodwinking  this  lynx.  [The  Peas- 
antry. 3 

Anselme,  Jesuit,  living  in  rue  des  Postes  (now  rue  Lho- 
mond).  Celebrated  mathematician.  Had  some  dealings  with 
Felix  Phellion,  whom  he  tried  to  convert  to  his  religious 
belief.  This  rather  meagre  information  concerning  him  was 
furnished  by  a  certain  Madame  Komorn.  [The  Middle 
Classes.] 

Antoine,  born  in  the  village  of  Echelles,  Savoy.  In 
1824  he  had  served  longest  as  cler1:  in  the  Bureau  of 
Finance,  where  he  had  secured  positions,  still  more  modest 
than  his  own,  for  a  couple  of  his  nephews,  Laurent  and 
Gabriel,  both  of  whom  were  married  to  lace  laundresses. 
Antoine  meddled  with  every  act  of  the  administration. 
He  elbowed,  criticised,  scolded  and  toadied  to  Clement 
Chardin  des  Lupeaulx  and  other  office-holders.  He  doubtless 
lived  with  his  nephews.  [The  Government  Clerks.] 

Antoine,  old  servant  of  the  Marquise  Beatrix  de  Rochefide, 
in  1840,  on  the  rue  de  Chartres-du-Roule,  near  Monceau 
Park,  Paris.  [Beatrix.] 

Antonia — See  Chocardelle,  Mile. 

Aquilina,  a  Parisian  courtesan  of  the  time  of  the  Res- 
toration and  Louis  Philippe.  She  claimed  to  be  a  Pied- 
montese.  Of  her  true  name  she  was  ignorant.  She  had 
appropriated  this  nom  de  guerre  from  a  character  in  the  well- 
known  tragedy  by  Otway,  "Venice  Preserved,"  that  she 


12  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

had  chanced  to  ^ead.  At  sixteen,  pure  and  beautiful, 
at  the  time  of  her  downfall,  she  had  met  Castanier,  Nucingen's 
cashier,  who  resolved  to  save  her  from  evil  for  his  own 
gain,  and  live  maritally  with  her  in  the  rue  Richter.  Aquilina 
then  took  the  name  of  Madame  de  la  Garde.  At  the  same 
time  of  her  relations  with  Castanier,  she  had  for  a  lover  a 
certain  L6on,  a  petty  officer  in  a  regiment  of  infantry,  and 
none  other  than  one  of  the  sergeants  of  Rochelle  to  be  executed 
on  the  Place  de  Greve  in  1822.  Before  this  execution,  in 
the  reign  of  Louis  XVIII.,  she  attended  a  performance  of 
"Le  Come'dien  d'Etampes, "  one  evening  at  the  Gymnase, 
when  she  laughed  immoderately  at  the  comical  part  played 
by  Perlet.  At  the  same  time,  Castanier,  also  present  at 
this  mirthful  scene,  but  harassed  by  Melmoth,  was  experienc- 
ing the  insufferable  doom  of  a  cruel  hidden  drama.  [Mel- 
moth  Reconciled.]  Her  next  appearance  is  at  a  famous  orgy 
at  the  home  of  Fre'de'ric  Taillefer,  rue  Joubert,  in  company 
with  Emile  Blondet,  Rastignac,  Bixiou  and  Raphael  de 
Valentin.  She  was  a  magnificent  girl  of  good  figure, 
superb  carriage,  and  striking  though  irregular  features. 
Her  glance  and  smile  startled  one.  She  always  included 
some  red  trinket  in  her  attire,  in  memory  of  her  executed 
lover.  [The  Magic  Skin.] 

Arcos  (Comte  d'),  a  Spanish  grandee  living  in  the  Pen- 
insula at  the  time  of  the  expedition  of  Napoleon  I.  He 
would  probably  have  married  Maria-Pepita-Juana  Marana 
de  Mancini,  had  it  not  been  for  the  peculiar  incidents  which 
brought  about  her  marriage  with  the  French  officer,  FranQois 
Diard.  [The  Maranas.] 

ArgaXolo  (Due  d'),  a  very  rich  and  well-born  Italian,  the 
respected  though  aged  husband  of  her  who  later  became 
the  Duchesse  de  Rhe'tore',  to  the  perpetual  grief  of  Albert 
Savarus.  Argai'olo  died,  almost  an  octogenarian,  in  1835. 
[Albert  Savarus.] 

Argaiolo  (Duchesse  d'),  n6e  Soderini,  wife  of  the  Due 
d' Argai'olo.  She  became  a  widow  in  1835,  and  took  as  her 
second  husband  the  Due  de  Rhe'tore'.  (See  Duchesse  de  Rhe'- 
tore.) [Albert  Savarus,  ft 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  13 

Arrachelaine,  surname  of  the  rogue,  Ruffard.  (See  that 
name.)  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Arthez  (Daniel  d'),  one  of  the  most  illustrious  authors 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  one  of  those  rare  men  who 
display  "  the  unity  of  excellent  talent  and  excellent  character. " 
Born  about  1794  or  1796.  A  Picard  gentleman.  In  1821, 
when  about  twenty-five,  he  was  poverty-stricken  and  dwelt 
on  the  fifth  floor  of  a  dismal  house  in  the  rue  des  Quatre- 
Vents,  Paris,  where  had  also  resided  the  illustrious  surgeon 
Desplein,  in  his  youth.  There  he  fraternized  with:  Horace 
Bianchon,  then  house-physician  at  Hotel-Dieu;  Le"on  Giraud, 
the  profound  philosopher;  Joseph  Bridau,  the  painter  who 
later  achieved  so  much  renown;  Fulgence  Ridal,  comic 
poet  of  great  sprightliness ;  Meyraux,  the  eminent  physiologist 
who  died  young ;  lastly,  Louis  Lambert  and  Michel  Chrestien, 
the  Federalist  Republican,  both  of  whom  were  cut  off  in 
their  prime.  To  these  men  of  heart  and  of  talent  Lucien 
do  Rubempre*.  the  poet,  sought  to  attach  himself.  He  was 
introduced  by  Daniel  d'Arthez,  their  recognized  leader. 
This  society  had  taken  the  name  of  the  "  Ce*nacle. "  D'Arthez 
and  his  friends  advised  and  aided,  when  in  need,  Lucien 
the  "Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris"  who  ended  so 
tragically.  Moreover,  with  a  truly  remarkable  disinterest- 
edness d' Arthez  corrected  and  revised  "  The  Archer  of  Charles 
IX., "written  by  Lucien,  and  the  work  became  a  superb 
book,  in  his  hands.  Another  glimpse  of  d' Arthez  is  as 
the  unselfish  friend  of  Marie  Gaston,  a  young  poet  of  his 
stamp,  but  "effeminate."  D'Arthez  was  swarthy,  with 
long  locks,  rather  small  and  bearing  some  resemblance  to 
Bonaparte.  He  might  be  called  the  rival  of  Rousseau, 
"the  Aquatic,"  since  he  was  very  temperate,  very  pure, 
and  drank  water  only.  For  a  long  time  he  ate  at  Flicoteaux's 
in  the  Latin  Quarter.  He  had  grown  famous  in  1832,  besides 
enjoying  an  income,  of  thirty  thousand  francs  bequeathed 
by  an  uncle  who  had  left  him  a  prey  to  the  most  biting 
poverty  so  long  as  the  author  was  unknown.  D'Arthez  then 
resided  in  a  pretty  house  of  his  own  in  the  rue  de  Bellefond, 
where  he  lived  in  other  respects  as  formerly,  in  the  rigor 


14  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

of  work.  He  was  a  deputy  sitting  on  the  right  and  upholding 
the  Royalist  platform  of  Divine  Right.  When  he  had 
acquired  a  competence,  he  had  a  most  vulgar  and  incom- 
prehensible liaison  with  a  woman  tolerably  pretty,  but 
belonging  to  a  lower  society  and  without  either  education 
or  breeding.  D'Arthez  maintained  her,  nevertheless,  care- 
fully concealing  her  from  sight;  but,  far  from  being  a  pleas- 
urable manner  of  life,  it  became  odious  to  him.  It  was 
at  this  time  that  he  was  invited  to  the  home  of  Diane  de 
Maufrigneuse,  Princesse  de  Cadignan,  who  was  then  thirty- 
six,  but  did  not  look  it.  The  famous  "great  coquette" 
told  him  her  (so-called)  "secrets,"  offered  herself  outright 
to  this  man-  whom  she  treated  as  a  "  famous  simpleton, " 
and  whom  she  made  her  lover.  After  that  day  there  was 
no  doubt  about  the  relations  of  the  princesse  and  Daniel 
d'Arthez.  The  great  author,  whose  works  became  very 
rare,  appeared  only  during  some  of  the  winter  months  at 
the  Chamber  of  Deputies.  [A  Distinguished  Provincial 
at  Paris.  Letters  of  Two  Brides.  The  Member  for  Arcis. 
The  Secrets  of  a  Princess.] 

Asie,  one  of  the  pseudonyms  of  Jacqueline  Collin.  (See 
that  name.)  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Athalie,  cook  for  Mme.  Schontz  in  1836.  According 
to  her  mistress,  she  was  specially  gifted  in  preparing  venison. 
[The  Muse  of  the  Department.] 

Aubrion  (Marquis  d'),  a  gentleman-in-waiting  of  the 
Bedchamber,  under  Charles  X.  He  was  of  the  house  of 
Aubrion  de  Buch,  whose  last  head  died  before  1789.  He 
was  silly  enough  to  wed  a  woman  of  fashion,  though  he  was 
already  an  old  man  of  but  twenty  thousand  francs  income, 
a  sum  hardly  sufficient  in  Paris.  He  tried  to  marry  his 
daughter  without  a  dowry  to  some  man  who  was  intoxicated 
with  nobility.  In  1827,  to  quote  Mme.  d'Aubrion,  this 
ancient  wreck  was  madly  devoted  to  the  Duchesse  de 
Chaulieu.  [Eugenie  Grandet.] 

Aubrion  (Marquise  d'),  wife  of  the  preceding.  Born  in 
1789.  At  thirty-eight  she  was  still  pretty,  and,  having 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  15 

always  been  somewhat  aspiring,  she  endeavored  (in  1827), 
by  hook  or  by  crook,  to  entangle  Charles  Grandet,  lately 
returned  from  the  Indies.  She  wished  to  make  a  son-in-law 
out  of  him,  and  she  succeeded.  [Eugenie  Grandet.] 

Aubrion  (Mathilde  d'),  daughter  of  the  Marquis  and  Mar- 
quise d'Aubrion;  born  in  1808;  married  to  Charles  Grandet. 
(See  that  name.)  [Eugenie  Grandet.] 

Aubrion  (Comte  d'),  the  title  acquired  by  Charles  Grandet 
after  his  marriage  to  the  daughter  of  the  Marquis  d'Aubrion. 
[The  Firm  of  Nucingen.] 

Auffray,  grocer  at  Provins,  in  the  period  of  Louis  XV., 
Louis  XVI.  and  the  Revolution.  M.  Auffray  married  the 
first  time  when  eighteen,  the  second  time  at  sixty-nine. 
By  his  first  wife  he  had  a  rather  ugly  daughter  who  married,  at 
sixteen,  a  landlord  of  Provins,  Rogron  by  name.  Auffray 
had  another  daughter,  by  his  second  marriage,  a  charming 
girl,  this  time,  who  married  a  Breton  captain  in  the  Imperial 
Guard.  Pierrette  Lorrain  was  the  daughter  of  this  officer. 
The  old  grocer  Auffray  died  at 'the  time  of  the  Empire  without 
having  had  time  enough  to  make  his  will.  The  inheritance 
was  so  skillfully  manipulated  by  Rogron,  the  first  son-in-law 
of  the  deceased,  that  almost  nothing  was  left  for  the  good- 
man's  widow,  then  only  about  thirty-eight  years  old.  [Pier- 
rette.] 

Auffray  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding.  (See  Ne*raud, 
Mme.)  [Pierrette.] 

Auffray,  a  notary  of  Provins  in  1827.  Husband  of  Mme. 
Gue'ne'e's  third  daughter.  Great-grand-nephew  of  the 
old  grocer,  Auffray.  Appointed  a  guardian  of  Pierrette 
Lorrain.  On  account  of  the  ill-treatment  to  which  this 
young  girl  was  subjected  at  the  home  of  her  guardian,  Denis 
Rogron,  she  was  removed,  an  invalid,  to  the  home  of  the 
notary  Auffray,  a  designated  guardian,  where  she  died, 
although  tenderly  cared  for.  [Pierrette.] 

Auffray  (Madamo),  born  Guenee.  Wife  of  the  preceding. 
The  third  daughter  ;>f  Mme.  Guenee,  born  Tiphaine.  She 


16  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

exhibited  the  greatest  kindness  for  Pierrette  Lorrain,  and 
nursed  her  tenderly  in  her  last  illness.     [Pierrette.] 

Auguste,  name  borne  by  Boislaurier,  as  chief  of  "  brigands, " 
in  the  uprisings  of  the  West  under  the  Republic  and  under 
the  Empire.  [The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Auguste,  valet  de  chambre  of  the  General  Marquis  Armand 
de  Montriveau,  under  the  Restoration,  at  the  time  when  the 
latter  dwelt  in  the  rue  de  Seine  hard  by  the  Chamber  of 
Peers,  and  was  intimate  with  the  Duchesse  Antoinette 
de  Langeais.  [The  Thirteen.] 

Auguste,  notorious  assassin,  executed  in  the  first  years  of 
the  Restoration.  He  left  a  mistress,  surnamed  Rousse, 
to  whom  Jacques  Collin  had  faithfully  remitted  (in  1819) 
some  twenty  odd  thousands  of  francs,  on  behalf  of  her  lover, 
after  his  execution.  This  woman  was  married  in  1821, 
by  Jacques  Collin's  sister,  to  the  head  clerk  of  a  rich,  whole- 
sale hardware  merchant.  Nevertheless,  though  once  more  in 
respectable  society,  she  remained  bound,  by  a  secret 
compact,  to  the  terrible  Vautrin  and  his  sister.  [Scenes  from 
a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Auguste  (Madame),  dressmaker  of  Esther  Gobseck,  and 
her  creditor  in  the  time  of  Louis  XVIII.  [Scenes  from 
a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Augustin,  valet  de  chambre  of  M.  de  Se"rizy  in  1822.  [A 
Start  in  Life.] 

Aure"lie,  a  Parisian  courtesan,  under  Louis  Philippe, 
at  the  time  when  Mme.  Fabien  du  Ronceret  commenced 
her  conquests.  [Beatrix.] 

Aure'lie  (La  Petite),  one  of  the  nicknames  of  Josephine 
Schiltz,  also  called  Schontz,  who  became,  later,  Mme.  Fabien 
du  Ronceret.  [Beatrix.] 

Auvergnat  (L'),  one  of  the  assumed  names  of  the  rogue 
Selerier,  alias  Pere  Ralleau,  alias  Rouleur,  alias  Fil-de-soie. 
(See  Se'le'rier.)  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.iJ 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  17 

B 

Babylas,  groom  or  "  tiger "  of  Ame'de'e  de  Soulas,  in  1834, 
at  Besancon.  Was  fourteen  years  old  at  this  time.  The  son 
of  one  of  his  master's  tenants.  He  earned  thirty-six  francs 
a  month  by  his  position  to  support  himself,  but  he  was  neat 
and  skillful.  [Albert  Savarus.] 

Baptiste,  valet  de  chambre  to  the  Duchesse  de  Lenoncourt- 
Chaulieu  in  1830.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Barbanchu,  Bohemian  with  a  cocked  hat,  who  was  called 
into  Vefour's  by  some  journalists  who  breakfasted  there 
at  the  expense  of  Jerome  Thuillier,  in  1840,  and  invited 
by  them  to  "  sponge  "  off  of  this  urbane  man,  which  he  did. 
[The  Middle  Classes.] 

Barbanti  (The),  a  Corsican  family  who  brought  about  the 
reconciliation  of  the  Piombos  and  the  Portas  in  1800. 
[The  Vendetta.] 

Barbet,  a  dynasty  of  second-hand  book-dealers  in  Paris 
under  the  Restoration  and  Louis  Philippe.  They  were 
Normans.  In  1821  and  the  years  following,  one  of  them 
ran  a  little  shop  on  the  quay  des  Grands-Augustins,  and 
purchased  Lousteau's  books.  In  1836,  a  Barbet,  partner 
in  a  book-shop  with  Metivier  and  Morand,  owned  a  wretched 
house  on  the  rue  Notre-Dame-des-Champs  and  the  boulevard 
du  Mont-Parnasse,  where  dwelt  the  Baron  Bourlac  with 
his  daughter  and  grandson.  In  1840  the  Barbets  had  become 
regular  usurers  dealing  in  credits  with  the  firm  of  Ce*rizet 
and  Company.  The  same  year  a  Barbet  occupied,  in  a  house 
belonging  to  Je'rome  Thuillier,  rue  Saint-Dominique-d'Enfer 
(now  rue  Royer-Collard),  a  room  on  the  first  flight  up  and 
a  shop  on  the  ground  floor.  He  was  then  a  "publisher's 
shark."  Barbet  junior,  a  nephew  of  the  foregoing,  and 
editor  in  the  alley  des  Panoramas,  placed  on  the  market 
at  this  time  a  brochure  composed  by  Th.  de  la  Peyrade, 
but  signed  by  Thuillier  and  having  the  title  "Capital  and 
Taxes."  [A  Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.  A  Man 
of  Business.  The  Seamy  Side  of  History.  The  Middle 
Classes.] 


18  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Barbette,  wife  of  the  great  Cibot,  known  as  Galope-Chopine. 
(See  Cibot,  Barbette.)  [Les  Chouans.] 

Barchou  de  Penhoen  (Auguste-Theodore-Hilaire),  born 
at  Morlaix  (Finistere),  April  28,  1801,  died  at  Saint-Germain- 
en-Laye,  July  29,  1855.  A  school-mate  of  Balzac,  Jules 
Dufaure  and  Louis  Lambert,  and  his  neighbors  in  the  college 
dormitory  of  Vendome  in  1811.  Later  he  was  an  officer, 
then  a  writer  of  transcendental  philosophy,  a  translator 
of  Fichte,  a  friend  and  interpreter  of  Ballanche.  In  1849 
he  was  elected,  by  his  fellow-citizens  of  Finistere,  4o  the 
Legislative  Assembly  where  he  represented  the  Legitimists 
and  the  Catholics.  He  protested  against  the  coup  d'etat 
of  December  2,  1851  (See  "The  Story  of  a  Crime, "  by  Victor 
Hugo).  When  a  child  he  came  under  the  influence  of  Pyrrhon- 
ism. He  once  gainsaid  the  talent  of  Louis  Lambert,  his 
Vendome  school-mate.  [Louis  Lambert.] 

Bargeton  (De),  born  between  1761  and  1763.  Great- 
grandson  of  an  Alderman  of  Bordeaux  named  Mirault, 
ennobled  during  the  reign  of  Louis  XIII.,  and  whose  son, 
under  Louis  XIV.,  now  Mirault  de  Bargeton,  was  an  officer 
of  the  Guards  de  la  Porte.  He  owned  a  house  at  Angouleme, 
in  the  rue  du  Minage,  where  he  lived  with  his  wife,  Marie- 
Louise- Anais  de  Negrepelisse,  to  whom  -he  was  entirely 
obedient.  On  her  account,  and  at  her  instigation,  he  fought 
with  one  of  the  habitues  of  his  salon,  Stanislas  de  Chandour, 
who  had  circulated  in  the  town  a  slander  on  Mme.  de  Bargeton. 
Bargeton  lodged  a  bullet  in  his  opponent's  neck.  He 
had  for  a  second  his  father-in-law,  M.  de  Negrepelisse.  Fol- 
lowing this,  M.  de  Bargeton  retired  into  his  estate  at  Escarbas, 
near  Barbezieux,  while  his  wife,  as  a  result  of  the  duel, 
left  Angouleme  for  Paris.  M.  de  Bargeton  had  been  of  good 
physique,  but  "injured  by  youthful  excesses."  He  was 
commonplace,  but  a  great  gourmand.  He  died  of  indi- 
gestion towards  the  close  of  1821.  [Lost  Illusions,] 

Bargeton  (Madame  de),  nee  Marie-Louise-Anais  Negre- 
pelisse, wife  of  the  foregoing.  Left  a  widow,  she  married 
again,  this  time  the  Baron  Sixte  du  Chatelet.  (See  that 
nani3.> 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  19 

Barillaud,  known  by  Fre'de'ric  Alain  whose  suspicion  he 
aroused  with  regard  to  Monegod.  [The  Seamy  Side  of  His« 
lory.] 

Barimore  (Lady),  daughter  of  Lord  Dudley,  and  apparently 
the  wife  of  Lord  Barimore,  although  it  is  a  disputed  question. 
Just  after  1830,  she  helped  receive  at  a  function  of  Mile, 
des  Touches,  rue  de  la  Chaussee-d'Antin,  where  Marsay 
told  about  his  first  love  affair.  [Another  Study  of  Woman.  ] 

Barker  (William),  one  of  Vautrin's  "incarnations."  In 
1824  or  1825,  under  this  assumed  name,  he  posed  as  one  of 
the  creditors  of  M.  d'Estourny,  making  him  endorse  some 
notes  of  Cerizet's,  the  partner  of  this  M.  d'Estourny.  [Scenes 
from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Barnheim,  family  in  good  standing  at  Bade.  On  the 
maternal  side,  the  family  of  Mme.  du  Ronceret,  n£e  Schiltz, 
alias  Schontz.  [Beatrix.] 

Barniol,  Phellion's  son-in-law.  Head  of  an  academy 
(in  1840),  rue  Saint-Hyacinthe-Saint-Michel  (now,  rue  Le 
Goff  and  rue  Malebranche) .  A  rather  influential  man  in  the 
Faubourg  Saint-Jacques.  Visited  the  salon  of  Thuillier. 
[The  Middle  Classes.] 

Barniol  (Madame),  nee  Phellion,  wife  of  the  preceding. 
She  had  been  under-governess  in  the  boarding  school  of 
the  Miles.  Lagrave,  rue  Notre-Dame  des  Champs.  [The 
Middle  Classes.] 

Barry  (John),  a  young  English  huntsman,  well  known  in  the 
district  whence  the  Prince  of  Loudon  brought  him  to  employ 
him  at  his  own  home.  He  was  with  this  great  lord  in  1829, 
1830.  [Modeste  Mignon.] 

Bartas  (Adrien  de),  of  Angouleme.  In  1821,  he  and  his 
wife  were  very  devoted  callers  at  the  Bargetons.  M.  de  Bartas 
gave  himself  up  entirely  to  music,  talking  about  this  subject 
incessantly,  and  courting  invitations  to  sing  with  his  heavy 
bass  voice.  He  posed  as  the  lover  of  Mme.  de  Bre"bion, 
the  wife  of  his  best  friend.  M.  de  Bre"bion  became  the 
lover  of  Mme.  de  Bartas.  [Lost  Illusions.] 


20  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Bartas  (Madame  Josephine  de),  wife  of  the  preceding, 
always  called  Fifine,  "for  short."  [Lost  Illusions.] 

Bastienne,  Parisian  modiste  in  1821.  Finot's  journal 
vaunted  her  hats,  for  a  pecuniary  consideration,  and  derogated 
those  of  Virginie,  formerly  praised.  [Lost  Illusions.] 

Batailles  (The),  belonging  to  the  bourgeoisie  of  Paris, 
traders  of  Marais,  neighbors  and  friends  of  the  Baudoyers 
and  the  Saillards  in  1824.  M.  Bataille  was  a  captain  in 
the  National  Guard,  a  fact  which  he  allowed  no  one  to 
ignore.  [The  Government  Clerks.] 

Baudenord  (Godefroid  de),  born  in  1800.  In  1821  he 
was  one  of  the  kings  of  fashion,  in  company  with  Marsay, 
Vandenesse,  Ajuda-Pinto,  Maxime  de  Trailles,  Rastignac, 
the  Due  de  Maufrigneuse  and  Manerville.  [A  Distinguished 
Provincial  at  Paris.]  His  nobility  and  breeding  were  perhaps 
not  very  orthodox.  According  to  Mile.  Emilie  de  Fontaine,  he 
was  of  bad  figure  and  stout,  having  but  a  single  advantage 
— that  of  his  brown  locks.  [The  Ball  at  Sgeaux.]  A  cousin, 
by  marriage,  of  his  guardian,  the  Marquis  d'Aiglemont, 
he  was,  like  him,  ruined  by  the  Baron  de  Nucingen  in  the 
Wortschin  mine  deal.  At  one  time  Beaudenord  thought 
of  paying  court  to  his  pretty  cousin,  the  Marquise  d'Aigle- 
mont. In  1827  he  wedded  Isaure  d'Aldrigger  and,  after 
having  lived  with  her  in  a  cosy  little  house  on  the  rue  de  le 
Planche,  he  was  obliged  to  solicit  employment  of  the  Minister 
of  Finance,  a  position  which  he  lost  on  account  of  the  Revo- 
lution of  1830.  However,  he  was  reinstated  through  the 
influence  of  Nucingen,  in  1836.  He  now  lived  modestly 
with  his  mother-in-law,  his  unmarried  sister-in-law  Malvina, 
his  wife  and  four  children  which  she  had  given  him,  on  the 
third  floor,  over  the  entresol,  rue  du  Mont-Thabor.  [The 
Firm  of  Nucingen.] 

Baudoyer  (Monsieur  and  Madame),  formerly  tanners 
at  Paris,  rue  Censier.  They  owned  their  house,  besides 
having  a  country  seat  at  PIsle  Adam.  They  had  but  one 
child,  Isidore,  whose  sketch  follows.  Mme.  Baudoyer, 
born  Mitral,  was  the  sister  01  the  bailiff  of  that  name.  [The 
Government  Clerks, jj 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  21 

Baudoyer  (Isidore),  born  in  1788;  only  son  of  M.  andMme. 
Baudoyer,  tanners,  rue  Censier,  Paris.  Having  finished  a 
course  of  study,  he  obtained  a  position  in  the  Bureau  of 
Finance,  where,  despite  his  notorious  incapacity — and  through 
"wire-pulling" — he  became  head  of  the  office.  In  1824, 
a  head  of  the  division,  M.  de  La  Billardiere  died,  when  the 
meritorious  clerk,  Xavier  Rabourdin,  aspired  to  succeed 
him ;  but  the  position  went  to  Isidore  Baudoyer,  who  was 
backed  by  the  power  of  money  and  the  influence  of  the  Church. 
He  did  not  retain  this  post  long;  six  months  thereafter 
he  became  a  preceptor  at  Paris.  Isidore  Baudoyer  lived 
with  his  wife  and  her  parents  in  a  house  on  Palais  Royale 
(now  Place  des  Vosges),  of  which  they  were  joint  owners. 
[The  Government  Clerks.]  He  dined  frequently,  in  1840, 
at  Thuillier's,  an  old  employe"  of  the  Bureau  of  Finance, 
then  domiciled  at  the  rue  Saint-Dominique-d'Enfer,  who 
had  renewed  his  acquaintance  with  his  old-time  colleagues. 
[The  Middle  Classes.]  In  1845,  this  man,  who  had  been  a 
model  husband  and  who  made  a  great  pretence  of  religion 
maintained  He*loise  Brisetout.  He  was  then  mayor  of  the 
arrondissement  of  the  Palais  Royale.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Baudoyer  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding  and  daughter 
of  a  cashier  of  the  Minister  of  Finance ;  born  Elisabeth  Saillard 
in  1795.  Her  mother,  an  Auvergnat,  had  an  uncle,  Bidault, 
alias  Gigonnet,  a  short-time  money  lender  in  the  Halles 
quarter.  On  the  other  side,  her  mother-in-law  was  the 
sister  of  the  bailiff  Mitral.  Thanks  to  these  two  men  of 
means,  who  exercised  a  veritable  secret  power,  and  through 
her  piety,  which  put  her  on  good  terms  with  the  clergy, 
she  succeeded  in  raising  her  husband  up  to  the  highest  official 
positions — profiting  also  by  the  financial  straits  of  Cle'ment 
Chardin  des  Lupeaulx,  Secretary  General  of  Finance.  [The 
Government  Clerks.] 

Baudoyer  (Mademoiselle),  daughter  of  Isidore  Baudoyer 
and  Elisabeth  Saillard,  born  in  1812.  Reared  by  her  parents 
with  the  idea  of  becoming  the  wife  of  the  shrewd  and  energetic 
speculator  Martin  Falleix,  brother  of  Jacques  Falleix  the 
stock-broker.  [The  Government  Clerks.] 


22  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Baudrand,  cashier  of  a  boulevard  theatre,  of  which  Gaud- 
issart  became  the  director  about  1834.  In  1845  he  was 
succeeded  by  the  proletariat  Topinard.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Baudry  (Planat  de),  Receiver  General  of  Finances  under 
the  Restoration.  He  married  one  of  the  daughters  of  the 
Comte  de  Fontaine.  He  usually  passed  his  summers  at 
Sceaux,  with  almost  all  his  wife's  family.  [The  Ball  at 
Sgeaux.] 

Bauvan  (Comte  de),  one  of  the  instigators  of  the  Chouan 
insurrection  in  the  department  d'llle-et-Vilaine,  in  1799. 
Through  a  secret  revelation  made  to  his  friend  the  Marquis 
de  Montauran  on  the  part  of  Mile,  de  Varneuil,  the 
Comte  de  Bauvan  caused,  indirectly,  the  Massacre  des  Bleus 
at  Vivetiere.  Later,  surprised  in  an  ambuscade  by  soldiers 
of  the  Republic,  he  was  made  prisoner  by  Mile,  de  Verneuil 
and  owed  his  life  to  her;  for  this  reason  he  became  entirely 
devoted  to  her,  assisting  as  a  witness  at  her  marriage  with 
Montauran.  [The  Chouans.] 

Bauvan  (Comtesse  de),  in  all  likelihood  the  wife  of  the 
foregoing,  whom  she  survived.  In  1822  she  was  manager 
of  a  Parisian  lottery  bureau  which  employed  Madame  Agatha 
Bridau,  about  the  same  time.  [A  Bachelor's  Establish- 
ment.] 

Bauvan  (Comte  and  Comtesse  de),  father  and  mother 
of  Octave  de  Bauvan.  Relics  of  the  old  Court,  living  in 
a  tumble-down  house  on  the  rue  Payenne  at  Paris,  where 
they  died,  about  1815,  within  a  few  months  of  each  other, 
and  before  the  conjugal  infelicity  of  their  son.  (See  Octave 
de  Bauvan.)  Probably  related  to  the  two  preceding.  [Hono- 
rine.] 

Bauvan  (Comte  Octave  de),  statesman  and  French  magis- 
trate. Born  in  1787.  When  twenty-six  he  married  Honorine, 
a  beautiful  young  heiress  who  had  been  reared  carefully 
at  the  home  of  his  parents,  M.  and  Mme.  de  Bauvan,  whose 
ward  she  was.  Two  or  three  years  afterwards  she  left  the 
conjugal  roof,  to  the  infinite  despair  of  the  comte,  who  gave 


KEPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  23' 

himself  over  entirely  to  winning  her  back  again.  A.t  the 
end  of  several  years  he  succeeded  in  getting  her  to  return 
to  him  through  pity,  but  she  died  soon  after  this  reconciliation, 
leaving  one  son  born  of  their  reunion.  The  Comte  de  Bauvan, 
completely  broken,  set  out  for  Italy  about  1836.  He  had 
two  residences  at  Paris,  one  on  rue  Payenne,  an  heirloom, 
the  other  on  Faubourg  Saint-Honor^,  which  was  the  scene 
of  the  domestic  reunion.  [Honorine.]  In  1830,  the  Comte 
de  Bauvan,  then  president  of  the  Court  of  Cassation,  with 
MM.  de  Granville  and  de  Se"rizy,  tried  to  save  Lucien  de 
Rubempre*  from  a  criminal  judgment,  and,  after  the  suicide 
of  that  unhappy  man,  he  followed  his  remains  to  the  grave. 
[Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Bauvan  (Comtesse  Honorine  de),  wife  of  the  preceding. 
Born  in  1794.  Married  at  nineteen  to  the  Comte  Octave 
de  Bauvan.  After  having  abandoned  her  husband,  she  was 
in  turn,  while  expecting  a  child,  abandoned  by  her  lover,  some 
eighteen  months  later.  She  then  lived  a  very  retired  life 
in  the  rue  Saint-Maur,  yet  all  the  time  being  under  the 
secret  surveillance  of  the  Comte  de  Bauvan  who  paid  exorbi- 
tant prices  for  the  artificial  flowers  which  she  made.  She 
thus  derived  from  him  a  rather  large  part  of  the  sustenance 
which  she  believed  she  owed  only  to  her  own  efforts.  She 
died,  reunited  to  her  husband,  shortly  after  the  Revolution 
of  July,  1830.  Honorine  de  Bauvan  lost  her  child  born  out 
of  wedlock,  and  she  always  mourned  it.  During  her  years 
of  toilsome  exile  in  the  Parisian  faubourg,  she  came  in  contact 
successively  with  Marie  Gobain,  Jean-Jules  Popinot,  Fe"lix 
Gaudissart,  Maurice  de  PHostal  and  Abbe"  Loraux.  [Hono- 
rine.] 

Beaudenord  (Madame  de),  wife  of  the  preceding.  Born 
Isaure  d'Aldrigger,  in  1807,  at  Strasbourg.  An  indolent 
blonde,  fond  of  dancing,  but  a  nonentity  from  both  the  moral 
and  the  intellectual  standpoints.  [The  Firm  of  Nucingen.] 

Beaumesnil  (Mademoiselle),  a  celebrated  actress  of  the 
Th&itre-Frangais,  Paris.  Mature  at  the  time  of  the  Restora- 


24  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

tion.  She  was  the  mistress  of  the  police-officer  Peyrade, 
by  whom  she  had  a  daughter,  Lydie,  whom  he  acknowledged. 
The  last  home  of  Mile.  Beaumesnil  was  on  rue  de  Tournon. 
It  was  there  that  she  suffered  the  loss  by  theft  of  her  valuable 
diamonds,  through  Charles  Crochard,  her  real  lover.  This 
was  at  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Louis  Philippe.  [The 
Middle  Classes.  Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.  A  Second 
Home.] 

Beaupied,  or  Beau-Pied,  an  alias  of  Jean  Falcon.  (See 
that  name.) 

Beaupr€  (Fanny),  an  actress  at  the  Theatre  de  la  Porte- 
Saint-Martin,  Paris,  time  of  Charles  X.  Young  and  beautiful, 
in  1825,  she  made  a  name  for  herself  in  the  role  of  marquise 
in  a  melodrama  entitled  "La  Famille  d'Anglade. "  At 
this  time  she  had  replaced  Coralie,  then  dead,  in  the  affections 
of  Camusot  the  silk-merchant.  It  was  at  Fanny  Beaupr6's 
that  Oscar  Husson,  one  of  the  clerks  of  lawyer  Desroches, 
lost  in  gaming  the  sum  of  five  hundred  francs  belonging 
to  his  employer,  and  that  he  was  discovered  lying  dead- 
drunk  on  a  sofa  by  his  uncle  Cardot.  [A  Start  in  Life.] 
In  1829  Fanny  Beaupre",  for  a  money  consideration,  posed 
as  the  best  friend  of  the  Due  d'Herouville.  [Modeste  Mignon.] 
In  1842,  after  his  liaison  with  Mme.  de  la  Baudraye,  Lousteau 
lived  maritally  with  her.  [The  Muse  of  the  Department.] 
A  frequent  inmate  of  the  mansion  magnificently  fitted 
up  for  Esther  Gobseck  by  the  Baron  de  Nucingen,  she  knew 
all  the  fast  set  of  the  years  1829  and  1830.  [Scenes  from 
a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Beaus6ant  (Marquis  and  Comte  de),  the  father  and  eldest 
brother  of  the  Vicomte  de  Beause"ant,  husband  of  Claire 
de  Bourgogne.  [The  Deserted  Woman.]  In  1819,  the 
marquis  and  the  comte  dwelt  together  in  their  house,  rue 
Saint-Dominique,  Paris.  [Father  Goriot.]  While  the  Revo- 
lution was  on,  the  marquis  had  emigrated.  The  Abbe" 
de  Marolles  had  dealings  with  him.  [An  Episode  under 
the  Terror,  ij 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  25 

Beaus6ant  (Marquise  de).  In  1824  a  Marquise  de  Beau- 
se'ant, then  rather  old,  is  found  to  have  dealings  with  the 
Chaulieus.  It  was  .probably  the  widow  of  the  marquis 
of  this  name,  and  the  mother  of  the  Comte  and  Vicomte 
de  Beauseant.  [Letters  of  Two  Brides.]  The  Marquise 
de  Beauseant  was  a  native  of  Champagne,  coming  of  a  very 
old  family.  [The  Deserted  Woman.] 

Beause'ant  (Vicomte  de),  husband  of  Claire  de  Bourgogne. 
He  understood  the  relations  of  his  wife  with  Miguel  d'Ajuda- 
Pinto,  and,  whether  he  liked  it  or  not,  he  respected  this 
species  of  morganatic  alliance  recognized  by  society.  The 
Vicomte  de  Beause'ant  had  his  residence  in  Paris  on  the 
rue  de  Crenelle  in  1819.  At  that  time  he  kept  a  dancer 
and  liked  nothing  better  than  high  living.  He  became  a 
marquis  on  the  death  of  his  father  and  eldest  brother.  He 
was  a  polished  man,  courtly,  methodical,  and  ceremonious. 
He  insisted  upon  living  selfishly.  His  death  would  have 
allowed  Mme.  de  Beauseant  to  wed  Gaston  de  Nueil.  [Father 
Goriot.  The  Deserted  Woman.] 

Beause'ant  (Vicomtesse  de),  born  Claire  de  Bourgogne, 
in  1792.  Wife  of  the  preceding  and  cousin  of  Eug&ne  de  Ras- 
tignac.  Of  a  family  almost  royal.  Deceived  by  her  lover, 
Miguel  d'Ajuda-Pinto,  who,  while  continuing  his  intimacy 
with  her,  asked  and  obtained  the  hand  of  Berthe  de  Roche- 
fide,  the  vicomtesse  left  Paris  secretly  before  this  wedding 
and  on  ,the  morning  following  a  grand  ball  was  given  at  her 
home  where  she  shone  in  all  her  pride  and  splendor.  In 
1822  this  "deserted  woman"  had  lived  for  three  years  in 
the  most  rigid  seclusion  at  Courcelles  near  Bayeux.  Gaston 
de  Nueil,  a  young  man  of  three  and  twenty,  who  had  been 
sent  to  Normandy  for  his  health,  succeeded  in  making  her 
acquaintance,  was  immediately  smitten  with  her  and, 
after  a  long  siege,  became  her  lover.  This  was  at  Geneva, 
whither  she  had  fled.  Their  intimacy  lasted  for  nine  years, 
being  broken  by  the  marriage  of  the  young  man.  In  181 9 
the  Vicomtesse  de  Beause'ant  received  at  Paris  the  most 
famous  "high-rollers"  of  the  day — Malincour,  Ronquerolles, 


26  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Maxime  de  Trailles,  Marsay,  Vandenesse,  together  with 
an  intermingling  of  the  most  elegant  dames,  as  Lady  Brandon, 
the  Duchesse  de  Langeais,  the  Comtesse  de  Kergarouet, 
Mme.  de  Se"rizy,  the  Duchesse  Carigliano,  the  Comtesse 
Ferraud,  Mme.  de  Lantry,  the  Marquise  d'Aiglemont,  Mme. 
Firmiani,  the  Marquise  de  Listomere,  the  Marquise  d'Espard 
and  'the  Duchesse  de  Maufrigneuse.  She  was  equally 
intimate  with  Grandlieu,  and  the  General  de  Montriveau. 
Rastignac,  then  poor  at  the  time  of  his  start  in  the  world, 
also  received  cards  to  her  receptions.  [Father  Goriot. 
The  Deserted  Woman.  Albert  Savarus.] 

Beaussier,  a  bourgeois  of  Issoudun  under  the  Restoration. 
Upon  seeing  Joseph  Bridau  in  the  diligence,  while  the  artist 
and  his  mother  were  on  a  journey  in  1822,  he  remarked 
that  he  would  not  care  to  meet  him  at  night  in  the  corner 
of  a  forest — he  looked  so  much  like  a  highwayman.  That 
same  evening  Beaussier,  accompanied  by  his  wife,  came 
to  call  at  Hochon's  in  order  to  get  a  nearer  view  of  the 
painter.  [A  Bachelor's  Establishment.] 

Beaussier  the  younger,  known  as  Beaussier  the  Great; 
son  of  the  preceding  and  one  of  the  Knights  of  Idlesse 
at  Issoudun,  commanded  by  Maxence  Gilet,  under  the  Restor- 
ation. [A  Bachelor's  Establishment.] 

Beauvisage,  physician  of  the  Convent  des  Carmelites 
at  Blois,  time  of  Louis  XVIII.  He  was  known  by  Louise 
de  Chaulieu  and  by  Rene"e  de  Maucombe,  who  were  reared 
in  the  convent.  According  to  Louise  de  Chaulieu,  he  cer- 
tainly belied  his  name.  [Letters  of  Two  Brides.] 

Beauvisage,  at  one  time  tenant  of  the  splendid  farm  of 
Bellache,  pertaining  to  the  Gondreville  estate  at  Arcis- 
sur-Aube.  The  father  of  Phile'as  Beauvisage.  Died  about 
the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century.  [The  Gondreville 
Mystery.  The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Beauvisage  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding.  She  sur- 
vived him  for  quite  a  long  period  and  helped  her  son  Phile'as 
win  his  success.  [The  Member  for  Arcis. 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  27 

Beauvisage  (Phile'as),  son  of  Beauvisage  the  farmer.  Born 
in  1792.  A  hosier  at  Arcis-sur-Aube  during  the  Restoration. 
Mayor  of  the  town  in  1839.  After  a  preliminary  defeat 
he  was  elected  deputy  at  the  time  when  Sallenauve  sent 
in  his  resignation,  in  1841.  An  ardent  admirer  of  Crevel 
whose  affectations  he  aped.  A  millionaire  and  very  vain, 
he  would  have  been  able,  according  to  Crevel,  to  advance 
Mme.  Hulot,  for  a  consideration,  the  two  hundred  thousand 
francs  of  which  that  unhappy  lady  stood  in  so  dire  a  need 
about  1842.  [Cousin  Betty.  The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Beauvisage  (Madame),  born  Severine  Grevin  in  1795. 
Wife  of  Phileas  Beauvisage,  whom  she  kept  in  complete 
subjugation.  Daughter  of  Gre*vin  the  notary  of  Arcis-sur- 
Aube,  Senator  Malin  de  Gondreville's  intimate  friend.  She 
inherited  her  father's  marvelous  faculty  of  discretion;  and, 
though  diminutive  in  stature,  reminded  one  forcibly,  in 
her  face  and  ways,  of  Mile.  Mars.  [The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Beauvisage  (Cecile-Renee),  only  daughter  of  Phile'as 
Beauvisage  and  SeVerine  GreVin.  Born  in  1820.  Her 
natural  father  was  the  Vicomte  Melchior  de  Chargeboeuf 
who  was  sub-prefect  of  Arcis-sur-Aube  at  the  commencement 
of  the  Restoration.  She  looked  exactly  like  him,  besides 
having  his  aristocratic  airs.  [The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Beauvoir  (Charles-Fe"lix-Theodore,  Chevalier  de),  cousin 
of  the  Duchesse  de  MaiHe".  A  Chouan  prisoner  of  the  Republic 
in  the  chateau  de  1'Escarpe  in  1799.  The  hero  of  a  tale 
of  marital  revenge  related  by  Lousteau,  in  1836,  to  Mme. 
de  la  Baudraye,  the  story  being  obtained — so  the  narrator 
said — from  Charles  Nodier.  [The  Muse  of  the  Depart- 
ment.] 

Be"canifere  (La),  surname  of  Barbette  Cibot.  (See  that 
name.) 

Becker  (Edme),  a  student  of  medicine  who  dwelt  in  1828 
at  number  22,  rue  de  la  Montagne-Sainte-Genevie"ve — the 
residence  of  the  Marquis  d'Espard.  [The  Commission  in 
Lunacy.] 


28  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Bedeau,  office  boy  and  roustabout  for  Maitre  Bordin, 
attorney  to  the'Chatelet  in  1787.  [A  Start  in  Life.] 

Be"ga,  surgeon  in  a  French  regiment  of  the  Army  of  Spain 
in  1808.  After  having  privately  accouched  a  Spaniard 
under  the  espionage  of  her  lover,  he  was  assassinated  by 
her  husband,  who  surprised  him  in  the  telling  of  this  clandes- 
tine operation.  The  foregoing  adventure  was  told  Mme. 
de  la  Baudraye,  in  1836,  by  the  Receiver  of  Finances,  Gravier, 
former  paymaster  of  the  Army.  [The  Muse  of  the  Depart- 
ment.] 

Be"grand  (La),  a  dancer  at  the  theatre  of  Porte-Saint- 
Martin,  Paris,  in  1820.1  Mariette,  who  made  her  de"but 
at  this  time,  also  scored  a  success.  [A  Bachelor's  Establish- 
ment.] 

Belief euille  (Mademoiselle  de),  assumed  name  of  Caroline 
Cro  chard. 

Bellejambe,  servant  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Husson  in  1837. 
[A  Start  in  Life.] 

Belor  (Mademoiselle  de),  young  girl  of  Bordeaux  living 
there  about  1822.  She  was  always  in  search  of  a  husband, 
whom,  for  some  cause  or  other,  she  never  found.  Probably 
intimate  with  Evangelista.  [A  Marriage  Settlement.] 

Bemboni  (Monsignor),  attache  to  the  Secretary  of 
State  at  Rome,  who  was  entrusted  with  the  transmission 
to  the  Due  de  Soria  at  Madrid  of  the  letters  of  Baron  de  Ma- 
cumer  his  brother,  a  Spanish  refugee  at  Paris  in  1823,  1824. 
[Letters  of  Two  Brides.] 

Benard  (Pieri).  After  corresponding  with  a  German  for 
two  years,  he  discovered  an  engraving  by  Muller  entitled 
the  "  Virgin  of  Dresden. "  It  was  on  Chinese  paper  and 
made  before  printing  was  discovered.  It  cost  C6sar  Bi- 
rotteau  fifteen  hundred  francs.  The  perfumer  destined 
this  engraving  for  the  savant  Vauquelin,  to  whom  he  was 
under  obligations.  [Cesar  Birotteau.] 

i  She  shone  for  more  than  sixty  years  as  a  famous  chorographical  artist  in  the 
boulevards. 


KEPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  29 

Benassis  (Doctor),  born  about  1779  in  a  little  town  of 
Languedoc.  He  received  his  early  training  at  the  College 
of  Soreze,  Tarn,  which  was  managed  by  the  Oratorians. 
After  that  he  pursued  his  medical  studies  at  Paris,  residing 
in  the  Latin  quarter.  When  twenty-two  he  lost  his  father, 
who  left  him  a  large  fortune;  and  he  deserted  a  young  girl 
by  whom  he  had  had  a  son,  in  order  to  give  himself  over  to 
the  most  foolish  dissipations.  This  young  girl,  who  was  thor- 
oughly well  meant  and  devoted  to  him,  died  two  years  after 
the  desertion  despite  the  most  tender  care  of  her  now  contrite 
lover.  Later  Benassis  sought  marriage  with  another  young 
girl  belonging  to  a  Jansenist  family.  At  first  the  affair 
was  settled,  but  he  was  thrown  over  when  the  secret  of 
his  past  life,  hitherto  concealed,  was  made  known.  He  then 
devoted  his  whole  life  to  his  son,  but  the  child  died  in  his 
youth.  After  wavering  between  suicide  and  the  monastery 
of  Grande-Chartreuse,  Doctor  Benassis  stopped  by  chance 
in  the  poor  village  of  1'Isere,  five  leagues  from  Grenoble. 
He  remained  there  until  he  had  transformed  the  squalid 
settlement,  inhabited  by  good-for-nothing  Cretins,  into  the 
chief  place  of  the  Canton,  bustling  and  prosperous.  Benassis 
died  in  1829,  mayor  of  the,  town.  All  the  populace  mourned 
the  benefactor  and  man  of  genius.  [The  Country  Doctor.] 

Benedetto,  an  Italian  living  at  Rome  in  the  first  third 
of  the  nineteenth  century.  A  tolerable  musician,  and  a 
police  spy,  "  on  the  side. "  Ugly,  small  and  a  drunkard, 
he  was  nevertheless  the  lucky  husband  of  Luigia,  whose 
marvelous  beauty  was  his  continual  boast.  After  an  evening 
spent  by  him  over  the  wine-cups,  his  wife  in  loathing  lighted 
a  brasier  of  charcoal,  after  carefully  closing  all  the  exits 
of  the  bedchamber.  The  neighbors  rushing  in  succeeded 
in  saving  her  alone;  Benedetto  was  dead.  [The  Member 
for  Arcis.] 

Be"r€nice,  chambermaid  and  cousin  of  Coralie  the  actress 
of  the  Panorama  and  Gymnase  Dramatique.  A  large  Nor- 
man woman,  as  ugly  as  her  mistress  was  pretty,  but  tender 
and  sympathetic  in  direct  proportion  to  her  corpulence. 


30  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

She  had  been  Coralie's  childhood  playmate  and  was  absolutely 
bound  up  in  her.  In  October,  1822,  she  gave  Lucien  de  Ru- 
bempre",  then  entirely  penniless,  four  five-franc  pieces  which 
she  undoubtedly  owed  to  the  generosity  of  chance  lovers 
met  on  the  boulevard  Bonne-Nouvelle.  This  sum  enabled 
the  unfortunate  poet  to  return  to  Angouleme.  [Lost  Il- 
lusions. A  Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.] 

Bergerin  was  the  best  doctor  at  Saumur  during  the  Res- 
toration. He  attended  Felix  Grandet  in  his  last  illness. 
[Eugenie  Grandet.] 

Bergmann  (Monsieur  and  Madame),  Swiss.  Venerable 
gardeners  of  a  certain  Comte  Borromeo,  tending  his  parks 
located  on  the  two  famous  isles  in  Lake  Major.  In  1823 
they  owned  a  house  at  Gersau,  near  Quatre-Canton  Lake, 
in  the  Canton  of  Lucerne.  For  a  year  back  they  had  let 
one  floor  of  this  house  to  the  Prince  and  Princess  Gandol- 
phini, — personages  of  a  novel  entitled,  "L'Ambitieux  par 
Amour, "  published  by  Albert  Savarus  in  the  Revue  de  1'Est, 
in  1834.  [Albert  Savarus.] 

Bernard.     (See  Baron  de  Bourlac.) 

Bernus,  diligence  messenger  .carrying  the  passengers, 
freight  and,  perhaps,  the  letters  of  Saint-Nazaire  to  Gue"rande, 
during  the  times  of  Charles  X.  and  Louis  Philippe.  [Beatrix.] 

Berquet,  workman  of  Besangon  who  erected  an  elevated 
kiosk  in  the  garden  of  the  Wattevilles,  whence  their  daughter 
Rosalie  could  see  every  act  and  movement  of  Albert  Savarus, 
a  near  neighbor.  [Albert  Savarus.] 

Berthier  (Alexandre),  marshal  of  the  Empire,  born  at 
Versailles  in  1753,  dying  in  1815.  He  wrote,  as  Minister 
of  War  at  the  close  of  1799,  to  Hulot,  then  in  command 
of  the  Seventy-second  demi-brigade,  refusing  to  accept  his 
resignation  and  giving  him  further  orders.  [The  Chouans.] 
On  the  evening  of  the  battle  of  J6na,  October  13,  1806,  he 
accompanied  the  Emperor  and  was  present  at  the  latter's 
interview  with  the  Marquis  de  Chargeboeuf  and  Laurence 
de  Cinq-Cygne,  special  envoys  to  France  to  implore  pardon 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  31 

for  the  Simeuses,  the  Hauteserres,  and  Michu  who  had  been 
condemned  as  abductors  of  Senator  Malin  de  Gondreville. 
[The  Gondreville  Mystery.] 

Berthier,  Parisian  notary,  successor  of  Cardot,  whose 
assistant  head-clerk  he  had  been  and  whose  daughter  Felicite 
(or  Felicie)  he  married.  In  1843  he  was  Mme.  Marneffe's 
notary.  At  the  same  time  he  had  in  hand  the  affairs  of 
Camusot  de  Marville;  and  Sylvain  Pons  often  dined  with 
him.  Master  Berthier  drew  up  the  marriage  settlement 
of  Wilhelm  Schwab  with  Emilie  Graff,  and  the  copartnership 
articles  between  Fritz  Brunner  and  Wilhelm  Schwab. 
[Cousin  Betty.  Cousin  Pons.] 

Berthier  (Madame),  nee  Felicie  Cardot,  wife  of  the  pre- 
ceding. She  had  been  wronged  by  the  chief-clerk  in  her 
father's  office.  This  young  man  died  suddenly,  leaving  her 
enceinte.  She  then  espoused  the  second  clerk,  Berthier, 
in  1837,  after  having  been  on  the  point  of  accepting  Lousteau. 
Berthier  was  cognizant  of  all  the  head-clerk's  doings.  In  this 
affair  both  acted  for  a  common  interest.  The  marriage  was 
measurably  happy.  Madame  Berthier  was  so  grateful  to  her 
husband  that  she  made  herself  his  slave.  About  the  end  of 
1844  she  welcomed  very  coldly  Sylvain  Pons,  then  in  disgrace 
in  the  family  circle.  [The  Muse  of  the  Department.  Cousin 
Pons.] 

Berton,  tax-collector  at  Arcis-sur-Aube  in  1839.  [The 
Member  for  Arcis.] 

Berton  (Mademoiselle),  daughter  of  the  tax-collector 
of  Arcis-sur-Aube.  A  young,  insignificant  girl  who  acted 
the  satellite  to  C6cile  Beauvisage  and  Ernestine  Mollot. 
[The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Berton  (Doctor),  physician  of  Paris.  In  1836  he  lived 
on  rue  d'Enfer  (now  rue  Denfert-Rochereau).  An  assistant 
in  the  benevolent  work  of  Mme.  de  la  Chanterie,  he  visited 
the  needy  sick  whom  she  pointed  out.  Among  others  he 
attended  Vanda  de  Mergi,  daughter  of  the  Baron  de  Bourlac — 
M.  Bernard.  Doctor  Berton  was  gruff  and  frigid.  [The 
Seamy  Side  of  History.] 


32 

B6thune  (Prince  de),  the  only  man  of  fashion  who  knew 
"what  a  hat  was" — to  quote  a  saying  of  Vital  the  hatter, 
in  1845.  [The  Unconscious  Humorists.] 

Beunier  &  Co.,  the  firm  Bixiou  inquired  after  in  1845, 
near  Mme.  Nourrisson's.  [The  Unconscious  Humorists.] 

Bianchi.  Italian.  During  the  first  Empire  a  captain  in 
the  sixth  regiment  of  the  French  line,  which  was  made  up 
almost  entirely  of  men  of  his  nationality.  Celebrated  in 
his  company  for  having  bet  that  he  would  eat  the  heart 
of  a  Spanish  sentinel,  and  winning  the  bet.  Captain  Bianchi 
was  first  to  plant  the  French  colors  on  the  wall  of  Tarragone, 
Spain,  in  the  attack  of  1808.  But  a  friar  killed  him.  [The 
Maranas.] 

Bianchon  (Doctor),  a  physician  of  Sancerre,  father  of 
Horace  Bianchon,  brother  of  Mme.  Popinot,  the  wife  of 
Judge  Popinot.  [The  Commission  in  Lunacy.] 

Bianchon  (Horace),  a  physician  of  Paris,  celebrated 
during  the  times  of  Charles  X.  and  Louis  Philippe;  an  officer 
of  the  Legion  of  Honor,  member  of  the  Institute,  professor 
of  the  Medical  Faculty,  physician-in-charge,  at  the  same 
time,  of  a  hospital  and  the  Ecole  Poly  technique.  Born  at 
Sancerre,  Cher,  about  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
He  was  "  interne  "  at  the  Cochin  Hospital  in  1819,  at  whicn 
time  he  boarded  at  the  Vauquer  Pension  where  he  knew  Eugene 
de  Rastignac,  then  studying  law,  and  Goriot  and  Vautrin. 
[Father  Goriot.]  Shortly  thereafter,  at  Hotel  Dieu,  he 
became  the  favored  pupil  of  the  surgeon  Desplein,  whose 
last  days  he  tended.  [The  Atheist's  Mass.]  Nephew  of 
Judge  Jean-Jules  Popinot  and  relative  of  Anselme  Popinot, 
he  had  dealings  with  the  perfumer  Ce"sar  Birotteau,  who 
acknowledged  indebtedness  to  him  for  a  prescription  of 
his  famous  hazelnut  oil,  and  who  invited  him  to  the  grand 
ball  which  precipitated  Birotteau's  bankruptcy.  [Cesar 
Birotteau.  The  Commission  in  Lunacy.]  Member  of  the 
"Ce*nacle"  in  rue  des  Quatre- Vents,  and  on  intimate  terms 
with  all  the  young  fellows  composing  this  clique,  he  was 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  33 

consequently  enabled,  to  an  extent,  to  bring  Daniel  d'Arthez 
to  the  notice  of  Rastignac,  now  Under-Secretary  of  State. 
He  nursed  Lucien  de  Rubempre  who  was  wounded  in  a 
duel  with  Michel  Chrestien  in  1822;  also  Coralie,  Lucien's 
mistress,  and  Mme.  Bridau  in  their  last  illnesses.  [Lost 
Illusions.  A  Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.  A  Bach- 
elor's Establishment.  The  Secrets  of  a  Princess.]  In  1824 
the  young  Doctor  Bianchon  accompanied  Desplein,  who 
was  called  in  to  attend  to  the  dying  Flamet  de  la  Billardiere. 
[The  Government  Clerks.]  In  Provins  in  1828,  with  the 
same  Desplein  and  Dr.  Martener,  he  gave  the  most  assiduous 
attention  to  Pierrette  Lorrain.  [Pierrette.]  In  this  same 
year  of  1828  he  had  a  momentary  desire  to  become  one  of  an 
expedition  to  Morea.  He  was  then  physician  to  Mme.  de 
Listomere,  whose  misunderstanding  with  R,astignac  he  learned 
and  afterwards  related.  [A  Study  of  Woman.]  Again  in 
company  with  Desplein,  in  1829,  he  was  called  in  by  Mme.  de 
Nucingen  with  the  object  of  studying  the  case  of  Baron  de 
Nucingen,  her  husband,  love-sick  for  Esther  Gobseck.  In  1830, 
still  with  his  celebrated  chief,  he  was  cited  by  Corentin  to 
express  opinion  on  the  death  of  Peyrade  and  the  lunacy  of 
Lydie  his  daughter.  Then,  with  Desplein  and  with  Dr.  Sinard, 
to  attend  Mme.  de  Serizy,  who  it  was  feared  would  go  crazy  over 
the  suicide  of  Lucien  de  Rubempre.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's 
Life.]  Associated  with  Desplein,  at  this  same  time,  he  cared 
for  the  dying  Honorine,  wife  of  Comte  de  Bauvan  [Honorine], 
and  examined  the  daughter  of  Baron  de  Bourlac — M.  Bernard 
— who  was  suffering  from  a  peculiar  Polish  malady,  the 
plica.  [The  Seamy  Side  of  History.]  In  1831  Horace 
Bianchon  was  the  friend  and  physician  of  Raphael  de  Valentin. 
[The  Magic  Skin.]  In  touch  with  the  Comte  de  Granville 
in  1833,  he  attended  the  latter's  mistress,  Caroline  Crochard. 
[A  Second  Home.]  He  also  attended  Mme.  du  Bruel,  then 
mistress  of  La  Palferine,  who  had  injured  herself  by  falling 
and  striking  her  head  against  the  sharp  corner  of  a  fire- 
place. [A  Prince  of  Bohemia.]  In  1835  he  attended  Mme. 
Marie  Gaston — Louise  de  Chaulieu — though  a  hopeless  case. 
[Letters  of  Two  Brides.]  In  1837  at  Paris  he  accouched 


34  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Mme.  de  la  Baudraye  who  had  been  intimate  with  Lousteau; 
he  was  assisted  by  the  celebrated  accoucheur  Duriau.  [The 
Muse  of  the  Department.]  In  1838  he  was  Comte  Lag- 
inski's  physician.  [The  Imaginary  Mistress.]  In  1840 
Horace  Bianchon  resided  on  rue  de  la  Montagne-Sainte- 
Genevieve,  in  the  house  where  his  uncle,  Judge  Popinot, 
died,  and  he  was  asked  to  become  one  of  the  Municipal 
Council,  in  place  of  that  upright  magistrate.  But  he  declined, 
declaring  in  favor  of  Thuillier.  [The  Middle  Classes.]  The 
physician  of  Baron  Hulot,  Crevel  and  Mme.  Marneffe,  he 
observed,  with  seven  of  his  colleagues,  the  terrible  malady 
which  carried  off  Valerie  and  her  second  husband  in  1842. 
In  1843  he  also  visited  Lis.beth  Fischer  in  her  last  illness. 
[Cousin  Betty.]  Finally,  in  1844,  Dr.  Bianchon  was  con- 
sulted by  Dr.  Roubaud  regarding  Mme.  Graslin  at  Montegnac. 
[The  Country  Parson.]  Horace  Bianchon  was  a  brilliant 
and  inspiring  conversationalist.  He  gave  to  society  the 
adventures  known  by  the  following  titles:  A  Study  of 
Woman;  Another  Study  of  Woman;  La  Grande  Brete"che. 

Bibi-Lupin,  chief  of  secret  police  between  1819  and  1830; 
a  former  convict.  In  1819  he  personally  arrested  at  Mme. 
Vauquer's  boarding-house  Jacques  Collin,  alias  Vautrin,  his 
old  galley-mate  and  personal  enemy.  Under  the  name  of 
Gondureau,  Bibi-Lupin  had  made  •  overtures  to  Mile. 
Michonneau,  one  of  Mme.  Vauquer's  guests,  and  through 
her  he  had  obtained  the  necessary  proofs  of  the  real  identity 
of  Vautrin  who  was  then  without  the  pale  of  the  law,  but 
who  later,  May,  1830,  became  his  successor  as  chief  of  secret 
police.  [Father  Goriot.  Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Bidault  (Monsieur  and  Madame),  brother  and  sister-in- 
law  of  Bidault,  alias  Gigonnet;  father  and  mother  of  M. 
and  Mme.  Saillard,  furniture-dealers  under  the  Central 
Market  pillars  during  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  and 
perhaps  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  centuries.  [The 
Government  Clerks.] 

Bidault,  known  as  Gigonnet,  born  in  1755;  originally  an 
Auvergnat;  uncle  of  Mme.  Saillard  on  the  paternal  side. 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  35 

A  paper-merchant  at  one  time,  retired  from  business  since 
the  year  II  of  the  Republic,  he  opened  an  account  with 
a  Dutchman  called  Sieur  Werbrust,  who  was  a  friend  of 
Gobseck.  In  business  relations  with  the  latter,  he  was  one 
of  the  most  formidable  usurers  in  Paris,  during  the  Empire, 
the  Restoration  and  the  first  part  of  the  July  Government. 
He  dwelt  in  rue  Greneta.  [The  Government  Clerks.  Gob- 
seek.]  Luigi  Porta,  a  ranking  officer  retired  under  Louis 
XVIII. ,  sold  all  his  back  pay  to  Gigonnet.  [The  Vendetta.] 
Bidault  was  one  of  the  syndicate  that  engineered  the  bank- 
ruptcy of  Birotteau  in  1819.  At  this  time  he  persecuted  Mme. 
Madou,  a  market  dealer  in  filberts,  who  was  his  debtor. 
[Cesar  Birotteau.]  In  1824  he  succeeded  in  making  his 
grand-nephew,  Isidore  Baudoyer,  chief  of  division  under 
the  Minister  of  Finance;  in  this  he  was  aided  by  Gobseck 
and  Mitral,  and  worked  on  the  General  Secretary,  Chardin 
des  Lupeaulx,  through  the  medium  of  the  latter's  debts 
and  the  fact  of  his  being  candidate  for  deputy.  [The  Govern- 
ment Clerks.]  Bidault  was  shrewd  enough;  he  saw  through 
— and  much  to  his  profit — the  pretended  speculation  involved 
in  the  third  receivership  which  was  operated  by  Nucingen 
in  1826.  [The  Firm  of  Nucingen.]  In  1833  M.  du  Tillet 
advised  Nathan,  then  financially  stranded,  to  apply  to 
Gigonnet,  the  object  being  to  involve  Nathan.  [A  Daughter 
of  Eve.]  The  nick-name  of  Gigonnet  was  applied  to  Bidault 
on  account  of  a  feverish,  involuntary  contraction  of  a  leg 
muscle.  [The  Government  Clerks.] 

Biddin,  goldsmith,  rue  de  1'Arbe-Sec,  Paris,  in  1829;  one 
of  Esther  Gobseck's  creditors.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's 
Life.] 

Biffe  (La),  concubine  of  the  criminal  Riganson,  alias 
Le  Biffon.  This  woman,  who  was  a  sort  of  Jacques  Collin 
in  petticoats,  evaded  the  police,  thanks  to  her  disguises. 
She  could  ape  the  marquise,  the  baronne  and  the  comtesse 
to  perfection.  She  had  her  own  carriage  and  footmen. 
[Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Biffon    (Le),    an    alias    of    Riganson. 


36  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Bigorneau,  sentimental  clerk  of  Fritot's,  the  shawl  mer- 
chant in  the  Bourse  quarter,  Paris,  time  of  Louis  Philippe. 
(Gaudissart  II.] 

Bijou   (Olympe).     (See  Grenouville,  Madame.) 

Binet,  inn-keeper  in  the  Department  of  1'Orne  in  1809. 
He  was  concerned  in  a  trial  which  created  some  stir,  and 
cast  a  shadow  over  Mme.  de  la  Chanterie,  striking  at  her 
daughter,  Mme.  des  Tours-Minieres.  Binet  harbored  some 
brigands  known  as  "chauffeurs."  He  was  brought  to  trial 
for  it  and  sentenced  to  five  years'  imprisonment.  [The 
Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Birotteau  (Jacques),  a  gardener  hard  by  Chinon.  He 
married  the  chambermaid  of  a  lady  on  whose  estate  he 
trimmed  vines.  Three  boys  were  born  to  them:  Frangois, 
Jean  and  Cesar.  He  lost  his  wife  on  the  birth  of  the  last 
child  (1779),  and  himself  died  shortly  after.  [Cesar  Birot- 
teau.] 

Birotteau  (Abbe  Frangois),  eldest  son  of  Jacques  Birotteau; 
born  in  1766;  vicar  of  the  church  of  Samt-Gatien  at  Tours, 
and  afterwards  cure  of  Saint-Symphorien  in  the  same  city. 
After  the  death  of  the  Abb6  de  la  Berge,  in  1817,  he  became 
confessor  of  Mme.  de  Mortsauf,  attending  her  last  moments. 
[The  Lily  of  the  Valley.]  His  brother  Cesar,  the  perfumer, 
wrote  him  after  his — Cesar's — business  failure  in  1819,  asking 
aid.  Abbe*  Birotteau,  in  a  touching  letter,  responded  with 
a  sum  of  one  thousand  francs  which  represented  all  his 
own  little  hoard  and,  in  addition,  a  loan  obtained  from  Mme. 
de  Listomere.  [Cesar  Birotteau.]  Accused  of  having  in- 
veigled Mme.  de  Listome're  to  leave  him  the  income  of  fifteen 
hundred  francs,  which  she  bequeathed  him  on  her  death, 
Abbe*  Birotteau  was  placed  under  interdiction,  in  1826, 
the  victim  of  the  terrible  hatred  of  the  Abb6  Troubert. 
[The  Vicar  of  Tours.] 

Birotteau  (Jean),  second  son  of  Jacques  Birotteau.  A 
captain  in  the  army,  killed  in  the  historic  battle  of  La  Trebia 
which  lasted  three  days,  June  17-19,  1799.  [Ce"sar  Birot- 
teau.] 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  37 

Birotteau  (Cesar),  third  son  of  Jacques  Birotteau,  born  in 
1779;  dealer  in  perfumes  in  Paris  at  number  397  rue  Saint- 
Honore,  near  the  Place  Vendome,  in  the  old  shop  once  occupied 
by  the  grocer  Descoings,  who  was  executed  with  Andre" 
Chenier  in  1794.  After  the  eighteenth  Brumaire,  Cesar 
Birotteau  succeeded  Sieur  Ragon,  and  moved  the  source 
of  the  "Queen  of  Roses"  to  the  above  address.  Among 
his  customers  were  the  Georges,  the  La  Billardi6res,  the 
Montaurans,  the  Bauvans,  the  Longuys,  the  Mandas,  the 
Berniers,  the  Guenics,  and  the  Fontaines.  These  relations 
with  the  militant  Royalists  implicated  him  in  the  plot  of 
the  13th  Vende*maire,  1795,  against  the  Convention; 
and  he  was  wounded,  as  he  told  over  and  over,  "  by  Bonaparte 
on  the  borders  of  Saint-Roch."  In  May,  1800,  Birotteau 
the  perfumer  married  Constance-Barbe-Jose'phine  Pillerault. 
By  her  he  had  an  only  daughter,  Ce"sarine,  who  married 
Anselme  Popinot  in  1822.  Successively  captain,  then  chief 
of  battalion  in  the  National  Guard  and  adjunct-mayor  of 
the  eleventh  arrondissement,  Birotteau  was  appointed 
Chevalier  of  the  Legion  of  Honor  in  1818,  To  celebrate 
his  nomination  in  the  Order,  he  gave  a  grand  ball l  which, 
on  account  of  the  very  radical  changes  necessitated  in  his 
apartments,  and  coupled  with  some  bad  speculations,  brought 
about  his  total  ruin;  he  filed  a  petition  in  bankruptcy  the 
year  following.  By  stubborn  effort  and  the  most  rigid 
economy,  Birotteau  was  able  to  indemnify  his  creditors 
completely,  three  years  later  (1822).  But  he  died  soon 
after  the  formal  court  reinstating.  He  numbered  among 
his  patrons  in  1818  the  following:  the  Due  and  Duchesse  de 
Lenoncourt,  the  Princesse  de  Blamont-Chauvry,  the  Marquise 
d'Espard,  the  two  Varidenesscs,  Marsay,  Ronquerolles,  and 
the  Marquis  d'Aiglemont.  [Cesar  Birotteau.  A  Bachelor's 
Establishment.]  Ce"sar  Birotteau  was  likewise  on  friendly 
terms  with  the  Guillaumes,  clothing  dealers  in  the  rue  Saint- 
Denis.  [At  the  Sign  of  the  Cat  and  Racket.] 

1  The  17th  of  December  was  really  Thursday  and  not  Sunday,  as  erroneously 
given. 


38  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Birotteau  (Madame),  born  Constance-Barbe- Josephine 
Pillerault  in  1782.  Married  Cesar  Birotteau  in  May,  1800. 
Previous  to  her  marriage  she  was  head  "saleslady"  at  the 
"  Little  Sailor m  novelty  shop,  corner  of  Quai  Anjou  and  rue 
des  Deux  Fonts,  Paris.  Her  surviving  relative  and  guardian 
was  her  uncle,  Claude- Joseph  Pillerault.  [Ce"sar  Birotteau.] 

Birotteau  (Cesarine).     (See  Popinot,  Madame  Anselme.) 

Bixiou,3  Parisian  grocer,  in  rue  Saint-Honore,  before 
the  Revolution  in  the  eighteenth  century.  He  had  a  clerk 
called  Descoings,  who  married  his  widow.  The  grocer 
Bixiou  was  the  grandfather  of  Jean-Jacques  Bixiou,  the 
celebrated  cartoonist.  [A  Bachelor's  Establishment.] 

Bixiou,  son  of  the  preceding  and  father  of  Jean-Jacques 
Bixiou.  He  was  a  colonel  of  the  Twenty-first  Regiment; 
killed  at  the  battle  of  Dresden,  on  the  26th  or  27th  of  August, 
1813.  [A  Bachelor's  Establishment.] 

Bixiou  (Jean- Jacques),  famous  artist;  son  of  Colonel 
Bixiou  who  was  killed  at  Dresden;  grandson  of  Mme.  Des- 
coings, whose  first  husband  was  the  grocer  Bixiou.  Born 
in  1797,  he  pursued  a  course  of  study  at  the  Lyceum,  to  which 
he  had  obtained  a  scholarship.  He  had  for  friends  Philippe 
and  Joseph  Bridau,  and  Master  Desroches.  Later  he  entered 
the  painter  Gros's  studio.  Then  in  1819,  through  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Dues  de  Maufrigneuse  and  de  Rhe'tore',  whom 
he  met  at  some  dancer's,  he  obtained  a  position  with  the 
Minister  of  Finance.  He  remained  with  this  administration 
until  December,  1824,  when  he  resigned.  In  this  same  year  he 
was  one  of  the  best  men  for  Philippe  Bridau,  who  married 
More  Brazier,  known  as  La  Rabouilleuse,  the  widow  of  J.-J. 
Rouget.  After  this  woman's  death,  in  1828,  he  was  led, 
disguised  as  a  priest,  to  the  residence  of  the  Soulanges, 
where  he  told  the  comte  about  the  scandal  connected  with 
her  death,  knowingly  caused  by  her  husband;  he  told,  also, 
about  the  bad  habits  and  vulgarities  of  Philippe  Bridau, 

'This  shop  still  exists  at  the  same  place,  No.  43  Quai  d' Anjou  and  40  rue  des 
Deux-Ponts,  being  run  by  M.  L.  Bellevaut. 
*  Pronounced  "  Bissiou." 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  39 

and  thus  caused  the  breaking  off  of  the  marriage  of  this 
weather-beaten  soldier  with  Mile.  Ame'lie  de  Soulanges. 
A  talented  cartoonist,  distinguished  practical  joker,  and 
recognized  as  one  of  the  kings  of  bon  mot,  he  led  a  free  and 
easy  life.  He  was  on  speaking  terms  with  all  the  artists 
and  all  the  lorettes  of  his  day.  Among  others  he  knew 
the  painter,  Hippolyte  Schinner.  He  turned  a  pretty  penny, 
during  the  trial  of  De  Fualdes  and  De  Castaing,  by  illustrating 
in  a  fantastic  way  the  account  of  this  trial.  [A  Bachelor's 
Establishment.  The  Government  Clerks.  The  Purse.]  He 
designed  some  vignettes  for  the  writing  of  Canalis.  [Modeste 
Mignon.]  With  Blondet,  Lousteau  and  Nathan  he  was 
a  habitue  of  the  house  of  Esther  Gobseck,  rue  Saint-Georges, 
in  1829,  1830.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.]  In  a 
private  room  of  a  well-known  restaurant,  in  1836,  he  wittily 
related  to  Finot,  Blondet  and  Couture  the  source  of  Nucingen's 
fortune.  [The  Firm  of  Nucingen.]  In  January,  1837,  his 
friend  Lousteau  had  him  come  especially  to  upbraid  him, 
Lousteau,  on  account  of  the  latter's  irregular  ways  with 
Mme.  de  la  Baudraye,  while  she,  concealed  in  an  ante-room, 
heard  it  all.  This  scene  had  been  arranged  beforehand; 
its  object  was  to  give  Lousteau  a  chance  to  declare,  apparently, 
his  unquenchable  attachment  for  his  mistress.  [The  Muse  of 
the  Department.]  In  1838  he  attended  the  house-warming 
of  He"loise  Brisetout  in  rue  Chauchat.  In  the  same  year 
he  was  attendant  at  the  marriage  of  Steinbock  with  Hortense 
Hulot,  and  of  Crevel  with  the  widow  Marneffe.  [Cousin 
Betty.]  In  1839  the  sculptor  Dorlangc-Sallenauve  knew 
of  Bixiou  and  complained  of  his  slanders.  [The  Member 
for  Arcis.]  Mme.  Schontz  treated  him  most  cordially  in 
1838,  and  he  had  to  pass  for  her  "special,"  although  their 
relations,  in  fact,  did  not  transcend  the  bounds  of  friendship. 
[Beatrix.]  In  1840,  at  the  home  of  Marguerite  Turquet, 
maintained  by  the  notary  Cardot,  when  Lousteau,  Nathan 
and  La  Palferine  were  also  present,  he  heard  a  story  by 
Desroches.  [A  Man  of  Business.]  About  1844,  Bixiou 
helped  in  a  high  comedy  relative  to  a  Selim  shawl  sold  by 
Fritot  to  Mistress  Noswell.  Bixiou  himself  had  purchased, 


40  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

in  a  shop  with  M.  du  Ronceret,  a  shawl  for  Mme.  Schontz. 
[Gaudissart  II.]  In  1845  Bixiou  showed  Paris  and  the 
"Unconscious  Humorists"  to  a  Pyrrenean  named  Gazonal, 
in  company  with  Leon  de  Lora,  a  cousin  of  the  countryman. 
At  this  time  Bixiou  dwelt  at  number  112  rue  Richelieu, 
sixth  floor;  when  he  had  a  regular  position  he  had  lived 
in  rue  de  Ponthieu.  [The  Unconscious  Humorists.]  In 
the  riie  Richelieu  period  he  was  the  lover  of  Heloise  Brisetout. 
[Cousin  Pons.] 

Blamont-Chauvry  (Princesse  de),  mother  of  Mme.  d'Espard; 
aunt  of  the  Duchesse  de  Langeais;  great  aunt  of  Mme. 
de  Mortsauf ;  a  veritable  d'Hozier  in  petticoats.  Her  drawing- 
room  set  the  fashion  in  Faubourg  Saint-Germain,  and  the 
sayings  of  this  feminine  Talleyrand  were  listened  to  as 
oracles.  Very  aged  at  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Louis 
XVIII. ,  she  was  one  of  the  most  poetic  relics  of  the  reign 
of  Louis  XV.,  the  "Well-Beloved;"  and  to  this  nick-name — 
as  the  records  had  it — she  had  contributed  her  full  share. 
[The  Thirteen.]  Mme.  Firmiani  was  received  by  the  princess 
on  account  of  the  Cadignans,  to  whom  she  was  related  on 
her  mother's  side.  [Madame  Firmiani.]  Felix  de  Vandenesse 
was  admitted  to  her  "At  Homes,"  on  the  recommendation 
of  Mme.  de  Mortsauf;  nevertheless  he  found  in  this  old  lady 
a  friend  whose  affection  had  a  quality  almost  maternal. 
The  princess  was  in  the  family  conclave  which  met  to  consider 
an  amorous  escapade  of  the  Duchesse  Antoinette  de  Langeais. 
[The  Lily  of  the  Valley.  The  Thirteen.] 

Blandureaus  (The),  wealthy  linen  merchants  at  Alengon, 
time  of  the  Restoration.  They  had  an  only  daughter,  to 
whom  the  President  du  Ronceret  wished  to  marry  his  son. 
She,  however,  married  Joseph  Blondet,  the  oldest  son  of 
Judge  Blondet.  This  marriage  caused  secret  hostility 
between  the  two  fathers,  one  being  the  other's  superior  in 
office.  [Jealousies  of  a  Country  Town.] 

Blondet,  judge  at  Alengon  in  1824;  born  in  1758;  father 
of  Joseph  and  Emile  Blondet.  At  the  time  of  the  Revolution 
he  was  public  prosecutor.  A  botanist  of  note,  he  had  a 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  41 

remarkable  conservatory  where  he  cultivated  geraniums 
only.  This  conservatory  was  visited  by  the  Empress  Marie- 
Louise,  who  spoke  of  it  to  the  Emperor  and  obtained  for 
the  judge  the  decoration  of  the  Legion  of  Honor.  Following 
the  Victurien  d'Esgrignon  episode,  about  1825,  Judge 
Blondet  was  made  an  officer  in  the  Order  and  chosen  council- 
lor at  the  Royal  Court.  Here  he  remained  in  office  no  longer 
than  absolutely  necessary,  retreating  to  his  dear  Alengon 
home.  He  married  in  1798,  at  the  age  of  forty,  a  young 
girl  of  eighteen,  who  in  consequence  of  this  disparity  was 
unfaithful  to  him.  He  knew  that  his  second  son,  Emile, 
was  not  his  own;  he  therefore  cared  only  for  the  elder  and 
sent  the  younger  elsewhere  as  soon  as  possible.  [Jealousies 
of  a  Country  Town.]  About  1838  Fabien  du  Ronceret 
obtained  credit  in  an  agricultural  convention  for  a  flower 
which  the  old  Blondet  had  given  him,  but  which  he  exhibited 
as  a  product  of  his  own  green-house.  [Beatrix.] 

Blondet  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding;  born  in  1780; 
married  in  1798.  She  was  intimate  with  a  prefect  of  Orne, 
who  was  the  natural  father  of  Emile  Blondet.  Distant 
ties  bound  her  to  the  Troisville  family,  and  it  was  to  them 
that  she  sent  Emile,  her  favored  son.  Before  her  death, 
in  1818,  she  commended  him  to  her  old-time  lover  and  also 
to  the  future  Madame  de  Montcornet,  with  whom  he  had 
been  reared.  [Jealousies  of  a  Country  Town.] 

Blondet  (Joseph),  elder  son  of  Judge  Blondet  of  Alengon; 
born  in  that  city  about  1799.  In  1824  he  practiced  law 
and  aspired  to  become  a  substitute  judge.  Meanwhile 
he  succeeded  his  father,  whose  post  he  filled  till  his  death. 
He  was  one  of  the  numerous  men  of  ordinary  talent.  [Jealous- 
ies of  a  Country  Town.] 

Blondet  (Madame  Joseph),  nee  Claire  Blandureau,  wife 
of  Joseph  Blondet,  whom  she  married  when  he  was  appointed 
judge  at  Alengon.  She  was  the  daughter  of  wealthy  linen, 
dealers  in  the  city.  [Jealousies  of  a  Country  Town.] 

Blondet  (Emile),  born  at  Alengon  about  1800;  legally 
the  younger  son  of  Judge  Blondet,  but  really  the  son  of  a 


42  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

prefect  of  Orne.  Tenderly  loved  by  his  mother,  but  hated 
by  Judge  Blondet,  who  sent  him,  in  1818,  to  study  law  in 
Paris.  Emile  Blondet  knew  the  noble  family  of  d'Esgrignon 
in  Alengon,  and  for  the  youngest  daughter  of  this  illustrious 
house  he  felt  an  esteem  that  was  really  admiration.  [Jeal- 
ousies of  a  Country  Towii.]  In  1821  Emile  Blondet  v;as 
a  remarkably  handsome  young  fellow.  He  made  his  first 
appearance  in  the  "D6bats"  by  a  series  of  masterly  articles 
which  called  forth  from  Lousteau  the  remark  that  he  was 
"  one  of  the  princes  of  criticism. "  [A  Distinguished  Provincial 
at  Paris.]  In  1824  he  contributed  to  a  review  edited  by 
Finot,  where  he  collaborated  with  Lucien  de  Rubcmpre 
and  where  he  was  allowed  full  swing  by  his  chief.  Emile 
Blondet  had  the  most  desultory  of  habits;  one  day  he  would 
be  a  boon  companion,  without  compunction,  with  those 
destined  for  slaughter  on  the  day  following.  He  was  always 
"broke"  financially.  In  1829,  1830,  Bixiou,  Lousteau, 
Nathan  and  he  were  frequenters  of  Esther's  house,  rue 
Saint-Georges.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.]  A  cynic 
was  Blondet,  with  little  regard  for  glory  undefiled.  He 
won  a  wager  that  he  could  upset  the  poet  Canalis,  though 
the  latter  was  full  of  assurance.  He  did  this  by  staring 
fixedly  at  the  poet's  curls,  his  boots,  or  his  coat-tails,  while 
he  recited  poetry  or  gesticulated  with  proper  emphasis,  fixed 
in  a  studied  pose.  [Modeste  Mignon.]  He  was  acquainted 
with  Mile,  des  Touches,  being  present  at  her  home  on  one 
occasion,  about  1830,  when  Henri  de  Marsay  told  the  story 
of  his  first  love  affair.  He  took  part  in  the  conversation 
and  depicted  the  "typical  woman"  to  Comte  Adam  Laginski. 
[Another  Study  of  Woman.]  In  1832  he  was  a  guest  at 
Mme.  d'Espard's,  where  he  met  his  childish  flame,  Mme. 
de  Montcornet,  also  the  Princesse  de  Cadignan,  Lady  Dudley, 
d'Arthez,  Nathan,  Rastignac,  the  Marquis  d'Ajuda-Pinto, 
Maxime  de  Trailles,  the  Marquis  d'Esgrignon,  the  two  Vanden- 
esses,  du  Tillet,  the  Baron  Nucingen  and  the  Chevalier  d'Es- 
pard,  brother-in-law  of  the  marquise.  [The  Secrets  of  a 
Princess.]  About  1833  Blondet  presented  Nathan  to  Mme. 
de  Montcornet,  at  whose  home  the  young  Countess  Felix 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  43 

de  Vandenesse  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  poet  and  was 
much  smitten  with  him  for  some  time.  [A  Daughter  of 
Eve.]  In  1836  he  and  Finot  and  Couture  chimed  in  on 
the  narrative  of  the  rise  of  Nucingen,  told  with  much  zest 
by  Bixiou  in  a  private  room  of  a  famous  restaurant.  [The 
Firm  of  Nucingen.]  Eight  or  ten  years  prior  to  February, 
1848,  Emile  Blondet,  on  the  brink  of  suicide,  witnessed 
an  entire  transition  in  his  affairs.  He  was  chosen  a  prefect, 
and  he  married  the  wealthy  widow  of  Comte  de  Montcornet, 
who  offered  him  her  hand  when  she  became  free.  They 
had  known  and  loved  each  other  since  childhood.  [The 
Peasantry.] 

Blondet  (V-irginie),  wife  by  second  marriage  of  Emile 
Blondet;  born  in  1797;  daughter  of  the  Vicomte  de  Troisville; 
granddaughter  of  the  Russian  Princesse  Scherbelloff .  She  was 
brought  up  at  Alengon,  with  her  future  husband.  In  1819 
she  married  the  General  de  Montcornet.  Twenty  years 
later,  a  widow,  she  married  the  friend  of  her  youth,  who 
this  long  time  had  been  her  lover.  [Jealousies  of  a  Country 
Town.  The  Secrets  of  a  Princess.  The  Peasantry.]  She 
and  Mme.  d'Espard  tried  to  convert  Lucien  de  Rubempre 
to  the  monarchical  side  in  1821.  [A  Distinguished  Pro- 
vincial at  Paris.]  She  was  present  at  Mile,  des  Touches',  about 
1830,  when  Marsay  told  about  his  first  love,  and  she  joined  in 
the  conversation.  [Another  Study  of  Woman.]  She  received 
a  rather  mixed  set,  from  an  aristocratic  standpoint,  but 
here  might  be  found  the  stars  of  finance,  art  and  literature. 
[The  Member  for  Arcis.]  Mme.  Fe"lix  de  Vandenesse  saw 
Nathan  the  poet  for  the  first  time  and  noticed  him  particularly 
at  Mine,  de  Montcornet's,  in  1834,  1835.  [A  Daughter  of 
Eve.]  Mme.  Emile  'Blondet,  then  Madame  la  Ge'ne'rale 
de  Montcornet,  passed  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1823 
in  Burgundy,  at  her  beautiful  estate  of  Aigues,  where  she 
lived  a  burdened  and  troubled  life  among  the  many  and 
varied  types  of  peasantry.  Remarried,  and  now  the  wife 
of  a  prefect,  eight  years  or  so  before  February,  1848,  time 
of  Louis  Philippe,  she  visited  her  former  properties.  [The 
Peasantry.! 


44  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Bluteau  (Pierre),  assumed  name  of  Genestas.  [The 
Country  Doctor.^ 

Bocquillon,  an  acquaintance  of  Mme.  Etienne  Gruget. 
In  1820,  rue  des  Enf ants-Rouges,  Paris,  she  mistook  for 
him  the  stock-broker,  Jules  Desmarets,  who  was  entering 
her  door.  [The  Thirteen.] 

Bogseck  (Madame  van),  name  bestowed  by  Jacques 
Collin  on  Esther  van  Gobseck  when,  in  1825,  he  gave  her, 
transformed  morally  and  intellectually,  to  Lucien  de  Rubem- 
pre",  in  an  elegant  flat  on  rue  Taitbout.  [Scenes  from  a 
Courtesan's  Life.f) 

Boirouge,  president  of  the  Sancerre  Court  at  the  time  when 
the  Baronne  de  la  Baudraye  held  social  sway  over  that 
city.  Through  his  wife,  he  was  related  to  the  Popinot- 
Chandiers,  to  Judge  Popinot  of  Paris,  and  to  Anselme  Popinot. 
He  was  hereditary  owner  of  a  house  which  he  did  not  need, 
and  which  he  very  gladly  leased  to  the  baronne  for  the 
purpose  of  starting  a  literary  society  that,  however,  degene- 
rated very  soon  into  an  ordinary  clique.  Actuated  by 
jealousy,  President  Boirouge  was  one  of  the  principals  in 
the  defeat  of  Procureur  Clagny  for  deputy.  He  was  reputed 
to  be  unchaste  at  repartee.  [The  Muse  of  the  Depart- 
ment.] 

Boirouge  (Madame),  n&e  Popinot-Chandier,wife  of  President 
Boirouge;  stood  well  among  the  middle-class  of  Sancerre. 
After  having  been  leader  in  the  opposition  to  Mme.  de  la  Baud- 
raye for  nine  years,  she  induced  her  son  Gatien  to  attend 
the  Baudraye  receptions,  persuading  herself  that  he  would 
soon  make  his  way.  Profiting  by  the  visit  of  Bianchon  to  San- 
cerre, Mme.  Boirouge  obtained  of  the  famous  physician,  her 
relative,  a  gratuitous  consultation  by  giving  him  full  par- 
ticulars regarding  some  pretended  nervous  trouble  of  the 
stomach,  in  which  complaint  he  recognized  a  periodic 
dyspepsia.  [The  Muse  of  the  Department.  ] 

Boirouge  (Gatien),  son  of  President  Boirouge;  'born  in 
1814;  the  junior  "patito"  of  Mme.  de  la  Baudraye,  who 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  45 

employed  him  in  all  sorts  of  small  ways.  Gatien  Boirouge 
was  made  game  of  by  Lousteau,  to  whom  he  had  confessed 
his  love  for  that  masterful  woman.  [The  Muse  of  the  Depart- 
ment.] 

Boisfranc  (De),  procureur-general,  then  first  president  of 
a  royal  court  under  the  Restoration.  (See  Dubut.) 

Boisfranc  (Dubut  de),  president  of  the  Aides  court  under 
the  old  re'gime ;  brother  of  Dubut  de  Boisfrelon  and  of  Dubut 
de  Boislaurier.  [The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Boisfrelon  (Dubut  de),  brother  of  Dubut  de  Boisfranc 
and  of  Dubut  de  Boislaurier;  at  one  time  councillor  in  Par- 
liament; born  in  1736;  died  in  1832  in  the  home  of  his  niece, 
the  Baronne  de  la  Chanterie.  Godefroid  succeeded  him. 
M.  de  Boisfrelon  had  been  one  of  the  "Brotherhood  of  Con- 
solation." He  was  married,  but  his  wife  probably  died 
before  him.  [The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Boislaurier  (Dubut  de),  junior  brother  of  Dubut  de  Bois- 
franc and  of  Dubut  de  Boisfrelon.  Commander-in-chief 
of  the  Western  Rebellion  in  1808-1809,  and  designated 
then  by  the  surname  of  Augustus.  With  Rifoel,  Chevalier 
du  Vissard,  he  plotted  the  organization  of  the  "  Chauffeurs  " 
of  Mortagne.  Then,  in  the  trial  of  the  "brigands,"  he  was 
condemned  to  death  by  default.  [The  Seamy  Side  of  History. ] 

Bois-Levant,  chief  of  division  under  the  Minister  of  Finance 
in  1824,  at  the  time  when  Xavier  Rabourdin  and  Isidore 
Baudoyer  contested  the  succession  of  office  in  another  divi- 
sion, that  of  F.  de  la  Billardiere.  [The  Government  Clerks.] 

Boleslas,  Polish  servant  of  the  Comte  and  Comtesse  La- 
ginski,  in  rue  de  la  P6piniere,  Paris,  between  1835  and  1842. 
[The  Imaginary  Mistress.] 

Bonamy  (Ida),  aunt  of  Mile.  Antonia  Chocardelle.  At 
the  time  of  Louis  Philippe,  she  conducted,  on  rue  Coquenard 
(since  1848  rue  Lamartine),  "just  a  step  or  two  from  rue 
Pigalle, "  a  reading-room  given  to  her  niece  by  Maxime 
de  Trailles.  [A  Man  of  Business.] 


46  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Bonaparte  (Napoleon),  Emperor  of  the  French;  horn 
at  Ajaccio,  August  15,  1768,  or  1769,  according  to  varying 
accounts;  died  at  St.  Helena  May  5,  1821.  As  First  Consul 
in  1800  he  received  at  the  Tuileries  the  Corsican,  Bartholomeo 
di  Piombo,  and  disentangled  his  countryman  from  the  latter's 
implication  in  a  vendetta.  [The  Vendetta.]  On  the  evening 
of  the  battle  of  Jena,  October  13,  1806,  he  was  met  on  that 
ground  by  Laurence  de  Cinq-Cygne,  who  had  come  post  haste 
from  France,  and  to  whom  he  accorded  pardon  for  the 
Simeuses  and  the  Hauteserres,  compromised  in  the  abduction 
of  Senator  Malin  de  Gondreville.  [The  Gondreville  Mystery.] 
Napoleon  Bonaparte  was  strongly  concerned  in  the  welfare 
of  his  lieutenant,  Hyacinthe  Chabert,  during  the  battle  of 
Eylau.  [Colonel  Chabert.]  In  November,  1809,  he  was  to 
have  attended  a  grand  ball  given  by  Senator  Malin  de  Gondre- 
ville ;  but  he  was  detained  at  the  Tuileries  by  a  scene — noised 
abroad  that  same  evening — between  Josephine  and  himself, 
a  scene  which  disclosed  their  impending  divorce.  [Peace 
in  the  House.]  He  condoned  the  infamous  conduct  of  the 
police  officer  Contenson.  [The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 
In  April,  1813,  during  a  dress-parade  on  the  Place  du  Carrousel, 
Paris,  Napoleon  noticed  Mile,  de  Chatillonest,  who  had 
come  with  her  father  to  see  the  handsome  Colonel  d' Aiglemont, 
and  leaning  towards  Duroc  he  made  a  brief  remark  which 
made  the  Grand  Marshal  smile.  [A  Woman  of  Thirty.] 

Bonaparte  (Lucien),  brother  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte;  born 
in  1775;  died  in  1840.  In  June,  1800,  he  went  to  the  house 
of  Talleyrand,  the  Foreign  Minister,  and  there  announced 
to  him  and  also  to  Fouche,  Sieye's  and  Carnot,  the  victory 
of  his  brother  at  Montebello.  [The  Gondreville  Mystery.] 
In  the  month  of  October  of  the  same  year  he  was  encountered 
by  his  countryman,  Bartholomeo  di  Piombo,  whom  he  intro- 
duced to  the  First  Consul;  he  also  gave  his  purse  to  rhe 
Corsican  and  afterwards  contributed  towards  relieving  his 
difficulties.  [The  Vendetta.] 

Bonfalot,  or  Bonvalot  (Madame),  an  aged  relative  of 
F.  du  Bruel  at  Paris.  La  Palferine  first  met  Mme.  du  Brue' 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  47 

in  1834  on  the  boulevard,  and  boldly  followed  her  all  the 
way  to  Mme.  de  Bonfalot's,  where  she  was  calling.  [A 
Prince  of  Bohemia.] 

Bonfons  (Cruchot  de),  nephew  of  Cruchot  the  notary 
and  Abbe*  Cruchot;  born  in  1786;  president  of  the  Court 
of  First  Instance  of  Saumur  in  1819.  The  Cruchot  trio, 
backed  by  a  goodly  number  of  cousins  and  allied  to  twenty 
families  in  the  city,  formed  a  party  similar  to  that  of  the 
olden-time  Medicis  at  Florence;  and  also,  like  the  Medicis, 
the  Cruchots  had  their  Pazzis  in  the  persons  of  the  Grassins. 
The  prize  contested  for  between  the  Cruchots  and  the  Gras- 
sins was  the  hand  of  the  rich  heiress,  Eugenie  Grandet.  In 
1827,  after  nine  years  of  suing,  the  President  Cruchot 
de  Bonfons  married  the  young  woman,  now  left  an  orphan. 
Previous  to  this  he  had  been  commissioned  by  her  to  settle 
in  full,  both  principal  and  interest,  with  the  creditors  of 
Charles  Grandet's  father.  Six  months  after  his  marriage, 
Bonfons  was  elected  councillor  to  the  Royal  Court  of  Angers. 
Then  after  some  years  signalized  by  devoted  service  he  became 
first  president.  Finally  chosen  deputy  for  Saumur  in  1832, 
he  died  within  a  week,  leaving  his. widow  in  possession  of 
an  immense  fortune,  still  further  augmented  by  the  bequests 
of  the  Abbe"  and  the  notary  Cruchot.  Bonfons  was  the 
name  of  an  estate  of  the  magistrate.  He  married  Eugenie 
only  through  cupidity.  He  looked  like  "  a  big,  rusty  nail. " 
[Eugenie  Grandet.  ] 

Bonfons  (Eugenie  Cruchot  de),  only  daughter  of  M.  and 
Mme.  Felix  Grandet;  born  at  Saumur  in  1796.  Strictly 
reared  by  a  mother  gentle  and  devout,  and  by  a  father 
hard  and  avaricious.  The  single  bright  ray  across  her  life 
was  an  absolutely  platonic  love  for  her  cousin  Charles  Grandet. 
But,  once  away  from  her,  this  young  man  was  forgetful 
of  her;  and,  on  his  return  from  the  Indies  in  1827,  a  rich 
man,  he  married  the  young  daughter  of  a  nobleman.  Upon 
this  occurrence,  Eugenie  Grandet,  now  an  orphan,  settled 
in  full  with  the  creditors  of  Charles'  father,  and  then  bestowed 
her  hand  upon  the  President  Cruchot  de  Bonfons,  who  had 


48  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

paid  her  court  for  nine  years.  At  the  age  of  thirty-six 
she  was  left  a  widow  without  having  ceased  to  be  a  virgin, 
following  her  expressed  wish.  Sadly  she  secluded  herself 
in  the  gloomy  home  of  her  childhood  at  Saumur,  where 
she  devoted  the  rest  of  her  life  to  works  of  benevolence 
and  charity.  After  her  father's  death,  Eugenie  was  often 
alluded  to,  by  the  Cruchot  faction,  as  Mile,  de  Froidfond, 
from  the  name  of  one  of  her  holdings.  In  1832  an  effort  was 
made  to  induce  Mme.  de  Bonfons  to  wed  with  Marquis 
de  Froidfond,  a  bankrupt  widower  of  fifty  odd  years  and 
possessed  of  numerous  progeny.  [Eugenie  Grandet.] 

Bongrand,  born  in  1769;  first  an  advocate  at  Melun,  then 
justice  of  the  peace  at  Nemours  from  1814  to  1837.  He 
was  a  friend  of  -Doctor  Mirouet's  and  helped  educate  Ursule 
Mirouet,  protecting  her  to  the  best  of  his  ability  after  the 
death  of  the  old  physician,  and  aiding  in  the  restitution 
of  her  fortune  which  Minoret-Levrault  had  impaired  by  the 
theft  of  the  doctor's  will.  M.  Bongrand  had  wanted  to 
make  a  match  between  Ursule  Mirouet  and  his  son,  but 
she  loved  Savinien  de  Portenduere.  The  justice  of  the  peace 
became  president  of  the  court  at  Melun,  after  the  marriage 
of  the  young  lady  with  Savinien.  [Ursule  Mirouet.] 

Bongrand  (Eugene),  son  of  Bongrand  the  justice  of  the 
peace.  He  studied  law  at  Paris  under  Derville  the  attorney, 
this  constituting  all  his  course.  He  became  public  pros- 
ecutor at  Melun  after  the  Revolution  of  1830,  and  general 
prosecutor  in  1837.  Failing  in  his  love  suit  with  Ursule 
Mirouet,  he  probably  married  the  daughter  of  M.  Levrault, 
former  mayor  of  Nemours.  [Ursule  Mirouet]. 

Bonnac,  a  rather  handsome  young  fellow,  who  was  head 
clerk  for  the  notary  Lupin  at  Soulanges  in  1823.  His  ac- 
complishments were  his  only  dowry.  He  was  loved  in  platonic 
fashion  by  his  employer's  wife,  Mme.  Lupin,  otherwise 
known  as  B6belle,  a  fat  ridiculous  female  without  education. 
[The  Peasantry.] 

Bonn^bault,  retired  cavalry  soldier,  the  Lovelace  of  the 
village  of  Bkngy,  Burgundy,  and  its  suburbs  in  1823. 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  49 

Bonnebault  was  the  lover  of  Marie  Tonsard  who  was  perfectly 
foolish  about  him.  He  had  still  other  "good  friends"  and 
lived  at  their  expense.  Their  generosity  did  not  suffice 
for  his  dissipations,  his  cafe  bills  and  his  unbridled  taste 
for  billiards.  He  dreamed  of  marrying  Aglae  Socquard, 
only  daughter  of  Perc  Socquard,  proprietor  of  the  "Cafe 
de  la  Paix"  at  Soulanges.  Bonnebault  obtained  three 
thousand  francs  from  General  de  Montcornet  by  coming 
to  him  to  confess  voluntarily  that  he  had  been  commissioned 
to  kill  him  for  this  price.  This  revelation,  with  other  things, 
led  the  general  to  weary  f  his  fierce  struggle  with  the  peasan- 
try, and  to  put  up  for  sale  his  property  at  Aigues,  which 
became  the  prey  of  Gaubertin,  Rigou  and  Soudry.  Bonne"- 
bault  was  squint-eyed  and  his  physical  appearance  did  not 
belie  his  depravity.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Bonndbault  (Mere),  grandmother  of  Bonnebault  the 
veteran.  In  1823,  at  Conches,  Burgundy,  where  she  lived, 
she  owned  a  cow  which  she  did  not  hesitate  to  pasture  in 
the  fields  belonging  to  General  de  Montcornet.  The  numerous 
depredations  of  the  old  woman,  added  to  convictions  for 
many  similar  offences,  caused  the  general  to  decide  to  confis- 
cate the  cow.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Bonnet  (Abbe"),  Cure"  of  Mont6gnac  near  Limoges  from 
1814  on.  In  this  capacity,  he  assisted  at  the  public  confession 
of  his  penitent,  Mme.  Graslin,  in  the  summer  of  1844.  Upon 
leaving  the  seminary  of  Saint-Sulpice,  Paris,  he  was  sent 
to  this  village  of  Monte"gnac,  which  he  never  after  wished  to 
leave.  Here,  sometimes  unaided,  sometimes  with  the  help  of 
Mine.  Graslin,  he  toiled  for  a  material  and  moral  betterment, 
bringing  about  an  entire  regeneration  of  a  wretched  country. 
It  was  he  who  brought  the  outlawed  Tascheron  back  into 
the  Church,  and  who  accompanied  him  to  the  very  foot  of  the 
scaffold,  with  a  devotion  which  caused  his  own  very  sensitive 
nature  much  cringing.  Born  in  1788,  he  had  embraced 
the  ecclesiastical  calling  through  choice,  and  all  his  studies 
had  been  to  that  end.  He  belonged  to  a  family  of  moro 
than  easy  circumstances.  His  father  was  a  self-made  man, 


50  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

stern  and  unyielding.  Abbe"  Bonnet  had  an  older  brother, 
and  a  sister  whom  he  counseled  with  his  mother  to  marry 
as  soon  as  possible,  in  order  to  release  the  young  woman 
from  the  terrible  paternal  yoke.  [The  Country  Parson.] 

Bonnet,  older  brother  of  Abbe*  Bonnet,  who  enlisted  as 
a  private  about  the  beginning  of  the  Empire.  He  became 
a  general  in  1813;  fell  at  Leipsic.  [The  Country  Parson.] 

Bonnet  (Germain),  valet  de  chambre  of  Canalis  in  1829, 
at  the  time  when  the  poet  went  to  Havre  to  contest  the 
hand  of  Modeste  Mignon.  A  servant  full  of  finesse  and 
irreproachable  in  appearance,  he  was  of  the  greatest  service 
to  his  master.  He  courted  Philoxene  Jacmin,  chambermaid 
of  Mme.  de  Chaulieu.  Here  the  pantry  imitated  the  parlor, 
for  the  academician's  mistress  was  the  great  lady  herself. 
[Modeste  Mignon.] 

Bontems,  a  country  landowner  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Bayeux,  who  feathered  his  nest  well  during  the  Revolution, 
by  purchasing  government  confiscations  at  his  own  terms. 
He  was  a  pronounced  "red  cap,"  and  became  president  of  his 
i  district.  His  daughter,  Ang61ique  Bontems,  married  Gran- 
ville  during  the  Empire;  but  at  this  time  Bontems  was  dead. 
[A  Second  Home.] 

Bontems  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding;  outwardly 
pious,  inwardly  vain ;  mother  of  Ang61ique  Bontems,  whom 
she  had  reared  in  much  the  same  attitude,  and  whose  marriage 
with  a  Granville  was,  in  consequence,  so  unhappy.  [A 
Second  Home.] 

Bontems  (Angelique).  (See  Granville,  Madame  de.) 
Borain  (Mademoiselle),  the  most  stylish  costumer  in 
Provins,  at  the  time  of  Charles  X.  She  was  commissioned 
by  the  Rogrons  to  make  a  complete  wardrobe  for  Pierrette 
Lorrain,  when  that  young  girl  was  sent  them  from  Brittany. 
[Pierrette.] 

Bordevin  (Madame),  Parisian  butcher  in  rue  Chariot, 
at  the  time  when  Sylvain  Pons  dwelt  hard  by  in  rue  de  Nor- 
mandie.  Mme.  Bordevin  was  related  to  Mme.  Sabatier. 
[Cousin  Pons.] 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  51 

Bordin,  procureur  at  the  Chatelet  before  the  Revolution; 
then  advocate  of  the  Court  of  First  Instance  of  the  Seine, 
under  the  Empire.  In  1798  he  instructed  and  advised 
with  M.  Alain,  a  creditor  of  Monegod's.  Both  had  been 
clerks  at  the  procureur's.  In  1806,  the  Marquis  de  Charge- 
boeuf  went  to  Paris  to  hunt  for  Master  Bordin,  who  defended 
the  Simeuses  before  the  Criminal  Court  of  Troyes  in  the 
trial  regarding  the  abduction  and  sequestration  of  Senator 
Malin.  In  1809  he  also  defended  Henriette  Bryond  des 
Tours-Minieres,  nee  La  Chanterie,  in  the  trial  docketed 
as  the  "  Chauffeurs  of  Mortagne.  "  [The  Gondreville  Mystery. 
The  Seamy  Side  of  History.]  In  1816  Bordin  was  consulted 
by  Mme.  d'Espard  regarding  her  husband.  [The  Commission 
in  Lunacy.]  During  the  Restoration  a  banker  at  Alengon 
made  quarterly  payments  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  livres 
to  the  Chevalier  de  Valois  through  the  Parisian  medium 
of  Bordin.  [Jealousies  of  a  Country  Town.]  For  ten 
years  Bordin  represented  the  nobility.  Derville  succeeded 
him.  [The  Gondreville  Mystery.] 

Bordin  (Jerome-Sebastien),  was  also  procureur  at  the 
Chatelet,  and,  in  1806,  advocate  of  the  Seine  Court.  He 
succeeded  Master  Guerbet,  and  sold  his  practice  to  Sauvagn- 
est,  who  disposed  of  it  to  Desroches.  [A  Start  in  Life.] 

Born  (Comte  de),  brother  of  the  Vicomtesse  de  Grandlieu. 
In  the  winter  of  1829-1830,  he  is  discovered  at  the  home 
of  his  sister,  taking  part  in  a  conversation  in  which  the 
advocate  Derville  related  the  marital  infelicities  of  M.  de  Res- 
taud,  and  the  story  of  his  will  and  his  death.  The  Comte 
de  Born  seized  the  chance  to  exploit  the  character  of  Maxime 
de  Trailles,  the  lover  of  Mme.  de  Restaud.  [Gobseck.] 

Borniche,  son-in-law  of  M.  Hochon,  the  old  miser  of  Issou- 
dun.  He  died  of  chagrin  at  business  failures,  and  at  not 
having  received  any  assistance  from  his  father  or  mother. 
His  wife  preceded  him  but  a  short  time  to  the  tomb.  They 
left  a  son  and  a  daughter,  Baruch  and  Adolphine,  who  wore 
brought  up  by  their  maternal  grandfather,  with  Francois 
Hochon,  another  grandchild  of  the  goodman's.  Borniche 
was  probably  a  Calvinist.  [A  Bachelor's  Establishment.] 


52  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Borniche  (Monsieur  and  Madame),  father  and  mother 
of  the  preceding.  They  were  still  living  in  1823,  when 
their  son  and  their  daughter-in-law  had  been  deceased 
some  time.  In  April  of  this  year,  old  Mme.  Borniche  and 
her  friend  Mme.  Hochon,  who  ruled  socially  in  Issoudun, 
assisted  at  the  wedding  of  La  Rabouilleuse  with  Jean-Jacques 
Rouget.  [A  Bachelor's  Establishment.] 

Borniche  (Baruch),  grandson  of  the  preceding,  and  of 
M.  and  Mme.  Hochon.  Born  in  1800.  Early  left  an  orphan,  he 
and  his  sister  were  reared  by  his  grandfather  on  the  maternal 
side.  He  had  been  one  of  the  accomplices  of  Maxence 
Gilet,  and  took  part  in  the  nocturnal  raids  of  the  "Knights 
of  Idlesse. "  When  his  conduct  became  known  to  his  grand- 
father, in  1822,  the  latter  lost  no  time  in  removing  him 
from  Issoudun,  sending  him  to  Monegod's  office,  Paris, 
to  study  law.  [A  Bachelor's  Establishment.] 

Borniche  (Adolphine),  sister  of  Baruch  Borniche;  born 
in  1804.  Brought  up  almost  a  recluse  in  the  frigid,  dreary 
house  of  her  grandfather,  Hochon,  she  spent  most  of  her 
time  peering  through  the  windows,  in  the  hope  of  discovering 
some  of  the  terrible  things  which — as  Dame  Rumor  had 
it — occurred  in  the  home  of  Jean-Jacques  Rouget,  next 
door.  She  likewise  awaited  with  some  impatience  the 
arrival  of  Joseph  Bridau  in  Issoudun,  wishing  to  inspire 
some  sentiment  in  him,  and  taking  the  liveliest  interest 
in  the  painter,  on  account  of  the  monstrosities  which  were 
attributed  to  him  because  of  his  being  an  artist.  [A  Bachelor's 
Establishment.  ] 

Boucard,  head-clerk  of  the  attorney  Derville  in  1818, 
at  the  time  when  Colonel  Chabert  sought  to  recover  his 
rights  with  his  wife  who  had  been  remarried  to  Comte  Fer- 
raud.  [Colonel  Chabert.] 

Boucher,  Besangon  merchant  in  1834,  who  was  the  first 
client  of  Albert  Savarus  in  that  city.  He  assumed  financial 
control  of  the  "  Revue  de  1'Est,"  founded  by  the  lawyer. 
M.  Boucher  was  related  by  marriage  to  one  of  the  ablest 
editors  of  great  theological  works.  [Albert  Savarus.jj 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  53 

Boucher  (Alfred),  eldest  son  of  the  preceding.  Born  in 
1812.  A  youth,  eager  for  literary  fame,  whom  Albert  Savarus 
put  on  the  staff  of  his  "Revue  de  1'Est, "  giving  him  his 
themes  and  subjects.  Alfred  Boucher  conceived  a  strong 
admiration  for  the  managing  editor,  who  treated  him  as 
a  friend.  The  first  number  of  the  "Revue"  contained  a 
"Meditation"  by  Alfred.  This  Alfred  Boucher  believed 
he  was  exploiting  Savarus,  whereas  the  contrary  was  the 
case.  [Albert  Savarus.] 

Bouffe"  (Marie),  alias  Vignol,  actor  born  in  Paris,  September 
4,  1800.  He  appeared  about  1822  at  the  Panorama-Dramat- 
ique  theatre,  on  the  Boulevard  du  Temple,  Paris,  playing 
the  part  of  the  Alcade  in  a  three-act  imbroglio  by  Raoul 
Nathan  and  Du  Bruel  entitled  "  L' Alcade  dans  Pembarras. " 
At  the  first  night  performance  he  announced  that  the 
authors  were  Raoul  and  Cursy.  Although  very  young 
at  the  time,  this  artist  made  his  first  great  success  in  this 
role,  and  revealed  his  talent  for  depicting  an  old  man.  The 
critique  of  Lucien  de  Rubempre'  established  his  position. 
[A  Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.] 

Bougival  (La).     (See  Cabirolle,  Madame.) 

Bougniol  (Mesdemoiselles) ,  proprietors  of  an  inn  at  Gue"- 
rande  (Loire-Infe"rieure),  at  the  time  of  Louis  Philippe. 
They  had  as  guests  some  artist  friends  of  Felicite*  des  Touches 
— Camille  Maupin — who  had  come  from  Paris  to  see  her. 
[Beatrix.] 

Bourbonne  (De),  wealthy  resident  of  Tours,  time  of  Louis 
XVIII.  and  Charles  X.  An  uncle  of  Octave  de  Camps. 
In  1824  he  visited  Paris  to  ascertain  the  cause  of  the  ruin 
of  his  nephew  and  sole  heir,  which  ruin  was  generally  credited 
to  dissipations  with  Mme.  Firmiani.  M.  de  Bourbonne, 
a  retired  musketeer  in  easy  circumstances,  was  well  con- 
nected. He  had  entry  into  the  Faubourg  Saint-Germain 
through  the  Listomeres,  the  Lenoncourts  and  the  Vandenesses. 
He  caused  himself  to  be  presented  at  Mme.  Firmiani's 
as  M.  de  Rouxellay,  the  name  of  his  estate.  The  advice 


54  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

of  Bourbonne,  which  was  marked  by  much  perspicacity, 
if  followed,  would  have  extricated  Francois  Birotteau  from 
Troubert's  clutches;  for  the  uncle  of  M.  de  Camps  fathomed 
the  plottings  of  the  future  Bishop  of  Troyes.  Bourbonne 
saw  a  great  deal  more  than  did  the  Listomeres  of  Tours. 
[Madame  Firmiani.  The  Vicar  of  Tours.] 

Bourdet  (Benjamin)  old  soldier  of  the  Empire,  formerly 
serving  under  Philippe  Bridau's  command.  He  lived  quietly 
in  the  suburbs  of  Vatan,  in  touch  with  Fario.  In  1822 
he  placed  himself  at  the  entire  disposal  of  the  Spaniard, 
and  also  of  the  officer  who  previously  had  put  him  under 
obligations.  Secretly  he  served  them  in  their  hatred  of 
and  plots  against  Maxence  Gilet.  [A  Bachelor's  Establish- 
ment.] 

Bourgeat,  foundling  of  Saint-Flour.  Parisian  water-carrier 
about  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century.  The  friend  and 
protector  of  the  young  Desplein,  the  future  famous  surgeon. 
He  lived  in  rue  Quatre- Vents  in  an  humble  house  rendered 
doubly  famous  by  the  sojourn  of  Desplein  and  by  that  of 
Daniel  d'Arthez.  A  fervent  Churchman  of  unswerving 
faith.  The  future  famous  savant  (Desplein)  watched  by 
his  bedside  at  the  last  and  closed  his.  eyes.  [The  Atheist's 
Mass.] 

Bourget,  uncle  of  the  Chaussard  brothers.  An  old  man  who 
became  implicated  in  the  trial  of  the  Chauffeurs  of  Mortagne 
in  1809.  He  died  during  the  taking  of  the  testimony,  while 
making  some  confessions.  His  wife,  also  apprehended, 
appeared  before  the  court  and  was  sentenced  to  twenty- 
two  years'  imprisonment.  [The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Bourgneufs  (The),  a  family  ruined  by  the  De  Camps  and 
living  in  poverty  and  seclusion  at  Saint-Germain  en  Laye, 
during  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century.  This 
family  consisted  of :  the  aged  father,  who  ran  a  lottery-office  ; 
the  mother,  almost  always  sick ;  and  two  delightful  daughters, 
who  took  care  of  the  home  and  attended  to  the  correspondence. 
The  Bourgneufs  were  rescued  from  their  troubles  by  Octave 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  55 

de  Camps  who,  prompted  by  Mme.  Firmiani,  and  at  the  cost 
of  his  entire  property,  restored  to  them  the  fortune  made 
away  with  by  his  father.  [Madame  Firmiani.] 

Bourgnier  (Du).     (See  Bousquier,  Du.) 

Bourignard  (Gratien-Henri-Victor-Jean-Joseph),  father  of 
Mine.  Jules  Desmarets.  One  of  the  "Thirteen"  and  the 
former  chief  of  the  Order  of  the  Devorants  under  the  title 
of  Ferragus  XXIII.  He  had  been  a  laborer,  but  afterwards 
was  a  contractor  of  buildings.  His  daughter  was  born 
to  an  abandoned  woman.  About  1807  he  was  sentenced 
to  twenty  years  of  hard  labor,  but  he  managed  to  escape 
during  a  journey  of  the  chain-gang  from  Paris  to  Toulon, 
and  he  returned  to  Paris.  In  1820  he  lived  there  under 
diverse  names  and  disguises,  lodging  successively  on  rue 
des  Vieux  Augustins  (now  rue  d'Argout),  corner  of  rue 
Soly  (an  insignificant  street  which  disappeared  when  the 
Hotel  des  Postes  was  rebuilt);  then  at  number  seven  rue 
Joquelet;  finally  at  Mme.  E.  Gruget's,  number  twelve  rue 
des  Enf ants-Rouges  (now  part  of  the  rue  des  Archives  running 
from  rue  Pastourelle  to  rue  Portefoin),  changing  lodgings 
at  this  time  to  evade  the  investigations  of  Auguste  de  Maulin- 
cour.  Stunned  by  the  death  of  his  daughter,  whom  he 
adored  and  with  whom  he  held  secret  interviews  to  prevent 
her  becoming  amenable  to  the  law,  he  passed  his  last  days 
in  an  indifferent,  almost  idiotic  way,  idly  watching  match 
games  at  bowling  on  the  Place  de  1'Observatoire ;  the  ground 
between  the  Luxembourg  and  the  Boulevard  de  Montparnasse 
was  the  scene  of  these  games.  One  of  the  assumed  names 
of  Bourignard  was  the  Comte  de  Funcal.  In  1815,  Bourignard, 
alias  Ferragus,  assisted  Henri  de  Marsay,  another  member 
of  the  "Thirteen,"  in  his  raid  on  Hotel  San-Re"al,  where 
dwelt  Paquita  Valdes.  [The  Thirteen.] 

Bourlac  (Bernard-Jean-Baptiste-Macloud,  Baron  de),  for- 
mer procureur-general  of  the  Royal  Court  of  Rouen,  grand 
officer  of  the  Legion  of  Honor.  Born  in  1771.  He  fell 
in  love  with  and  married  the  daughter  of  the  Pole,  Tarlowski, 
a  colonel  in  the  French  Imperial  Guard.  By  her  he  had  a 


56 

daughter,  Vanda,  who  became  the  Baronne  de  Mergi.  >> 
widower  and  reserved  by  nature,  he  came  to  Paris  in  182D 
to  take  care  of  Vanda,  who  was  seized  by  a  strange  and 
very  dangerous  malady.  After  having  lived  in  the  Quartiel 
du  Roule  in  1838,  with  his  daughter  and  grandson,  he  dwelt 
for  several  years,  in  very  straitened  circumstances,  in  a  tumble- 
down house  on  the  Boulevard  du  Montparnasse,  where 
Godefroid,  a  recent  initiate  into  the  "Brotherhood  of  the 
Consolation"  and  under  the  direction  of  Mme.  de  la  Chanterie 
and  her  associates,  came  to  his  relief.  Afterwards  it  was 
discovered  that  the  Baron  de  Bourlac  was  none  other  than 
the  terrible  magistrate  who  had  pronounced  judgment  on 
this  noble  woman  and  her  daughter  during  the  trial  of  the 
Chauffeurs  of  Mortagne  in  1809.  Nevertheless,  the  aiding 
of  the  family  was  not  abated  in  the  least.  Vanda  was  cured, 
thanks  to  a  foreign  physician,  Halpersohn,  procured  by 
Godefroid.  M.  de  Bourlac  was  enabled  to  publish  his  great 
work  on  the  "Spirit  of  Modern  Law."  At  Sorbonne  a 
chair  of  comparative  legislation  was  created  for  him.  At 
last  he  obtained  forgiveness  from  Mme.  de  la  Chanterie, 
at  whose  feet  he  flung  himself.  [The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 
In  1817  the  Baron  de  Bourlac,  then  procureur-general, 
and  superior  of  Soudry  the  younger,  royal  procureur,  helped, 
with  the  assistance  also  of  the  latter,  to  secure  for  Sibilet 
the  position  of  estate-keeper  to  the  General  de  Montcornet 
at  Aigues.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Bournier,  natural  son  of  Gaubertin  and  of  Mme.  Socquard, 
the  wife  of  the  cafe  manager  of  Soulanges.  His  existence 
was  unknown  to  Mme.  Gaubertin.  He  was  sent  to  Paris 
where,  under  Leclercq,  he  learned  the  printer's  trade  and 
finally  became  a  foreman.  Gaubertin  then  brought  him  to 
Ville-aux-Fayes  where  he  established  a  printing  office  and 
a  paper  known  as  "  Le  Courrier  de  PAvonne  ",  entirely  devoted 
to  the  interests  of  the  triumvirate,  Rigou,  Gaubertin  and 
Soudry.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Bousquier  (Du),  or  Croisier  (Du),  or  Bourguier  (Du),  a 
descendant  of  an  old  Alengon  family.  Born  about  1760, 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  57 

He  had  been  commissary  agent  in  the  army  from  1793  to 
1799;  had  done  business  with  Ouvrard,  and  kept  a  running 
account  with  Barras,  Bernadotte  and  Fouche".  He  was 
at  that  time  one  of  the  great  folk  of  finance.  Discharged 
by  Bonaparte  in  1800,  he  withdrew  to  his  natal  town  After 
selling  the  Beauseant  house,  which  he  owned,  for  the  benefit 
of  his  creditors,  he  had  remaining  an  income  of  not  more 
than  twelve  hundred  francs.  About  1816  he  married  Mile. 
Cormon,  a  spinster  who  had  been  courted  also  by  the  Cheva- 
lier de  Valois  and  Athanase  Cranson.  This  marriage  set 
him  on  his  feet  again  financially.  He  took  the  lead  in  the 
party  of  the  opposition,  established  a  Liberal  paper  called 
"Le  Courrier  de  POrne, "  and  was  elected  Receiver-General 
of  the  Exchequer,  after  the  Revolution  of  1830.  He  waged 
bitter  war  on  the  white  flag  Royalists,  his  hatred  of  them 
causing  him  secretly  to  condone  the  excesses  of  Victurnien 
d'Esgrignon,  until  the  latter  involved  him  in  an  affair,  when 
Bousquier  had  him  arrested,  thinking  thus  to  dispose  of 
him  summarily.  The  affair  was  smoothed  over  only  by 
tremendous  pressure.  But  the  young  nobleman  provoked  Du 
Bousquier  into  a  duel  where  the  latter  dangerously  wounded 
him.  Afterwards  Bousquier  gave  him  in  marriage  the 
hand  of  his  niece,  Mile.  Duval,  dowered  with  three  millions. 
[Jealousies  of  a  Country  Town.]  Probably  he  was  the 
father  of  Flavie  Minoret,  the  daughter  of  a  celebrated  Opera 
danseuse.  But  he  never  acknowledged  this  child,  and  she 
was  dowered  by  Princesse  Galathionne  and  married  Colle- 
ville.  [The  Middle  Classes.] 

Bousquier  (Madame  du),  born  Cormon  (Rose-Marie- 
Victoire)  in  1773.  She  was  a  very  wealthy  heiress,  living 
with  her  maternal  uncle,  the  Abbe"  de  Sponde,  in  an  old  house 
of  Alengon  (rue  du  Val-Noble),  and  receiving,  in  1816,  the 
aristocracy  of  the  town,  with  which  she  was  related  through 
marriage.  Courted  simultaneously  by  Athanase  Graiison, 
the  Chevalier  de  Valois  and  Du  Bousquier,  she  gave  her 
hand  to  the  old  commissariat,  whose  athletic  figure  and 
passe  libertinism  had  impressed  her  vaguely.  But  her 


58  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

secret  desires  were  uttely  dashed  by  him;  she  confessed 
later  that  she  couldn't  endure  the  idea  of  dying  a  maid. 
Mme.  du  Bousquier  was  very  devout.  She  was  descended 
from  the  stewards  of  the  ancient  Dues  d'Alencon.  In  this 
same  year  of  1816,  she  hoped  in  vain  to  wed  a  Troisville, 
but  he  was  already  married.  She  found  it  difficult  to  brook 
the  state  of  hostility  declared  between  M.  du  Bousquier 
and  the  Esgrignons.  [Jealousies  of  a  Country  Town.] 

Boutin,  at  one  time  sergeant  in  the  cavalry  regiment  of 
which  Chabert  was  colonel.  He  lived  at  Stuttgart  in  1814, 
exhibiting  white  bears  very  well  trained  by  him.  In  this 
city  he  encountered  his  former  ranking  officer,  shorn  of  all 
his  possessions,  and  just  emerging  from  an  insane  asylum. 
Boutin  aided  him  as  best  he  could  and  took  it  upon  himself 
to  go  to  Paris  and  inform  Mme.  Chabert  of  her  husband's 
whereabouts.  But  Boutin  fell  on  the  field  of  Waterloo, 
and  could  hardly  have  accomplished  his  mission.  [Colonel 
Chabert.] 

Bouvard  (Doctor),  physician  of  Paris,  born  about  1758. 
A  friend  of  Dr.  Minoret,  with  whom  he  had  some  lively  tilts 
about  Mesmer.  He  had  adopted  that  system,  while  Minoret 
gainsaid  the  truth  thereof.  These  discussions  ended  in 
an  estrangement,  for  some  time,  between  the  two  cronies. 
Finally,  in  1829,  Bouvard  wrote  Minoret  asking  him  to  come 
to  Paris  to  assist  in  some  conclusive  tests  of  magnetism.  As 
a  result  of  these  tests,  Dr.  Minoret,  materialist  and  atheist 
that  he  was,  became  a  devout  Spiritualist  and  Catholic.  In 
1829  Dr.  Bouvard  lived  on  rue  Ferou.  [Ursule  Mirouet.]  He 
had  been  as  a  father  to  Dr.  Lebrun,  physician  of  the  Con- 
ciergerie  in  1830,  who,  according  to  his  own  avowal,  owed 
to  him  his  position,  since  he  often  drew  from  his  master 
his  own  ideas  regarding  nervous  energy.  [Scenes  from  a 
Courtesan's  Life.] 

Bouyonnet,  a  lawyer  at  Mantes,  under  Louis  Philippe, 
who,  urged  by  his  confreres  and  stimulated  by  the  public 
prosecutor,  "showed  up"  Fraisier,  another  lawyer  in  the 
town,  who  had  been  retained  in  a  suit  for  both  parties 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  59 

at  once.     The  result  of  this  denunciation  was  to  make  Fraisier 
sell  his  office  and  leave  Mantes.     [Cousin  Pons.] 

Brambourg  (Comte  de),  title  of  Philippe  Bridau  to  which 
his  brother  Joseph  succeeded.  [A  Bachelor's  Establishment. 
The  Unconscious  Humorists.] 

Brandon  (Lady  Marie- Augusta),  mother  of  Louis  and 
Marie  Gaston,  children  born  out  of  wedlock.  Together 
with  the  Vicomtesse  de  Beause"ant  she  assisted,  in  company 
with  Colonel  Franchessini,  probably  her  lover,  at  the  famous 
ball  on  the  morning  following  which  the  duped  mistress 
of  D'Ajuda-Pinto  secretly  left  Paris.  [The  Member  for 
Arcis  ]  In  1820,  while  living  with  her  two  children  in  seclusion 
at  La  Grenadieire,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Tours,  she  saw 
Felix  de  Vandenesse,  at  the  time  when  Mme.  de  Mortsauf 
died,  and  charged  him  with  a  pressing  message  to  Lady 
Arabelle  Dudley.  [The  Lily  of  the  Valley.]  She  died, 
aged  thirty-six,  during  the  Restoration,  in  the  house  at 
La  Grenadiere,  and  was  buried  in  the  Saint-Cyr  Cemetery. 
Her  husband,  Lord  Brandon,  who  had  abandoned  her, 
lived  in  London,  Brandon  Square,  Hyde  Park,  at  this  time. 
In  Touraine  Lar^-  Brandon  was  known  only  by  the  assumed 
name  of  Mme.  Willemsens.  [La  Grenadiere.] 

Braschon,  upholsterer  and  cabinet-maker  in  the  Faubourg 
Saint-Antoine,  famous  under  the  Restoration.  He  did  a 
considerable  amount  of  work  for  Cesar  Birotteau  and  figured 
among  the  creditors  in  his  bankruptcy.  [Cesar  Birotteau. 
Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Braulard,  born  in  1782.  The  head  claquer  at  the  theatre 
of  the  Panorama-Dramatique,  and  then  at  the  Gymnase, 
about  1822.  The  lover  of  Mile.  Millot.  At  this  time  he 
lived  on  rue  Faubourg  du  Temple,  in  a  rather  comfortable 
flat  where  he  gave  fine  dinners  to  actresses,  managing  editors 
and  authors — among  others,  Adele  Dupuis,  Finot,  Ducaiu:  - 
and  Frederic  du  Pctit-MeYe".  He  was  credited  with  having 
gained  an  income  of  twenty  thousand  francs  by  discounting 
authors'  and  other  complimentary  tickets.  [A  Distinguished 


60  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Provincial  at  Paris,]  When  chief  claquer,  about  1843,  he  had 
in  his  following  Chardin,  alias  Idamore  [Cousin  Betty], 
and  commanded  his  "  Romans "  at  the  Boulevard  theatre, 
which  presented  operas,  spectaculars  and  ballets  at  popular 
prices,  and  was  run  by  Felix  Gaudissart.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Brazier,  this  family  included  the  following: 

A  peasant  of  Vatan  (Indre),  the  paternal  uncle  and  guardian 
of  Mile.  Flore  Brazier,  known  as  "La  Rabouilleuse. "  In 
1799  he  placed  her  in  the  house  of  Dr.  Rouget  on  very  satis- 
factory conditions  for  himself,  Brazier.  Rendered  com- 
paratively rich  by  the  doctor,  he  died  two  years  before  the 
latter,  in  1805,  from  a  fall  received  on  leaving  an  inn  where 
he  spent  his  time  after  becoming  well-to-do. 

His  wife,  who  was  a  very  harsh  aunt  of  Flore's. 

Lastly  the  brother  and  brother-in-law  of  this  girl's  guardians, 
the  real  father  of  "La  Rabouilleuse,"  who  died  in  1799, 
a  demented  widower,  in  the  hospital  of  Bourges.  [A 
Bachelor's  Establishment.] 

Brazier   (Flore).     (See  Bridau,  Madame  Philippe.) 

Breautey  (Comtesse  de),  a  venerable  woman  of  Provins, 
who  maintained  the  only  aristocratic  salon  in  that  city, 
in  1827-1828.  [Pierrette.] 

Bre'bian  (Alexandre  de),  member  of  the  Angoule"me  aristoc- 
racy in  1821.  He  frequented  the  Bargeton  receptions. 
An  artist  like  his  friend  Bartas,  he  also  was  daft  over  drawing 
and  would  ruin  every  album  in  the  department  with  his 
grotesque  productions.  He  posed  as  Mme.  de  Bartas' 
lover,  since  Bartas  paid  court  to  Mme.  de  Brebian.  [Lost 
Illusions.] 

Brebian  (Charlotte  de),  wife  of  the  preceding.  Currently 
called  "Lolotte."  [Lost  Illusions.] 

Breintmayer,  a  banking  house  of  Strasbourg,  entrusted 
by  Michu  in  1803  with  the  transmission  of  funds  to  the 
De  Simeuses,  young  officers  of  the  army  of  Conde.  [The 
Gondreville  Mystery.] 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  61 

Brezacs  (The),  Auvergnats,  dealers  in  general  merchandise 
and  the  furnishings  of  chateaux  during  the  Revolution, 
the  Empire  and  the  Restoration.  They  had  business 
dealings  with  Pierre  Graslin,  Jean-Baptiste  Sauviat  and 
Martin  Falleix.  [The  Country  Parson.  The  Government 
Clerks.] 

Bridau,  father  of  Philippe  and  Joseph  Bridau;  one  of  the 
secretaries  of  Roland,  Minister  of  the  Interior  in  1792,  and 
the  right  arm  of  succeeding  ministers.  He  was  attached 
fanatically  to  Napoleon,  who  could  appreciate  him,  and 
who  made  him  chief  of  division  in  1804.  He  died  in  1808, 
at  the  moment  when  he  had  been  promised  the  offices 
of  director  general  and  councillor  of  state  with  the  title 
of  comte.  He  first  met  Agathe  Rouget,  whom  he  made 
his  wife,  at  the  home  of  the  grocer  Descoings,  the  man  whom 
he  tried  to  save  from  the  scaffold.  [A  Bachelor's  Establish- 
ment.] 

Bridau  (Agathe  Rouget,  Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding; 
born  in  1773.  Legal  daughter  of  Dr.  Rouget  of  Issoudun, 
but  possibly  the  natural  daughter  of  Sub-delegate  Lousteau. 
The  doctor  did  not  waste  any  affection  upon  her,  and  lost 
no  time  in  sending  her  to  Paris,  where  she  was  reared  by  her 
uncle,  the  grocer  Descoings.  She  died  at  the  close  of  1828. 
Of  her  two  sons,  Philippe  and  Joseph,  Mme.  Bridau  always 
preferred  the  elder,  though  he  caused  her  nothing  but  grief. 
[A  Bachelor's  Establishment.] 

Bridau  (Philippe),  elder  son  of  Bridau  and  Agathe  Rouget. 
Born  in  1796.  Placed  in  the  Saint-Cyr  school  in  1813,  he 
remained  but  six  months,  leaving  it  to  become  under-lieu- 
tenant  of  the  cavalry.  On  account  of  a  skirmish  of  the 
advance  guard  he  was  made  full  lieutenant,  during  the 
French  campaign,  then  captain  after  the  battle  of  La  Fere- 
Champenoise,  where  Napoleon  made  him  artillery  officer. 
He  was  decorated  at  Montereau.  After  witnessing  the 
farewell  at  Fontaineblcu,  he  came  back  to  his  mother  in 
July,  1814,  being  then  hardly  nineteen.  He  did  not  wish 


82  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

to  serve  the  Bourbons.  In  March,  1815,  Philippe  Bridau 
rejoined  the  Emperor  at  Lyons,  accompanying  him  to  the 
Tuileries.  He  was  promised  a  captaincy  in  a  squadron  of 
dragoons  of  the  Guard,  and  made  officer  of  the  Legion  of 
Honor  at  Waterloo.  Reduced  to  half-pay,  during  the  Restora- 
tion, he  nevertheless  preserved  his  rank  and  officer's  cross. 
He  rejoined  General  Lallemand  in  Texas,  returning  from 
America  in  October,  1819,  thoroughly  degenerated.  He 
ran  an  opposition  newspaper  in  Paris  in  1820-1821.  He 
led  a  most  dissolute  life;  was  the  lover  of  Mariette  Godeschal; 
and  attended  all  the  parties  of  Tullia,  Florentine,  Florine, 
Coralie,  Matifat  and  Camusot.  Not  content  with  using 
the  income  of  his  brother  Joseph,  he  stole  a  coffer  entrusted 
to  him,  and  despoiled  of  her  last  savings  Mme.  Descoings, 
who  died  of  grief.  Involved  in  a  military  plot  in  1822, 
he  was  sent  to  Issoudun,  under  the  surveillance  of  the  police. 
There  he  created  a  disturbance  in  the  "bachelor's  estab- 
lishment" of  his  uncle,  Jean- Jacques  Rouget;  killed  in  a 
duel  Maxence  Gilet,  the  lover  of  Flore  Brazier;  brought 
about  the  girl's  marriage  with  his  uncle;  and  married  her 
himself  when  she  became  a  widow  in  1824.  When  Charles  X. 
succeeded  to  the  throne,  Philippe  Bridau  re-entered  the 
army  as  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Due  de  Maufrigneuse's 
regiment.  In  1827  he  passed  with  this  grade  into  a  regi- 
ment of  cavalry  of  the  Royal  Guard,  and  was  made  Comte 
de  Brambourg  from  the  name  of  an  estate  which  he  had 
purchased.  He  was  promised  further  the  office  of  commander 
in  the  Legion  of  Honor,  as  well  as  in  the  Order  of  Saint- 
Louis.  After  having  consciously  caused  the  death  of  his 
wife,  Flore  Brazier,  he  tried  to  marry  Amelie  de  Soulanges, 
who  belonged  to  a  great  family.  But  his  manoeuvres  were 
frustrated  by  Bixiou.  The  Revolution  of  1830  resulted 
in  the  loss  to  Philippe  Bridau  of  a  portion  of  the  fortune 
which  he  had  obtained  from  his  uncle  by  his  marriage.  Once 
more  he  entered  military  service,  under  the  July  Government, 
which  made  him  a  colonel.  In  1839  he  fell  in  an  engagement 
with  the  Arabs  in  Africa.  [A  Bachelor's  Establishment. 
Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  63 

Bridau  (Joseph),  painter;  younger  brother  of  Philippe 
Bridau;  born  in  1799.  He  studied  with  Gros,  and  made 
his  first  exhibit  at  the  Salon  of  1823.  He  received  great 
stimulus  from  his  fellow-members  of  the  "Ce"nacle, "  in  rue 
Quatre- Vents,  also  from  his  master,  from  Gerard  and  from 
Mile,  des  Touches.  Moreover  he  was  a  hard-worker  and  an 
artist  of  genius.  He  was  decorated  in  1827,  and  about 
1839,  through  the  interest  of  the  Comte  de  Se'rizy,  for 
whose  home  he  had  formerly  done  some  work,  he  married 
the  only  daughter  of  a  retired  farmer,  now  a  millionaire. 
On  the  death  of  his  brother  Philippe,  he  inherited  his  house 
in  rue  de  Berlin,  his  estate  of  Brambourg,  and  his  title  of 
comte.  [A  Bachelor's  Establishment.  A  Distinguished 
Provincial  at  Paris.  A  Start  in  Life.]  Joseph  Bridau 
made  some  vignettes  for  the  works  of  Canalis.  [Modesto 
Mignon.]  He  was  intimate  with  Hippolyte  Schinner,  whom 
he  had  known  at  Gro»'  studio.  [The  Purse.]  Shortly  after 
1830,  he  was  present  at  an  "at  home  "  at  Mile,  des  Touches, 
when  Henri  de  Marsay  told  about  his  first  love  affair.  [An- 
other Study  of  Woman.]  In  1832  he  rushed  in  to  see  Pierre 
Grassou,  borrowed  five  hundred  francs  of  him,  and  told 
him  to  "  cater  to  his  talent "  and  even  to  plunge  into  literature 
since  he  was  nothing  more  than  a  poor  painter.  At  this 
same  time,  Joseph  Bridau  painted  the  dining-hall  in  the 
D'Arthez  chateau.  [Pierre  Grassou.]  He  was  a  friend  of 
Marie  Gaston,  and  was  attendant  at  his  marriage  with 
Louise  de  Chaulieu,  widow  of  Macumer,  in  1833.  [Letters 
of  Two  Brides.]  He  also  assisted  at  the  wedding  of  Steinbock 
with  Hortense  Hulot,  and  in  1838,  at  the  instigation  of  Stid- 
mann,  clubbed  in  with  Leon  de  Lora  to  raise  four  thousand 
francs  for  the  Pole,  who  was  imprisoned  for  debt.  He  had 
made  the  portrait  of  Jos4pha  Mirah.  [Cousin  Betty.]  In 
1839,  at  Mme.  Montcornet's,  Joseph  Bridau  praised  the 
talent  and  character  displayed  by  Dorlange,  the  sculptor. 
[The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Bridau  (Flore  Brazier,  Madame  Philippe),  born  in  1787 
at  Vatan  Indre,  known  as  "  La  Rabouilleusc, "  on  account 
aC  her  uncle  having  put  her  to  work,  when  a  child,  at  stirring 


64  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

up  (to  "  rabouiller ")  the  streamlets,  so  that  he  might  find 
crayfishes.  She  was  noticed  on  account,  of  her  great  beauty 
by  Dr.  Rouget  of  Issoudun,  and  taken  to  his  home  in  1799. 
Jean-Jacques  Rouget,  the  doctor's  son,  became  much  enam- 
ored of  her,  but  obtained  favor  only  through  his  money.  On 
her  part  she  was  smitten  with  Maxence  Gilet,  whom  she 
entertained  in  the  house  of  the  old  bachelor  at  the  latter's 
expense.  But  everything  was  changed  by  the  arrival  of 
Philippe  Bridau  at  Issoudun.  Gilet  was  killed  in  a  duel, 
and  Rouget  married  La  Rabouilleuse  in  1823.  Left  a  widow 
soon  after,  she  married  the  soldier.  She  died  in  Paris  in 
1828,  abandoned  by  her  husband,  in  the  greatest  distress, 
a  prey  to  innumerable  terrible  complaints,  the  products  of  the 
dissolute  life  into  which  Philippe  Bridau  had  designedlythrown 
her.  She  dwelt  then  on  rue  du  Houssay,  on  the  fifth  floor. 
She  left  here  for  the  Dubois  Hospital  in  Faubourg  Saint- 
Denis.  [A  Bachelor's  Establishment.] 

Bridau  (Madame  Joseph),  only  daughter  of  Leger,  an  old 
farmer,  afterwards  a  multi-millionaire  at  Beaumont-sur- 
Oise;  married  to  the  painter  Joseph  Bridau  about  1839. 
[A  Bachelor's  Establishment.] 

Brigaut  (Major),  of  Pen-Hoel,  Vendee;  retired  major 
of  the  Catholic  Army  which  contested  with  the  French 
Republic.  A  man  of  iron,  but  devout  and  entirely  unselfish. 
He  had  served  under  Charette,  Mercier,  the  Baron  du  Guenic 
and  the  Marquis  de  Montauran.  He  died  in  1819,  six  months 
after  Mme.  Lorrain,  the  widow  of  a  major  in  the  Imperial 
Army,  whom  he  was  said  to  have  consoled  on  the  loss  of 
her  husband.  Major  Brigaut  had  received  twenty-seven 
wounds.  [Pierrette.  The  Chouans.] 

Brigaut  (Jacques),  son  of  Major  Brigaut;  born  about 
1811.  Childhood  companion  of  Pierrette  Lorrain,  whom 
he  loved  in  innocent  fashion  similar  to  that  of  Paul  and 
Virginia,  and  whose  love  was  reciprocated  in  the  same  way. 
When  Pierrette  was  sent  to  Provins,  to  the  home  of  the 
Rogrons,  her  relatives,  Jacques  also  went  to  this  town  and 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  65 

worked  at  the  carpenter's  trade.  He  was  present  at  the 
death-bed  of  the  young  girl  and  immediately  thereafter 
enlisted  as  a  soldier;  he  became  head  of  a  battalion,  after 
having  several  times  sought  death  vainly.  [Pierrette.] 

Brigitte.     (See  Cottin,  Madame.) 

Brigitte,  servant  of  Chesnel  from  1795  on.  In  1824  she 
was  still  with  him  in  rue  du  Bercail,  Alengon,  at  the  tune 
of  the  pranks  of  the  young  D'Esgrignon.  Brigitte  humored 
the  gormandizing  of  her  master,  the  only  weakness  of  the 
goodman.  [Jealousies  of  a  Country  Town.] 

Brignolet,  clerk  with  lawyer  Bordin  in  1806.  [A  Start 
in  Life.] 

Brisetout  (Helo'ise),  mistress  of  Celestin  Crevel  in  1838, 
at  the  time  when  he  was  elected  mayor.  She  succeeded 
Jose'pha  Mirah,  in  a  little  house  on  rue  Chauchat,  after  having 
lived  on  rue  Notre-Dame-de  Lorette.  [Cousin  Betty.]  In 
1844-1845  she  was  premiere  danseuse  in  the  Theatre  du  Boule- 
vard, when  she  was  claimed  by  both  Bixiou  and  Gaudissart, 
her  manager.  She  was  a  very  literary  young  woman,  much 
spoken  of  in  Bohemian  circles  for  elegance  and  graciousness. 
She  knew  all  the  great  artists,  and  favored  her  kinsman, 
the  musician  Garangeot.  [Cousin  Pons.]  Towards  the  end 
of  the  reign  of  Louis  Philippe,  she  had  Isidore  Baudoyer 
for  a  "protector":  he  was  then  mayor  of  the  arrondisse- 
ment  of  Paris,  which  included  the  Palais  Royale.  [The 
Middle  Classes.] 

Brisset,  a  celebrated  physician  of  Paris,  time  of  Louis 
Philippe.  A  materialist  and  successor  to  Bichat,  and 
Cabanis.  At  the  head  of  the  "  Organists, "  opposed 
to  Came'ristus  head  of  the  "Vitalists. "  He  was  called  in 
consultation  regarding  Raphael  de  Valentin,  whose  condition 
was  serious.  [The  Magic  Skin.] 

Brochon,  a  half-pay  soldier  who,  in  1822,  tended  the  horses 
and  did  chores  for  Moreau,  manager  of  Presles,  the  estate 
of  the  Comte  de  Se"rizy.  [A  Start  in  Life.§ 


86  REPERTOKY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Brossard  (Madame),  widow  received  at  Mme.  de  Bargeton's, 
at  Angouleme  in  1821.  Poor  but  well-born,  she  sought 
to  marry  her  daughter,  and  in  the  end,  despite  her  precise 
dignity  and  "sour-sweetness,"  she  got  along  fairly  well 
with  the  other  sex.  [Lost  Illusions.] 

Brossard  (Camille  du),  daughter  of  the  preceding.  Born 
in  1794.  Fleshy  and  imposing.  Posed  as  a  good  pianist. 
Not  yet  married  at  twenty-seven.  [Lost  Illusions.] 

Brossette  (Abbe"),  born  about  1790;  cure1  of  Blangy,  Bur- 
gundy, in  1823,  at  the  time  when  General  de  Montcornet 
was  struggling  with  the  peasantry.  The  abbe  himself  was 
an  object  of  their  defiance  and  hatred.  He  was  the  fourth 
son  of  a  good  bourgeoisie  family  of  Autun,  a  faithful  prelate, 
an  obstinate  Royalist  and  a  man  of  intelligence.  [The  Peas- 
antry.] In  1840  he  became  a  cure1  at  Paris,  in  the  Faubourg 
Saint-Germain,  and  at  the  request  of  Mme.  de  Grandlieu, 
he  interested  himself  in  removing  Calyste  du  Gu6nic  from 
the  clutches  of  Mme.  de  Rochefide  and  restoring  him  to 
his  wife.  [Beatrix.] 

Brouet  (Joseph),  a  Chouan  who  died  of  wounds  received 
in  the  fight  of  La  Pelerine  or  at  the  siege  of  Fougeres,  in  1799. 
[The  Chouans.] 

Brousson  (Doctor),  attended  the  banker  Jean-Fr£d6ric 
Taillefer,  a  short  time  before  the  financier's  death.  [The 
Red  Inn.] 

Bruce  (Gabriel),  alias  Gros-Jean,  one  of  the  fiercest  Chouans 
of  the  Fontaine  division.  Implicated  in  the  affair  of  the 
"Chauffeurs  of  Mortagne"  in  1809.  Condemned  to  death 
for  contumacy.  [The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Bruel  (Du),  chief  of  division  to  the  Ministers  of  the  Interior, 
under  the  Empire.  A  friend  of  Bridau  senior,  retired  on 
the  advent  of  Restoration.  He  was  on  very  friendly  terms 
with  the  widow  Bridau,  coming  each  evening  for  a  game  of 
cards  at  her  house,  on  rue  Mazarine,  with  his  old-time  col- 
leagues, Claparon  and  Desroches.  These  three  old  employes 
were  called  the  "Three  Sages  of  Greece"  by  Mmes.  Bridau 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  67 

and  Descoings.  M.  du  Bruel  was  descended  of  a  contractor 
ennobled  at  the  end  of  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV.  He  died 
about  1821.  [A  Bachelor's  Establishment.] 

Bruel  (Madame  du),  wife  of  the  preceding.  She  survived 
him.  She  was  the  mother  of  the  dramatic  author  Jean- 
Frangois  du  Bruel,  christened  Cursy  on  the  Parisian  bill- 
boards. Although  a  bourgeoisie  of  strict  ideas,  Mme.  du 
Bruel  welcomed  the  dancer  Tullia,  who  became  her  daughter- 
in-law.  [A  Prince  of  Bohemia.] 

Bruel  (Jean-Franc.ois  du),  son  of  the  preceding;  born 
about  1797.  In  1816  he  obtained  a  place  under  the  Minister 
of  Finance,  thanks  to  the  favor  of  the  Due  de  Navarreins. 
[A  Bachelor's  Establishment.]  He  was  sub-chief  of  Ra- 
bourdin's  office  when  the  latter,  in  1824,  contested  with  M. 
Baudoyer  for  a  place  of  division  chief.  [The  Government 
Clerks.]  In  November,  1825,  Jean-Franc, ois  du  Bruel  assisted 
at  a  breakfast  given  at  the  "Rocher  de  Cancale"  to  the 
clerks  of  Desroches'  office  by  Frederic  Marest  who  was  treating 
to  celebrate  his  incoming.  He  was  present  also  at  the  orgy 
which  followed  at  Florentine's  home.  [A  Start  in  Life.] 
M.  du  Bruel  successively  rose  to  be  chief  of  bureau,  director, 
councillor  of  state,  deputy,  peer  of  France  and  commander 
of  the  Legion  of  Honor;  he  received  the  title  of  count  and 
entered  one  of  the  classes  in  the  Institute.  All  this  was 
accomplished  through  his  wife,  Claudine  ChafTaroux,  formerly 
the  dancer,  Tullia,  whom  he  married  in  1829.  [A  Prince 
of  Bohemia.  The  Middle  Classes.]  For  a  long  time  he 
wrote  vaudeville  sketches  over  the  name  of  Cursy.  Nathan, 
the  poet,  found  it  necessary  to  unite  with  him.  Du  Bruel 
would  make  use  of  the  author's  ideas,  condensing  them 
into  small,  sprightly  skits  which  always  scored  successes 
for  the  actors.  Du  Bruel  and  Nathan  discovered  the  actress 
Florine.  They  were  the  authors  of  "L'Alcade  dans  1'em- 
barras, "  an  imbroglio  in  three  acts,  played  at  the  Theatre 
du  Panorama-Dramatique  about  1822,  when  Florine  made 
her  de*but,  playing  with  Coralie  and  Bonife",  the  latter 
under  the  name  of  Vigriol.  [A  Distinguished  Provincial 
at  Paris.  A  Daughter  of  Eve.j 


68  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Bruel  (Claudine  Chaff aroux,  Madame  du),  born  at  Nanterre 
in  1799.  One  of  the  premiere  danseuses  of  the  Opera 
from  1817  to  1827.  For  several  years  she  was  the  mistress 
of  the  Due  de  Rhetore  [A  Bachelor's  Establishment],  and 
afterwards  of  Jean-Frangois  du  Bruel,  who  was  much  in 
love  with  her  in  1823,  and  married  her  in  1829.  She  had 
then  left  the  stage.  About  1834  she  met  Charles  Edouard 
de  la  Palfe"rine  and  formed  a  violent  attachment  for  him. 
In  order  to  please  him  and  pose  in  his  eyes  as  a  great  lady, 
she  urged  her  husband  to  the  constant  pursuit  of  honors, 
and  finally  achieved  the  title  of  countess.  Nevertheless 
she  continued  to  play  the  lady  of  propriety  and  found  entrance 
into  bourgeoisie  society.  [A  Prince  of  Bohemia.  A  Dis- 
tinguished Provincial  at  Paris.  Letters  of  Two  Brides.]  In 
1840,  to  please  Mme.  Colleville,  her  friend,  she  tried  to  obtain 
a  decoration  for  Thuillier.  [The  Middle  Classes.]  Mme. 
du  Bruel  bore  the  name  of  Tullia  on  the  stage  and  in  the 
"gallant"  circle.  She  lived  then  in  rue  Chauchat,  in  a 
house  afterwards  occupied  by  Mmes.  Mirah  and  B  rise  tout, 
when  Claudine  moved  after  her  marriage  to  rue  de  la  Victoire. 

Brunet,  bailiff  at  Blangy,  Burgundy,  in  1823.  He  was 
also  councillor  of  the  Canton  during  the  Terror,  having  for 
practitioners  Michel  Vert  alias  Vermichel  and  Fourchon  the 
elder.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Brunner  (Gede"on),  father  of  Frederic  Brunner.  At  the 
time  of  the  French  Restoration  and  of  Louis  Philippe  he 
owned  the  great  Holland  House  at  Frankford-on-the-Main. 
One  of  the  early  railway  projectors.  He  died  about  1844, 
leaving  four  millions.  Calvinist.  Twice  married.  [Cousin 
Pons.] 

Brunner  (Madame),  first  wife  of  Gideon  Brunner,  and 
mother  of  Frederic  Brunner.  A  relative  of  the  Virlaz  family, 
well-to-do  Jewish  furriers  of  Leipsic.  A  converted  Jew. 
Her  dowry  was  the  basis  of  her  husband's  fortune.  She 
died  young,  leaving  a  son  aged  but  twelve.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Brunner  (Madame),  second  wife  of  Gede'on  Brunner. 
The  only  daughter  of  a  German  inn-keeper.  She  had  been 


EEPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  69 

very  badly  spoiled  by  her  parents.  Sterile,  dissipated  and 
prodigal,  she  made  her  husband  very  unhappy,  thus  avenging 
the  first  Mme.  Brunner.  She  was  a  step-mother  of  the  most 
abominable  sort,  launching  her  stepson  into  an  unbridled 
life,  hoping  that  debauchery  would  devour  both  the  child 
and  the  Jewish  fortune.  After  ten  years  of  wedded  life 
she  died  before  her  parents,  having  made  great  inroads 
upon  Gedeon  Brunner's  property.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Brunner  (Frederic),  only  son  of  Ge"de"on  Brunner,  born 
within  the  first  four  years  of  the  century.  He  ran  through 
his  maternal  inheritance  by  silly  dissipations,  and  then 
helped  his  friend  Wilhelm  Schwab  to  make  away  with  the 
hundred  thousand  francs  his  parents  had  left  him.  Without 
resources  and  cast  adrift  by  his  father  he  went  to  Paris 
in  1835,  where,  upon  the  recommendation  of  Graff,  the  inn- 
keeper, he  obtained  a  position  with  Keller  at  six  hundred 
francs  per  annum.  In  1843  he  was  only  two  thousand 
francs  ahead;  but  Gedeon  Brunner  having  died,  he  became 
a  multi-millionaire.  Then  for  friendship's  sake  he  founded, 
with  his  chum  Wilhelm,  the  banking  house  of  "Brunner, 
Schwab  &  Co.,"  on  rue  Richelieu,  between  rue  Neuve-des- 
Petits-Champs  and  rue  Villedo,  in  a  magnificent  building 
belonging  to  the  tailor,  Wolfgang  Graff.  Fre'de'ric  Brunner 
had  been  presented  by  Sylvain  Pons  to  the  Camusots  de  Mar- 
ville;  he  would  have  married  their  daughter  had  she  not 
been  the  only  child.  The  breaking  off  of  this  match  involved 
also  the  relations  of  Pons  with  the  De  Marville  family  and 
resulted  in  the  death  of  the  musician.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Bruno,  valet  de  chambre  of  Corentin  at  Passy,  on  rue 
des  Vignes,  in  1830.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 
About  1840  he  was  again  in  the  service  of  Corentin,  who 
was  now  known  as  M.  du  Portail  and  lived  on  rue  Honore"- 
Chevalicr,  at  Paris.  [The  Middle  Classes.]  This  name  is 
sometimes  spelled  Bruneau. 

Brutus,  proprietor  of  the  Hdtel  des  Trois-Maures  in  the 
Grande-Rue,  Alengon,  in  1799,  whore  Alphonse  de  Montauran 
met  Mile,  de  Verneuil  for  the  first  time.  [The  Chouans.jj 


70  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Buneaud  (Madame)  ran  a  bourgeoisie  boarding-house  in 
opposition  to  Mme.  Vauquer  on  the  heights  of  Sainte- 
Genevieve,  Paris,  in  1819.  [Father  Goriot.] 

Butifer,  noted  hunter,  poacher  and  smuggler,  living  in 
the  village  hard  by  Grenoble,  where  Dr.  Benassis  located, 
during  the  Restoration.  When  the  doctor  arrived  in  the 
country,  Butifer  drew  a  bead  on  him,  in  a  corner  of  the 
forest.  Later,  however,  he  became  entirely  devoted  to 
him.  He  was  charged  by  Genestas  with  the  physical  educa- 
tion of  this  officer's  adopted  son.  It  may  be  that  Butifer 
enlisted  in  Genestas'  regiment,  after  the  death  of  Dr.  Benassis. 
[The  Country  Doctor.] 

Butscha  (Jean),  head-clerk  of  Maitre  Latournelle,  a  notary 
at  Havre  in  1829.  Born  about  1804.  The  natural  son  of 
a  Swedish  sailor  and  a  Demoiselle  Jacmin  of  Honfleur.  A 
hunchback.  A  type  of  intelligence  and  devotion.  Entirely 
subservient  to  Modeste  Mignon,  whom  he  loved  without 
hope;  he  aided,  by  many  adroit  methods,  to  bring  about 
her  marriage  with  Ernest  de  la  Briere.  Butscha  decided 
that  this  union  would  make  the  young  lady  happy.  [Modeste 
Mignon.  § 

C 

Cabirolle,  in  charge  of  the  stages  of  Minoret-Levranit, 
postmaster  of  Nemours.  Probably  a  widower,  with  one 
son.  About  1837,  a  sexagenarian,  he  married  Antoinette 
Patris,  called  La  Bougival,  who  was  over  fifty,  but  whose 
income  amounted  to  twelve  hundred  francs.  [Ursule  Mirouet.  ] 

Cabirolle,  son  of  the  preceding.  In  1830  he  was  Dr. 
Minoret's  coachman  at  Nemours.  Later  he  was  coachman 
for  Savinien  de  Portenduere,  after  the  vicomte's  marriage 
with  Ursule  Mirouet.  [Ursule  Mirouet.] 

Cabirolle  (Madame) ,  wife  of  Cabirolle  senior.  Born  Antoi- 
nette Patris  in  1786,  of  a  poor  family  of  La  Bresse.  Widow 
of  a  workman  named  Pierre  alias  Bougival;  she  was  usually 
designated  by  the  latter  name.  After  having  been  Ursule 


REPERTORY  OF  TTTE  COTVfEDTE  HUMAINE  71 

Mirouet's  nurse,  she  became  Dr.  Minoret's  servant,  marrying 
Cabirolle  about  1837.     [Ursule  Mirouet.] 

Cabirolle  (Madame),  mother  of  Florentine,  the  danseuse. 
Formerly  janitress  on  rue  Pastourelle,  but  living  in  1820 
with  her  daughter  on  rue  de  Crussol  in  a  modest  affluence 
assured  by  Cardot  the  old  silk-dealer,  since  1817.  According 
to  Girondeau,  she  was  a  woman  of  sense.  [A  Start  in  Life. 
A  Bachelor's  Establishment.] 

Cabirolle  (Agathe-Florentine),  known  as  Florentine;  born 
in  1804.  In  1817,  upon  leaving  Coulon's  class,  she  was 
discovered  by  Cardot,  the  old  silk-merchant,  and  established 
by  him  with  her  mother  in  a  relatively  comfortable  flat 
on  rue  de  Crussol.  After  having  been  featured  at  the  Galte" 
theatre,  in  1820,  she  danced  for  the  first  time  in  a  spectacular 
drama  entitled  "The  Ruins  of  Babylon."1  Immediately 
afterwards  she  succeeded  Mariette  as  premiere  danseuse  at 
the  theatre  of  the  Porte-Saint-Martin.  Then  in  1823  she 
made  her  de"but  at  the  Opera  in  a  trio  skit  with  Mariette 
and  Tullia.  At  the  time  when  Cardot  "protected"  her, 
she  had  for  lover  the  retired  Captain  Girondeau,  and  was  inti- 
mate with  Philippe  Bridau,  to  whom  she  gave  money  when 
in  need.  In  1825  Florentine  occupied  Coralie's  old  flat, 
now  for  some  three  years,  and  it  was  at  this  place  that  Oscar 
Husson  lost  at  play  the  money  entrusted  to  him  by  his 
employer,  Desroches  the  attorney,  and  was  surprised  by 
his  uncle,  Cardot.  [A  Start  in  Life.  Lost  Illusions.  A 
Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.  A  Bachelor's  Establish- 
ment.] 

Cabot  (Armand-Hippolyte),  a  native  of  Toulouse  who, 
in  1800,  established  a  hair-dressing  salon  on  the  Place  de 
la  Bourse,  Paris.  On  the  advice  of  his  customer,  the  poet 
Parny,  he  had  taken  the  name  of  Marius,  a  sobriquet  which 
stuck  to  the  establishment.  In  1845  Cabot  had  earned 
an  income  of  twenty-four  thousand  francs  and  lived  at 
Libourne,  while  a  fifth  Marius,  called  Mougin,  managed 
the  business  founded  by  him.  [The  Unconscious  Humorists.] 

1  By  RenOe-Chark-s  Guilbcrt  de  Pixorecourt;  played  for  the  first  time  at  Paris  In 
1810.' 


72  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Cabot  (Marie- Anne),  known  as  Lajeunesse,  an  old  servant 
of  Marquis  Carol  d'Esgrignon.  Implicated  in  the  affair 
of  the  "Chauffeurs  of  Mortagne"  and  executed  in  1809. 
[The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Cachan,  attorney  at  Angouleme  under  the  Restoration. 
He  and  Petit-Claud  had  similar  business  interests  and  the 
same  clients.  In  1830  Cachan,  now  mayor  of  Marsac,  had 
dealings  with  the  Sechards.  [Lost  Illusions.  Scenes  from 
a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Cadenet,  Parisian  wine-merchant,  in  1840,  on  the  ground- 
floor  of  a  furnished  lodging-house,  corner  of  rue  des  Postes 
and  rue  des  Poules.  Cerizet  also  dwelt  there  at  that  time. 
Cadenet,  who  was  proprietor  of  the  house,  had  something 
to  do  with  the  transactions  of  Cerizet,  the  "banker  of  the 
poor."  [The  Middle  Classes.] 

Cadignan  (Prince  de),  a  powerful  lord  of  the  former  re*gime, 
father  of  the  Due  de  Maufrigneuse,  father-in-law  of  the 
Due  de  Navarreins.  Ruined  by  the  Revolution,  he  had 
regained  his  properties  and  income  on  the  accession  of 
the  Bourbons.  But  he  was  a  spendthrift  and  devoured 
everything.  He  also  ruined  his  wife.  He  died  at  an  advanced 
age  some  time  before  the  Revolution  of  July.  [The  Secrets 
of  a  Princess.]  At  the  end  of  1829,  the  Prince  de  Cadignan, 
then  Grand  Huntsman  to  Charles  X.,  rode  in  a  great  chase 
where  were  also  found,  amid  a  very  aristocratic  throng, 
the  Due  d'He'rouv'ille,  organizer  of  the  jaunt,  Canalis  and 
Ernest  de  la  Bri£re,  all  three  of  whom  were  suitors  for  the 
hand  of  Modeste  Mignon.  [Modeste  Mignon.] 

Cadignan  (Prince  and  Princesse  de),  son  and  daughter- 
in-law  of  the  preceding.  (See  Maufrigneuse,  Due  and 
Duchesse  de.) 

Cadine  (Jenny),  actress  at  the  Gymnase  theatre,  times 
of  Charles  X.  and  Louis  Philippe.  The  most  frolicsome  of 
women,  the  only  rival  of  De"jazet.  Born  in  1814.  Dis- 
covered, trained  and  "protected"  from  thirteen  years  old 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  73 

on,  by  Baron  Hulot.  Intimate  friend  of  Jose"pha  Mirah. 
[Cousin  Betty.]  Between  1835  and  1840,  while  maintained 
by  Couture,  she  lived  on  rue  Blanche  in  a  delightful  little 
ground-floor  flat  with  its  own  garden.  Fabien  du  Ronceret 
and  Mme.  Schontz  succeeded  her  here.  [Beatrix.]  In  1845 
she  was  Massol's  mistress  and  lived  on  rue  de  la  Victoire. 
At  this  time,  she  apparently  led  astray  in  short  order  Palafox 
Gazonal,  who  had  been  taken  to  her  home  by  Bixiou  and 
Leon  de  Lora.  [The  Unconscious  Humorists.]  About  this 
time  she  was  the  victim  of  a  jewelry  theft.  After  the  arrest 
of  the  thieves  her  property  was  returned  by  Saint-Esteve 
— Vautrin — who  was  then  chief  of  the  special  service.  [The 
Member  for  Arcis.] 

Cadot  (Mademoiselle),  old  servantnnistress  of  Judge  Blon- 
det  at  Alencon,  during  the  Restoration.  She  pampered  her 
master,  and,  like  him,  preferred  the  elder  of  the  magistrate's 
two  sons.  [Jealousies  of  a  Country  Town.] 

Calvi  (Theodore),  alias  Madeleine.  Born  in  1803.  A 
Corsican  condemned  to  the  galleys  for  life  on  account  of 
eleven  murders  committed  by  the  time  he  was  eighteen. 
A  member  of  the  same  gang  with  Vautrin  from  1819  to  1820. 
Escaped  with  him.  Having  assassinated  the  widow  Pigeau 
of  Nanterre,  in  May,  1830,  he  was  rearrested  and  this  time 
sentenced  to  death.  The  plotting  of  Vautrin,  who  bore 
for  him  an  unnatural  affection,  saved  his  life;  the  sentence 
was  commuted.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Cambon,  lumber  merchant,  a  deputy  mayor  to  Benassis, 
in  1829,  in  a  community  near  Grenoble,  and  a  devoted 
assistant  in  the  work  of  regeneration  undertaken  by  the 
doctor.  [The  Country  Doctor.] 

Cambremer  (Pierre),  fisherman  of  Croisic  on  the  Lower- 
Loire,  time  of  Louis  Philippe,  who,  for  the  honor  of  a  jeo- 
pardized name,  had  cast  his  only  son  into  the  sea  and  after- 
wards remained  desolate  and  a  widower  on  a  cliff  near 
by,  in  expiation  of  his  crime  induced  by  paternal  justice. 
|A  Seaside  Tragedy.  Beatrix.  J 


74  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Cambremer  (Joseph),  younger  brother  of  Pierre  Cam- 
bremer,  father  of  Pierrette,  called  Perotte.  [A  Seaside- 
Tragedy.] 

Cambremer  (Jacques),  only  son  of  Pierre  Cambremei 
and  Jacquette  Brouin.  Spoiled  by  his  parents,  his  mother 
especially,  he  became  a  rascal  of  the  worst  type.  Jacques 
Cambremer  evaded  justice  only  by  reason  of  the  fact  that 
his  father  gagged  him  and  cast  him  into  the  sea.  [A  Seaside 
Tragedy.] 

Cambremer  (Madame),  born  Jacquette  Brouin,  wife  of 
Pierre  Cambremer  and  mother  of  Jacques.  She  was  of 
Gue*rande ;  was  educated ;  could  write  "  like  a  clerk  " ;  taught 
her  son  to  read  and  this  brought  about  his  ruin.  She  was 
usually  spoken  of  as  the  beautiful  Brouin.  She  died  a 
few  days  after  Jacques.  [A  Seaside  Tragedy.] 

Cambremer  (Pierrette),  known  as  Perotte;  daughter  of 
Joseph  Cambremer;  niece  of  Pierre  and  his  goddaughter. 
Every  morning  the  sweet  and  charming  creature  came  to 
bring  her  uncle  the  bread  and  water  upon  which  he  subsisted. 
[A  Seaside  Tragedy.] 

Came'ristus,  celebrated  physician  of  Paris  under  Louis 
Philippe;  the  Ballanche  of  medicine  and  one  of  the  defenders 
of  the  abstract  doctrines  of  Van  Helmont ;  chief  of  the  "  Vital- 
ists"  opposed  to  Brisset  who  headed  the  "Organists."  He 
as  well  as  Brisset  was  called  in  consultation  regarding  a 
very  serious  malady  afflicting  Raphael  de  Valentin.  [The 
Magic  Skin.] 

Camps  (Octave  de),  lover  then  husband  of  Mme.  Firmiani. 
She  made  him  restore  the  entire  fortune  of  a  family  named 
Bourgneuf,  ruined  in  a  lawsuit  by  Octave's  father,  thus 
reducing  him  to  the  necessity  of  making  a  living  by  teaching 
mathematics.  He  was  only  twenty-two  years  old  when  he 
met  Mme.  Firmiani.  He  married  her  first  at  Gretna  Green. 
The  marriage  at  Paris  took  place  in  1824  or  1825.  Before 
marriage,  Octave  de  Camps  lived  on  rue  de  1'Observance. 
He  was  a  descendant  of  the  famous  Abbe  de  Camps,  so  well 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE      .         75 

known  among  bookmen,  and  savants.  [Madame  Firmiani.] 
Octave  de  Camps  reappears  as  an  ironmaster,  during  the 
reign  of  Louis  Philippe.  At  this  time  he  rarely  resided  at 
Paris.  [The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Camps  (Madame  Octave  de),  n£e  Cadignan;  niece  of  the 
old  Prince  de  Cadignan;  cousin  of  the  Due  de  Maufrigneuse. 
In  1813,  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  she  married  M.  Firmiani, 
receiver-general  in  the  department  of  Montenotte.  M. 
Firmiani  died  in  Greece  about  1822,  and  she  became 
Mme.  de  Camps  in  1824  or  1825.  At  this  time  she  dwelt 
on  rue  du  Bac  and  had  entree  into  the  home  of  Princesse 
de  Blamont-Chauvry,  the  oracle  of  Faubourg  Saint-Germain. 
An  accomplished  and  excellent  lady,  loved  even  by  her  rivals, 
the  Duchesse  de  Maufrigneuse,  her  cousin,  Mme.  de  Macumer 
— Louise  de  Chaulieu — and  the  Marquise  d'Espard.  [Ma- 
dame Firmiani.]  She  welcomed  and  protected  Mme.  Xavier 
Rabourdin.  [The  Government  Clerks.]  At  the  close  of 
1824  she  gave  a  ball  where  Charles  de  Vandenesse  made 
the  acquaintance  of  Mme.  d'Aiglemont  whose  lover  he 
became.  [A  Woman  of  Thirty.]  In  1834  Mme.  Octave 
de  Camps  tried  to  check  the  slanders  going  the  rounds  at 
the  expense  of  Mme.  Felix  de  Vandenesse,  who  had  compro- 
mised herself  somewhat  on  account  of  the  poet  Nathan; 
and  Mme.  de  Camps  gave  the  young  woman  some  good 
advice.  [A  Daughter  of  Eve.]  On  another  occasion  she 
gave  exceedingly  good  counsel  to  Mme.  de  1'Estorade,  who  was 
afraid  of  being  smitten  with  Sallenauve.  [The  Member  for 
Arcis.]  Mme.  Firmiani,  "  that  was, "  shared  her  time  between 
Paris  and  the  furnaces  of  M.  de  Camps;  but  she  gave  the 
latter  much  the  preference — at  least  so  said  one  of  her  inti- 
mate friends,  Mme.  de  TEstorade.  [The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Camuset,  one  of  Bourignard's  assumed  names. 

Camusot,  silk-merchant,  rue  des  Bourdonnais,  Paris, 
under  the  Restoration.  Born  in  1765.  Son-in-law  and 
successor  of  Cardot,  whose  eldest  daughter  he  had  married. 
At  that  time  he  was  a  widower,  his  first  wife  being  a  Demoi- 


76        .       REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

selle  Pons,  sole  heiress  of  the  celebrated  Pons  family, 
embroiderers  to  the  Court  during  the  Empire.  About 
1834  Camusot  retired  from  business,  and  became  a  member 
of  the  Manufacturers'  Council,  deputy,  peer  of  France  and 
baron.  He  had  four  children.  In  1821-1822  he  maintained 
Coralie,  who  became  so  violently  enamored  of  Lucien 
de  Rubempre.  Although  she  abandoned  him  for  Lucien, 
he  promised  the  poet,  after  the  actress'  death,  that  he  would 
purchase  for  her  a  permanent  plot  in  the  cemetery  of  Pere- 
Lachaise.  [A  Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.  A  Bache- 
lor's Establishment.  Cousin  Pons.]  Later  he  was  intimate 
with  Fanny  Beaupre  for  some  time.  [The  Muse  of  the  De- 
partment.] He  and  his  wife  were  present  at  Cesar  Birotteau's 
big  ball  in  December,  1818;  he  was  also  chosen  commissary- 
judge  of  the  perfumer's  bankruptcy,  instead  of  Gobenheim- 
Keller,  who  was  first  designated.  [Cesar  Birotteau.]  He 
had  dealings  with  the  Gillaumes,  clothing  merchants,  rue 
Saint-Denis.  [At  the  Sign  of  the  Cat  and  Racket.] 

Camusot  de  Marville,  son  of  Camusot  the  silk-merchant 
by  his  first  marriage.  Born  about  1794.  During  Louis 
Philippe's  reign  he  took  the  name  of  a  Norman  estate  and 
green,  Marville,  in  order  to  distinguish  between  himself 
and  a  half-brother.  In  1824,  then  a  judge  at  Alengon, 
he  helped  render  an  alibi  decision  in  favor  of  Victurnien 
d'Esgrignon,  who  really  was  guilty.  [Cousin  Pons.  Jeal- 
ousies of  a  Country  Town.]  He  was  judge  at  Paris  in  1828, 
and  was  appointed  to  replace  Popinot  in  the  court  which 
was  to  render  a  decision  concerning  the  appeal  for  inter- 
diction presented  by  Mme.  d'Espard  against  her  husband. 
[The  Commission  in  Lunacy.]  In  May,  1830,  in  the  capac- 
ity of  judge  of  instruction,  he  prepared  a  report  tending 
to  the  liberation  of  Lucien  de  Rubempre,  accused  of  assassi- 
nating Esther  Gobseck.  But  the  suicide  of  the  poet  rendered 
the  proposed  measure  useless,  besides  upsetting,  momentarily, 
the  ambitious  projects  of  the  magistrate.  [Scenes  from 
a  Courtesan's  Life.]  Camusot  de  Marville  had  been  presi- 
dent of  the  Court  of  Nantes.  In  1844  he  was  president 
of  the  Royal  Court  of  Paris  and  commander  of  the  Legion 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  77 

of  Honor.  At  this  time  he  lived  in  a  house  on  rue  de  Hanovre, 
purchased  by  him  in  1834,  where  he  received  the  musician 
Pons,  a  cousin  of  his.  The  President  de  Marville  was  elected 
deputy  in  1846.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Camusot  de  Marville  (Madame),  born  Thirion,  Marie- 
Cecile-Amelie,  in  1798.  Daughter  of  an  usher  of  the  Cabinet 
of  Louis  XVIII.  Wife  of  the  magistrate.  In  1814  she 
frequented  the  studio  of  the  painter  Servin,  who  had  a 
class  for  young  ladies.  This  studio  contained  two  factions; 
Mile.  Thirion  headed  the  party  of  the  nobility,  though  of 
ordinary  birth,  and  persecuted  Ginevra  di  Piombo,  of  the 
Bonapartist  party.  [The  Vendetta.]  In  1818  she  was 
invited  to  accompany  her  father  and  mother  to  the  famous 
ball  of  Ce"sar  Birotteau.  It  was  about  the  time  her  marriage 
with  Camusot  de  Marville  was  being  considered.  [Ce"sar 
Birotteau.]  This  wedding  took  place  in  1819,  and  im- 
mediately the  imperious  young  woman  gained  the  upper  hand 
with  the  judge,  making  him  follow  her  own  will  absolutely 
and  in  the  interests  of  her  boundless  ambition.  It  was 
she  who  brought  about  the  discharge  of  the  young  d'Esgrignon 
in  1824,  and  the  suicide  of  Lucien  de  Rubempre*  in  1830. 
Through  her,  the  Marquis  d'Espard  failed  of  interdiction. 
However,  Mme.  de  Marville  had  no  influence  over  her  father- 
in-law,  the  senior  Camusot,  whom  she  bored  dreadfully  and 
importuned  excessively.  She  caused,  also,  by  her  evil  treat- 
ment, the  death  of  Sylvain  Pons  "the  poor  relation,"  in- 
heriting with  her  husband  his  fine  collection  of  curios. 
[Jealousies  of  a  Country  Town.  Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's 
Life.  Cousin  Pons.] 

Camusot  (Charles),  son  of  the  preceding  couple.  He  died 
young,  at  a  time  when  his  parents  had  neither  land  nor 
title  of  Marville,  and  when  they  were  in  almost  straitened 
circumstances.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Camusot  de  Marville  (C6cile).     (See  Popinot,  Vicomtesse.) 

Canalis  (Constant-Cyr-Mclchior,  Baron  de),  poet — chief 
of  the  "Angelic"  school — deputy  minister,  peer  of  France, 


78  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

member  of  the  French  Academy,  commander  of  the  Legion 
of  Honor.  Born  at  Canalis,  Correze,  in  1800.  About  1821 
he  became  the  lover  of  Mme.  de  Chaulieu,  who  was  constantly 
aiding  him  to  high  positions,  but  who,  at  the  same  time, 
was  always  very  exacting.  Not  long  after,  Canalis  is  seen 
at  the  opera  in  Mme.  d'Espard's  box,  being  presented  to 
Lucien  de  Rubempre.  From  1824  he  was  the  fashionable 
poet.  [Letters  of  Two  Brides.  A  Distinguished  Provincial 
at  Paris.]  In  1829  he  lived  at  number  29  rue  Paradis- 
Poissoniere  (now  simply  rue  Paradis)  and  was  master  of 
requests  in  the  Council  of  State.  This  is  the  time  when 
he  was  in  correspondence  with  Modeste  Mignon  and  wished 
to  espouse  that  rich  heiress.  [Modeste  Mignon.]  Shortly 
after  1830,  now  a  great  man,  he  was  present  at  Mile,  des 
Touches',  when  Henri  de  Marsay  told  of  his  first  love  affair. 
Canalis  took  part  in  the  conversation  and  uttered  a  most 
vigorous  tirade  against  Napoleon.  [The  Magic  Skin.  Another 
Study  of  Woman.]  In  1838  he  married  the  daughter  of 
Moreau  (de  1'Oise),  who  brought  him  a  very  large  dowry. 
[A  Start  in  Life.]  In  October,  1840,  he  and  Mme.  de  Rochefide 
were  present  at  a  performance  at  the  Varietes  theatre, 
where  that  dangerous  woman  was  encountered  again  after 
a  lapse  of  three  years  by  Calyste  du  Guenic.  [Beatrix.] 
In  1845  Canalis  was  pointed  out  in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies 
by  Le"on  de  Lora  to  Palefox  Gazonal.  [The  Unconscious 
Humorists.]  In  1845,  he  consented  to  act  as  second  to  Sal- 
lenauve  in  his  duel  with  Maxime  de  Trailles.  [The  Member 
for  Arcis.] 

Canalis  (Baronne .  Melchior  de),  wife  of  the  preceding 
and  daughter  of  M.  and  Mme.  Moreau  (de.l'Oise).  About 
the  middle  of  the  reign  of  Louis  Philippe,  she  being  then 
recently  married,  she  made  a  journey  to  Seine-et-Oise.  She 
went  first  to  Beaumont  and  Presles.  Mme.  de  Canalis 
with  her  daughter  and  the  Academician,  occupied  Pierrotin's 
stage-coach.  [A  Start  in  Life.] 

Cane  (Marco-Facino),  known  as  Pere  Canet,  a  blind  old 
man,  an  inmate  of  the  Hospital  des  Quinae-Vingts, 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  79 

during  the  Restoration  followed  the  vocation  of  musician, 
at  Paris.  He  played  the  clarionet  at  a  ball  of  the  working- 
people  of  rue  de  Charenton,  on  the  occasion  of  the  wedding 
of  Mme.  Vaillant's  sister.  He  said  he  was  a  Venetian, 
Prince  de  Varese,  a  descendant  of  the  condottiere  Facino 
Cane,  whose  conquests  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Duke  of 
Milan.  He  told  strange  stories  regarding  his  patrician 
youth.  He  died  in  1820,  more  than  an  octogenarian.  He  was 
the  last  of  the  Canes  on  the  senior  branch,  and  he  trans- 
mitted the  title  of  Prince  de  Varese  to  a  relative,  Emilio 
Memmi.  [Facino  Cane.  Massimilla  Doni.] 

Cante-Croix  (Marquis  de),  under-lieutenant  in  one  of  the 
regiments  which  tarried  at  Angouleme  from  November, 
1807,  to  March,  1808,  while  on  its  way  to  Spain.  He  was  a 
Colonel  at  Wagram  on  July  6,  1809,  although  only  twenty- 
six  years  old,  when  a  shot  crushed  over  his  heart  the  picture 
of  Mme.  de  Bargeton,  whom  he  loved.  [Lost  Illusions.] 

Cantinet,  an  old  glass-dealer,  and  beadle  of  Saint-Frangois 
church,  Marais,  Paris,  in  1845;  dwelt  on  rue  d'Orle'ans.  A 
drunken  idler.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Cantinet  (Madame),  wife  of  preceding  ;  renter  of  seats 
in  Saint-Frangois.  Last  nurse  to  Sylvain  Pons,  and  a  tool 
to  the  interests  of  Fraisier  and  Poulain.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Cantinet,  Junior,  would  have  been  made  beadle  of  Saint- 
Frangois,  where  his  father  and  mother  were  employed, 
but  he  preferred  the  theatre.  He  was  connected  with  the 
Cirque-Olympique  in  1845.  He  caused  his  mother  sorrow, 
by  a  dissolute  life  and  by  forcible  inroads  on  the  maternal 
purse.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Capraja,  a  noble  Venetian,  a  recognized  dilettante,  living 
only  by  and  through  music.  Nicknamed  "II  Fanatico." 
Known  by  the  Duke  and  Duchess  Cataneo  and  their  friends. 
[Massimilla  Doni.] 

Carabine,  assumed  name  of  Se>aphine  Sinet,  which  name 
see. 


80  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Carbonneau,  physician  whom  the  Comte  de  Mortsauf 
spoke  of  consulting  about  his  wife,  in  1820,  instead  of  Dr. 
Origet,  whom  he  fancied  to  be  unsatisfactory.  [The  Lily 
of  the  Valley.] 

Carcado  (Madame  de),  founder  of  a  Parisian  benevolent 
society,  for  which  Mme.  de  la  Baudraye  was  appointed 
collector,  in  March,  1843,  on  the  request  of  some  priests, 
friends  of  Mme.  Piedefer.  This  choice  resulted,  noteworthily, 
in  the  re-entrance  into  society  of  the  "muse,"  who  had  been 
beguiled  and  compromised  by  her  relations  with  Lousteau. 
[The  Muse  of  the  Department.] 

Cardanet  (Madame  de),  grandmother  of  Mme.  de  Senonches. 
[Lost  Illusions.] 

Cardinal  (Madame),  Parisian  fish- vender,  daughter  of  one 
Toupillier,  a  carrier.  Widow  of  a  well-known  marketman. 
Niece  of  Toupillier  the  pauper  of  Saint-Sulpice,  from  whom 
in  1840,  with  Ce'rizet's  assistance,  she  tried  to  capture  the 
hidden  treasure.  This  woman  had  three  sisters,  four  brothers 
and  three  uncles,  who  would  have  shared  with  her  the  pauper's 
bequest.  The  scheming  of  Mme.  Cardinal  and  C6rizet  was 
frustrated  by  M.  du  Portail — Corentin.  [The  Middle  Classes.] 

Cardinal  (Olympe).     (See  Ce"rizet,  Madame.) 

Cardot  (Jean-Jerome-SeVerin),  born  in  1755.  Head-clerk 
in  an  old  silk-house,  the  "  Golden  Cocoon, "  rue  des  Bour- 
donnais.  He  bought  the  establishment  in  1793,  at  the 
"maximum"  moment,  and  in  ten  years  had  made  a  large 
fortune,  thanks  to  the  dowry  of  one  hundred  thousand  francs  • 
brought  him  by  his  wife;  she  was  a  Demoiselle  Husson, 
and  gave  him  four  children.  Of  these,  the  elder  daughter 
married  Camusot,  who  succeeded  his  father-in-law;  the 
second,  Marianne,  married  Protez,  of  the  firm  of  Protez  & 
Chiffreville ;  the  elder  son  became  a  notary;  the  younger 
son,  Joseph,  took  an  interest  in  Matifat's  drug  business. 
Cardot  was  the  "protector"  of  the  actress,  Florentine, 
whom  he  discovered  and  started.  In  1822  he  lived  at  Belle- 
ville in  one  of  the  first  houses  above  Courtille;  he  had  then 


81 

been  a  widower  for  six  years.  He  was  an  uncle  of  Oscar 
Husson,  and  had  taken  some  interest  in  and  helped  the 
dolt,  until  an  incident  occurred  that  changed  everything: 
the  old  man  discovered  the  young  fellow  asleep  one  morning, 
on  one  of  Florentine's  divans,  after  an  orgy  wherein  he  had 
squandered  the  money  entrusted  to  him  by  his  employer, 
Desroches  the  attorney.  [A  Start  in  Life.  Lost  Illusions. 
A  Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.  A  Bachelor's  Estab- 
lishment.] Cardot  had  dealings  with  the  Gillaumes,  cloth- 
iers, rue  Saint-Denis.  [At  the  Sign  of  the  Cat  and  Racket.] 
He  and  his  entire  family  were  invited  to  the  great  ball  given 
by  Cesar  Birotteau,  December  17,  1818.  [Cesar  Birotteau.] 

Cardot,  elder  son  of  the  preceding.  Parisian  notary, 
successor  of  Sorbier.  Born  in  1794.  Married  to  a  Demoiselle 
Chiffreville,  of  a  family  of  celebrated  chemists.  Three 
children  were  born  to  them:  a  son  who  in  1836  was  fourth 
clerk  in  his  father's  business,  and  should  have  succeeded 
him,  but  dreamed  instead  of  literary  fame;  Felicie,  who 
married  Berthier;  and  another  daughter,  born  in  1824. 
The  notary  Cardot  maintained  Malaga,  during  the  reign 
of  Louis  Philippe.  [The  Muse  of  the  Department.  A 
Man  of  Business.  Jealousies  of  a  Country  Town.]  He 
was  attorney  for  Pierre  Grassou,  who  deposited  his  savings 
with  him  every  quarter.  [Pierre  Grassou.]  He  was  also 
notary  to  the  Thuilliers,  and,  in  1840,  had  presented  in  their 
drawing-rooms,  on  rue  Saint-Dominique  d'Enfer,  Godeschal 
an  aspirant  for  the  hand  of  Celeste  Colleville.  After  living 
on  Place  du  Chatelet,  Cardot  became  one  of  the  tenants 
of  the  house  purchased  by  the  Thuilliers,  near  the  Madeleine. 
[The  Middle  Classes.]  In  1844  he  was  mayor  and  deputy 
of  Paris.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Cardot  (Madame)  nee  Chiffreville,  wife  of  Cardot  the 
notary.  Very  devoted,  but  a  "wooden"  woman,  a  "veri- 
table penitential  brush."  About  1840  she  lived  on  Place 
du  Chatelet,  Paris,  with  her  husband.  At  this  time,  the 
notary's  wife  took  her  daughter  lY-licie  to  rue  des  Martyrs, 
to  the  home  of  Etienne  Lousteau,  whom  she  had  planned. 


82  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

to  have  for  a  son-in-law,  but  whom  she  finally  threw  over 
on  account  of  the  journalist's  dissipated  ways.  |jThe  Muse 
of  the  Department.] 

Cardot  (Felicie  or  Felicite*).     (See  Berthier,  Madame.) 

Carigliano  (Marechal,  Due  de),  one  of  the  illustrious  soldiers 
of  the  Empire ;  husband  of  a  Demoiselle  Malin  de  Gondreville, 
whom  he  worshiped,  obeyed  and  stood  in  awe  of,  but  who 
deceived  him.  [At  the  Sign  of  the  Cat  and  Racket.]  In 
1819,  Marechal  de  Carigliano  gave  a  ball  where  Eugene 
de  Rastignac  was  presented  by  his  cousin,  the  Vicomtesse 
de  Beauseant,  at  the  time  he  entered  the  world  of  fashion. 
[Father  Goriot.  ]  During  the  Restoration  he  owned  a  beautiful 
house  near  the  Elysee-Bourbon,  which  he  sold  to  M.  de  Lanty. 
[Sarrasine.] 

Carigliano  (Duchesse  de),  wife  of  the  preceding,  daughter 
of  Senator  Malin  de  Gondreville.  At  the  end  of  the  Empire, 
when  thirty-six  years  of  age,  she  was  the  mistress  of  the  young 
Colonel  d'Aiglemont,  and  of  Sommervieux,  the  painter, 
almost  at  the  same  time ;  the  latter  had  recently  wedded  Augus- 
tine Guillaume.  The  Duchesse  de  Carigliano  received  a  visit 
from  Mme.  de  Sommervieux,  and  gave  her  very  ingenious 
advice  concerning  the  method  of  reconquering  her  husband, 
and  binding  him  forever  to  her  by  her  coquetry.  [At  the  Sign 
of  the  Cat  and  Racket.]  In  1821-1822  she  had  an  opera-box 
near  Mme.  d'Espard.  Sixte  du  Chatelet  came  to  her  to 
make  his  acknowledgments  on  the  evening  when  Lucien 
de  Rubempre",  a  newcomer  in  Paris,  cut  such  a  sorry  figure 
at  the  theatre  in  company  with  Mme.  de  Bargeton.  [A 
Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.]  'Twas  the  Duchesse 
de  Carigliano  who,  after  great  effort,  found  a  wife  suited 
to  General  de  Montcornet,  in  the  person  of  Mile,  de  Trois- 
ville.  [The  Peasantry.]  Mme.  de  Carigliano,  although  a 
Napoleonic  duchesse,  was  none  the  less  devoted  to  the  House 
of  the  Bourbons,  being  attached  especially  to  the  Duchesse 
de  Berry.  Becoming  imbued  also  with  a  high  degree  of 
piety,  she  visited  nearly  every  year  a  retreat  of  the  Ursulines 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  83 

of  Arcis-sur-Aube.  In  1839  Sallenauve's  friends  counted 
on  the  duchesse's  support  to  elect  him  deputy.  [The  Member 
for  Arcis.] 

Carmagnola  (Giambattista;,  an  old  Venetian  gondolier, 
entirely  devoted  to  Emilio  Memmi,  in  1820.  [Massimilla 
Doni.] 

Carnot  (Lazare-Nicolas-Marguerite),  born  at  Nolay — 
Cote-d'Or— in  1753;  died  in  1823.  In  June,  1800,  while 
Minister  of  War,  he  was  present  in  company  with  Talleyrand, 
Fouche  and  Sieyes,  at  a  council  held  at  the  home  of  the 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  rue  du  Bac,  when  the  overthrow 
of  First  Consul  Bonaparte  was  discussed.  [The  Gondreville 
Mystery.] 

Caroline  (Mademoiselle),  governess,  during  the  Empire, 
of  the  four  children  of  M.  and  Mme.  de  Vandenesse.  "She 
was  a  terror."  [The  Lily  of  the  Valley.] 

Caroline,  chambermaid  of  the  Marquis  de  Listom£re,  in  1827- 
1828,  on  rue  Saint-Dominique-Saint-Germain,  Paris,  when 
the  marquis  received  a  letter  from  Eugene  de  Rastignac 
intended  for  Delphine  de  Nucingen.  [A  Study  of  Woman.] 

Caroline,  servant  of  the  Thuilliers  in  1840.  [The  Middle 
Classes.] 

Caron,  lawyer,  in  charge  of  the  affairs  of  Mile.  Gamard 
at  Tours  in  1826.  He  acted  against  Abbe"  Frangois  Birotteau. 
[The  Vicar  of  Tours.] 

Carpentier,  formerly  captain  in  the  Imperial  Army,  retired 
at  Issoudun  during  the  Restoration.  He  had  a  position 
in  the  mayor's  office.  He  was  allied  by  marriage  to  one 
of  the  strongest  families  of  the  city,  the  Borniche-He'reaus. 
He  was  an  intimate  friend  of  the  artillery  captain,  Mignonnet, 
sharing  with  him  his  aversion  for  Commandant  Maxence 
Gilet.  Carpentier  and  Mignonnet  were  seconds  of  Philippe 
Bridau  in  his  duel  with  the  chief  of  the  "Knights  of  Idlesse." 
fcA  Bachelor's  Establishment,  j 


84  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Carpi  (Benedetto),  jailer  of  a  Venetian  prison,  where 
Facino  Cane  was  confined  between  the  years  1760  and  1770. 
Bribed  by  the  prisoner,  he  fled  with  him,  carrying  a  portion 
of  the  hidden  treasure  of  the  Republic.  But  he  perished 
soon  after,  by  drowning,  while  trying  to  cross  the  sea.  [Facino 
Cane.] 

Carthagenova,  a  superb  basso  of  the  Fenice  theatre  at 
Venice.  In  1820  he  sang  the  part  of  Moses  in  Rossini's 
opera,  with  Genovese  and  La  Tinti.  [Massimilla  Doni.] 

Cartier,  gardener  in  the  Montparnasse  quarter,  Paris, 
during  the  reign  of  Louis  Philippe.  In  1838  he  supplied 
flowers  to  M.  Bernard — Baron  de  Bourlac — for  his  daughter 
Vanda.  [The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Cartier  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding;  vender  of  milk, 
eggs  and  vegetables  to  Mme.  Vauthier,  landlady  of  a  miserable 
boarding-house  on  Boulevard  Montparnasse,  and  also  to 
M.  Bernard,  lessee  of  real  estate.  [The  Seamy  Side  of  His- 
tory.] 

Casa-Re'al  (Due  de),  younger  brother  of  Mme.  Balthazar 
Clae's;  related  to  the  Evangelistas  of  Bordeaux;  of  an  illus- 
trious family  under  the  Spanish  monarchy;  his  sister  had 
renounced  the  paternal  succession  in  order  to  procure  for 
him  a  marriage  worthy  of  a  house  so  noble.  He  died  young, 
in  1805,  leaving  to  Mme.  Clae's,  a  considerable  fortune  in 
money.  [The  Quest  of  the  Absolute .  A  Marriage  Settle- 
ment.] 

Castagnould,  mate  of  the  "Mignon,"  a  pretty,  hundred- 
ton  vessel  owned  by  Charles  Mignon,  the  captain.  In  this 
he  made  several  important  and  prosperous  voyages,  from 
1826  to  1829.  Castagnould  was  a  Provengal  and  an  old 
servant  of  the  Mignon  family.  [Modeste  Mignon.] 

Castanier  (Rodolphe),  retired  chief  of  squadron  in  the 
dragoons,  under  the  Empire.  Cashier  of  Baron  de  Nucingen 
during  the  Restoration.  Wore  the  decoration  of  the  Legion 
of  Honor.  He  maintained  Mme.  de  la  Garde — Aquilina — 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  83 

and  on  her  account,  in"  1821,  he  counterfeited  the  banker's 
name  on  a  letter  of  credit  for  a  considerable  amount.  John 
Melmoth,  an  Englishman,  got  him  out  of  this  scrape  by 
exchanging  his  own  individuality  for  that  of  the  old  officer. 
Castanier  was  thus  all-powerful,  but  becoming  promptly  at 
outs  with  the  proceeding,  he  adopted  the  same  tactics  of 
exchange,  transferring  his  power  to  a  financier  named  Clap- 
aron.  Castanier  was  a  Southerner.  He  had  seen  service 
from  sixteen  till  nearly  forty.  [Melmoth  Reconciled.] 

Castanier  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding,  married 
during  the  first  Empire.  Her  family — that  of  the  bourgeoisie 
of  Nancy — fooled  Castanier  about  the  size  of  her  dowry 
and  her  "expectations."  Mme.  Castanier  was  honest,  ugly 
and  sour-tempered.  She  was  separated  from  her  husband, 
to  his  relief,  and  for  several  years  previous  to  1821  lived 
in  the  suburbs  of  Strasbourg.  [Melmoth  Reconciled.] 

Casteran  (De),  a  very  ancient  aristocracy  of  Normandy; 
related  to  William  the  Conqueror;  allied  with  the  Verneuils, 
the  Esgrignons  and  the  Troisvilles.  The  name  is  pronounced 
"Cateran. "  A  Demoiselle  Blanche  de  Casteran  was  the 
mother  of  Mile,  de  Verneuil,  and  died  Abbess  of  Notre- 
Dame  de  Seez.  [The  Chouans.]  In  1807  Mme.  de  la  Chanterie, 
then  a  widow,  was  hospitably  received  in  Normandy  by 
the  Casterans.  [The  Seamy  Side  of  History.]  In  1822 
a  venerable  couple,  Marquis  and  Marquise  de  Casteran 
visited  the  drawing-room  of  Marquis  d'Esgrignon  at  Alenyon. 
[Jealousies  of  a  Country  Town.]  The  Marquise  de  Roche- 
fide,  nee  Beatrix-Maximilienne-Rose  de  Casteran,  was  the 
younger  daughter  of  a  Marquis  de  Casteran  who  wished  to 
marry  off  both  his  daughters  without  dowries,  and  thus 
save  his  entire  fortune  for  his  son,  the  Comte  de  Casteran. 
[Beatrix.]  A  Comte  de  Casteran,  son-in-law  of  the  Marquis 
de  Troisville,  relative  of  Mme.  de  Montcornet,  was  prefect 
of  a  department  of  Burgundy  between  1820  and  1825.  [The 
Peasantry.] 

Cataneo  (Duke),  noble  Sicilian,  born  in  1773;  first  husband 
of  Massimilla  Doni.  Physically  ruined  by  early  debaucheries, 


86  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

he  was  a  husband  only  in  name,  living  only  by  and  through 
the  influence  of  music.  Very  wealthy,  he  had  educated 
Clara  Tinti,  discovered  by  him  when  still  a  child  and  a  simple 
tavern  servant.  The  young  girl  became,  thanks  to  him, 
the  celebrated  prima  donna  of  the  Fenice  theatre,  at 
Venice  in  1820.  The  wonderful  tenor  Genovese,  of  the 
same  theatre,  was  also  a  protege  of  Duke  Cataneo,  who 
paid  him  a  high  salary  to  sing  only  with  La  Tinti.  The 
Duke  Cataneo  cut  a  sorry  figure.  [Massimilla  Doni.] 

Cataneo  (Duchess),  nee  Massimilla  Doni,  wife  of  the 
preceding;  married  later  to  Emilio  Memmi,  Prince  de  Varese. 
(See  Princesse  de  Varese.) 

Catherine,  an  old  woman  in  the  service  of  M.  and  Mme. 
SaiUard,  in  1824.  [The  Government  Clerks.] 

Catherine,  chambermaid  and  foster  sister  of  Laurence 
de  Cinq-Cygne  in  1803.  A  handsome  girl  of  nineteen. 
According  to  Gothard,  Catherine  was  in  all  her  mistress' 
secrets  and  furthered  all  her  schemes.  [The  Gondreville 
Mystery.] 

Cavalier,  Fendant's  partner;  both  were  book-collectors, 
publishers  and  venders  in  Paris,  on  rue  Serpente  in  1821. 
Cavalier  traveled  for  the  house,  whose  firm  name  appeared 
as  "Fendant  and  Cavalier."  The  two  associates  failed 
shortly  after  having  published,  without  success,  the  famous 
romance  of  Lucien  de  Rubempre",  "The  Archer  of  Charles 
IX.,"  which  title  they  had  changed  for  one  more  fantastic. 
[A  Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.]  In  1838,  a  firm  of 
Cavalier  published  "The  Spirit  of  Modern  Law"  by  Baron 
Bourlac,  sharing  the  profits  with  the  author.  [The  Seamy 
Side  of  History.] 

Cayron,  of  Languedoc,  a  vender  of  parasols,  umbrellas 
and  canes,  on  rue  Saint-Honore"  in  a  house  adjacent  to  that 
inhabited  by  Birotteau  the  perfumer  in  1818.  With  the 
consent  of  the  landlord,  Molineux,  Cayron  sublet  two  apart- 
ments over  his  shop  to  his  neighbor.  He  fared  badly  in 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  87 

business,  suddenly  disappearing  a  short  time  after  the  grand 
ball  given  by  Birotteau.  Cayron  admired  Birotteau.  [Cesar 
Birotteau.] 

C61estin,  valet  de  chambre  of  Lucien  de  Rubempre",  on 
the  Malaquais  quai,  in  the  closing  years  of  the  reign  of  Charles 
X.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

C6rizet,  orphan  from  the  Foundling  Hospital,  Paris;  born 
in  1802;  an  apprentice  of  the  celebrated  printers  Didot,  at 
whose  office  he  was  noticed  by  David  Se"chard,  who  took 
him  to  Angouleme  and  employed  him  in  his  own  shop,  where 
Cerizet  performed  triple  duties  of  form-maker,  compositor 
and  proof-reader.  Presently  he  betrayed  his  master,  and 
by  leaguing  with  the  Cointet  Brothers,  rivals  of  David 
Sechard,  he  obtained  possession  of  his  property.  [Lost 
Illusions.]  Following  this  he  was  an  actor  in  the  provinces; 
managed  a  Liberal  paper  during  the  Restoration ;  was  sub- 
prefect  at  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Louis  Philippe; 
and  finally  was  a  "  man  of  business."  In  the  latter  capacity 
he  was  sentenced  to  two  years'  imprisonment  for  swindling. 
After  business  partnership  with  Georges  d'Estourny,  and 
later  with  Claparon,*he  stranded  and  was  reduced  to  transcrib- 
ing for  a  justice  of  the  peace  in  the  quartier  Sain1>  Jacques. 
At  the  same  time  he  began  lending  money  on  short  time, 
and  by  speculating  with  the  poorer  class  he  acquired  a  certain 
competence.  Although  thoroughly  debauched,  Cerizet  mar- 
ried Olympe  Cardinal  about  1840.  At  this  time  he  was 
implicated  in  the  intrigues  of  The"odose  de  la  Peyrade  and 
in  the  interests  of  Jerome  Thuillier.  Becoming  possessed 
of  a  note  of  Maxime  de  Trailles  in  1833,  he  succeeded  by 
Scapinal  tactics  in  obtaining  face  value  of  the  paper.  [A 
Man  of  Business,  Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.  The 
Middle  Classes.] 

Cerizet  (Olympe  Cardinal,  Madame),  wife  of  foregoing; 
born  about  1824;  daughter  of  Mme.  Cardinal  the  fish-dealer. 
Actress  at  the  Bobino,  Luxembourg,  then  at  the  Folies- 
Dramatiques,  where  she  made  her  d6but  in  "The  Telegraph 
of  Love."  At  first  she  was  intimate  with  the  first  comedian. 


88  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Afterwards  she  had  Julien  Minard  for  lover.  From  the 
father  of  the  latter  she  received  thirty  thousand  francs  to 
renounce  his  son.  This  money  she  used  as  a  dowry  and 
it  aided  in  consummating  her  marriage  with  CSrizet.  [The 
Middle  Classes.] 

Ce"sarine,  laundry  girl  at  Alengon.  Mistress  of  the  Chevalier 
de  Valois,  and  mother  of  a  child  that  was  attributed  to  the 
old  aristocrat.  It  was  also  said  in  the  town,  in  1816,  that 
he  had  married  Cesarine  clandestinely.  These  rumors  greatly 
annoyed  the  chevalier,  since  he  had  hoped  at  this  time  to 
wed  Mile.  Cormon.  Cesarine,  the  sole  legatee  of  her  lover, 
received  an  income  of  only  six  hundred  livres.  [Jealousies 
of  a  Country  Town.] 

Ce"sarine,  dancer  at  the  Opera  de  Paris  in  18^2 :  an  acquaint- 
ance of  Philippe  Bridau,  who  at  one  time  thought  of  breaking 
off  with  her  on  account  of  his  uncle  Rouget  at  Issoudun. 
[A  Bachelor's  Establishment.] 

Chabert  (Hyacinthe),  Count,  grand  officer  of  ihe  Legion 
of  Honor,  colonel  of  a  cavalry  regiment.  Left  for  dead 
on  the  battlefield  of  Eylau  (February  7-8,  1807).  He  was 
healed  at  Heilsberg,  then  locked  up  in  an  insane  asylum 
at  Stuttgart.  Returning  to  France  after  the  downfall 
of  the  Empire,  he  lived,  in  1818,  in  straitened  circumstances, 
with  the  herdsman  Vergniaud,  an  old  lieutenant  of  his  regi- 
ment, on  rue  du  Petit-Banquier,  Paris.  After  having  sought 
without  arousing  scandal  to  make  good  his  rights  with  Rose 
Chapotel,  his  wife,  now  married  to  Count  Ferraud,  he  sank 
again  into  poverty  and  was  convicted  of  vagrancy.  He 
ended  his  days  at  the  Hospital  de  Bicetre;  they  had  begun 
at  the  Foundling  Hospital.  [Colonel  Chabert.] 

Chabert  (Madame),  nee  Rose  Chapotel.  (See  Ferraud, 
Comtesse.) 

Chaboisseau,  an  old  bookseller ,  book-lender,  something 
of  a  usurer,  a  millionaire  living  in  1821-1822  on  quai  Saint- 
Michel,  where  he  discussed  a  business  deal  with  Lucien 
de  Rubempre,  who  had  been  piloted  there  by  Lousteau. 


REPERTORY  OF  THK  CGMEDIE  HUMAINE  89 

[A  Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.]  He  was  a  friend  of 
Gobseck  and  of  Gigonnet  and  with  them  he  frequented, 
in  1824,  the  Cafe  Themis.  [The  Government  Clerks.]  During 
the  reign  of  Louis  Philippe  he  had  dealings  with  the  Cerizet- 
Claparon  Company.  [A  Man  of  Business.] 

Chaffaroux,  building-contractor,  one  of  Cesar  Birotteau's 
creditors  [Cesar  Birotteau];  uncle  of  Claudine  Chaffaroux 
who  became  Mme.  du  Bruel.  Rich  and  a  bachelor,  he  showered 
much  affection  upon  his  niece ;  she  had  helped  him  to  launch 
into  business.  He  died  in  the  second  half  of  the  reign  of 
Louis  Philippe,  leaving  an  income  of  forty  thousand  francs 
to  the  former  danseuse.  [A  Prince  of  Bohemia.]  In  1840 
he  did  some  work  on  an  unfinished  house  in  the  suburbs 
of  the  Madeleine,  purchased  by  the  Thuilliers.  [The  Middle 
Classes.] 

Chamarolles  (Mesdemoiselles),  conducted  a  boarding-school 
for  young  ladies  at  Bourges,  at  the  beginning  of  the  century. 
This  school  enjoyed  a  great  reputation  in  the  department. 
Here  was  educated  Anna  Grosete'te,  who  later  married  the 
third  son  of  Comte  de  Fontaine;  also  Dinah  Pie*defer  who 
became  Mme.  de  la  Baudraye.  [The  Muse  of  the  Depart- 
ment.] 

Champagnac,  charman  of  Limoges,  a  widower,  native  of 
Auvergne.  In  1797  Jerome-Baptiste  Sauviat  married  Cham- 
pagnac's  daughter,  who  was  at  least  thirty.  [The  Country 
Parson.] 

Champignelles  (De),  an  illustrious*  Norman  family.  In 
1822  a  Marquis  de  Champignelles  was  the  head  of  the  leading 
house  of  the  country  at  Bayeux.  Through  marriage  this 
family  was  allied  with  the  Navarreins,  the  Blamont-Chau- 
vries,  and  the  Beause"ants.  Marquis  de  Champignelles  intro- 
duced Gaston  de  Nueil  to  Mme.  de  Beause"ant's  home.  [The 
Deserted  Woman.]  A  M.  de  Champignelles  presented 
Mme.  de  la  Chanterie  to  Louis  XVIII.,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  Restoration.  The  Baronne  dc  la  Chanterie  was  formerly 
a  Champignelles.  [The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 


90  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Champion  (Maurice),  a  young  boy  of  Monte"gnac;  Haute- 
Vienne,  son  of  the  postmaster  of  that  commune;  employed 
as  stable-boy  at  Mme.  Graslin's,  time  of  Louis  Philippe. 
[The  Country  Parson.] 

Champlain  (Pierre),  vine-dresser,  a  neighbor  of  the  crazy 
Margaritis,  at  Vouvray  in  1831.  [Gaudissart  the  Great.] 

Champy  (Madame  de),  name  given  to  Esther  Gobseck. 

Chandour  (Stanislas  de),  born  in  1781;  one  of  the  habitues, 
of  the  Bargeton's  drawing-room  at  Angouleme,  and  the 
"beau"  of  that  society.  In  1821  he  was  decorated.  He 
obtained  some  success  with  the  ladies  by  his  sarcastic  pleas- 
antries in  the  fashion  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Having 
spread  about  town  a  slander  relating  to  Mme.  de  Bargeton 
and  Lucien  de  Rubempre",  he  was  challenged  by  her  husband 
and  was  wounded  in  the  neck  by  a  bullet,  which  wound 
brought  on  him  a  kind  of  chronic  twist  of  the  neck.  [Lost 
Illusions.] 

Chandour  (Amelie  de),  wife  of  the  preceding;  charming 
conversationalist,  but  troubled  with  an  unacknowledged 
asthma.  In  Angouleme  she  posed  as  the  antagonist  of  her 
friend,  Mme.  de  Bargeton.  [Lost  Illusions.] 

Chanor,  partner  of  Florent,  both  being  workers  and  dealers 
in  bronze,  rue  des  Tournelles,  Paris,  time  of  Louis  Philippe. 
Wenceslas  Steinbock  was  at  first  an  apprentice  and  after- 
wards an  employe  of  the  firm.  [Cousin  Betty.]  In  18^5, 
Fre'de'ric  Brunner  obtained  a  watch-chain  and  a  cane-knob 
from  the  firm  of  Floreht  &  Chanor.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Chantonnit,  mayor  .of  Riceys,  near  Besancon,  between 
1830  and  1840.  He  was  a  native  of  Neuf  chatel,  Switzerland, 
and  a  Republican.  He  was  involved  in  a  lawsuit  with 
the  Wattevilles.  Albert  Savarus  pleaded  for  them  against 
Chantonnit.  [Albert  Savarus.] 

Chapeloud  (Abbe"),  canon  of  the  Church  of  Saint-Gatien 
at  Tours.  Intimate  friend  of  the  Abbe"  Birotteau,  to  whom 
he  bequeathed  on  his  death-bed,  in  1824,  a  set  of  furniture 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  91 

and  a  library  of  considerable  value  which  had  been  ardently 
coveted  by  the  naive  priest.     [The  Vicar  of  Tours.] 

Chaperon  (Abbe),  Cure  of  Nemours,  Seine-et-Marne,  after 
the  re-establishment  of  religious  worship  following  the  Revo- 
lution. Born  in  1755,  died  in  1841,  in  that  city.  He  was 
a  friend  of  Dr.  Minoret  and  helped  educate  Ursule  Mirouet, 
a  niece  of  the  physician.  He  was  nicknamed  "the  Fenelon 
of  Gatinais."  His  successor  was  the  cure  of  Saint-Lange, 
the  priest  who  tried  to  give  religious  consolation  to  Mme. 
d'Aiglemont,  a  prey  to  despair.  [Ursule  Mirouet.] 

Chapotel  (Rose),  family  name  of  Mme.  Chabert,  who  after- 
wards became  Comtesse  Ferraud,  which  name  see. 

Chapoulot  (Monsieur  and  Madame),  formerly  lace-dealers 
of  rue  Saint-Denis  in  1845.  Tenants  of  the  house,  rue  de 
Normandie,  where  lived  Pons  and  Schmucke.  One  evening, 
when  M.  and  Mme.  Chapoulot  accompanied  by  their  daughter 
Victorine  were  returning  from  the  The'atre  de  1'Ambigu- 
Comique,  they  met  Heloi'se  Brisetout  on  the  landing,  and 
a  little  conjugal  scene  resulted.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Chapuzot  (Monsieur  and  Madame),  porters  of  Marguerite 
Turquet,  known  as  Malaga,  rue  des  Fosses-du-Temple  at 
Paris  in  1836;  afterwards  her  servants  and  her  confidants 
when  she  was  maintained  by  Thadde"e  Paz.  [The  Imagi- 
nary Mistress.] 

Chapuzot,  chief  of  division  to  the  prefecture  of  police 
in  the  time  of  Louis  Philippe.  Visited  and  consulted  in 
1843  by  Victorin  Hulot  on  account  of  Mme.  de  Saint-Est£ve. 
[Cousin  Betty.] 

Chardin  (Pere),  old  mattress-maker,  and  a  sot.  In  1843 
he  acted  as  a  go-between  for  Baron  Hulot  under  the  name 
of  Pere  Thoul,  and  Cousin  Betty,  who  concealed  from  the 
family  the  infamy  of  its  head.  [Cousin  Betty.] 

Chardin,  son  of  the  preceding.  At  first  a  watchman  for 
Johann  Fischer,  commissariat  for  the  Minister  of  War  in 
the  province  of  Oran  from  1838  to  1841.  Afterwards  claqueur 


92  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

in  a  theatre  under  Braulard,  and  designated  at  that  time 
by  the  name  of  Idamore.  A  brother  of  Elodie  Chardin 
whom  he  procured  for  Pere  Thoul  in  order  to  release  Olympe 
Bijou  whose  lover  he  himself  was.  After  Olympe  Bijou, 
Chardin  paid  court  in  1843  to  a  young  premiere  of  the  Theatre 
des  Funambules.  [Cousin  Betty.] 

Chardin  (Elodie),  sister  of  Chardin  alias  Idamore;  lace- 
mender;  mistress  of  Baron  Hulot — Pere  Thoul — in  1843. 
She  lived  then  with  him  at  number  7  rue  des  Bernardins. 
She  had  succeeded  Olympe  Bijou  in  the  old  fellow's  affections. 
[Cousin  Betty.] 

Chardon,  retired  surgeon  of  the  army  of  the  Republic; 
established  as  a  druggist  at  Angouleme  during  the  Empire. 
He  was  engrossed  in  trying  to  cure  the  gout,  and  he  also 
dreamed  of  replacing  rag-paper  with  paper  made  from  vege- 
table fibre,  after  the  manner  of  the  Chinese.  He  died  at 
the  beginning  of  the  Restoration  at  Paris,  where  he  had 
come  to  solicit  the  sanction  of  the  Academy  of  Science, 
in  despair  at  the  lack  of  result,  leaving  a  wife  and  two  children 
poverty-stricken.  [Lost  Illusions.] 

Chardon  (Madame),  nee  Rubempre",  wife  of  the  preceding. 
The  final  branch  of  an  illustrious  family.  Saved  from  the 
scaffold  in  1793  by  the  army  surgeon  Chardon  who  declared 
her  enceinte  by  him  and  who  married  her  despite  their 
mutual  poverty.  Reduced  to  suffering  by  the  sudden  death 
of  her  husband,  she  concealed  her  misfortunes  under  the 
name  of  Mme.  Charlotte.  She  adored  her  two  children, 
Eve  and  Lucien.  Mme.  Chardon  died  in  1827.  [Lost 
Illusions.  Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Chardon  "(Lucien).     (See  Rubempre",  Chardon  de.) 
Chardon  (Eve).     (See  Se"chard,  Madame  David.) 

Charels  (The),  worthy  farmers  in  the  outskirts  of  Alengon; 
the  father  and  mother  of  Olympe  Charel  who  became  the 
wife  of  Michaud,  the  head-keeper  of  General  de  Montcornet's 
estate.  [The  Peasantry.] 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  93 

Chargeboeuf  (Marquis  de),  a  Champagne  gentleman, 
born  in  1739,  head  of  the  house  of  Chargeboeuf  in  the  time 
of  the  Consulate  and  the  Empire.  His  lands  reached  from 
the  department  of  Seine-et-Marne  into  that  of  the  Aube.  A 
relative  of  the  Hauteserres  and  the  Simeuses  whom  he  sought 
to  erase  from  the  emigrant  list  in  1804,  and  whom  he  assisted 
in  the  lawsuit  in  which  they  were  implicated  after  the  abduc- 
tion of  Senator  Malin.  He  was  also  related  to  Laurence 
de  Cinq-Cygne.  The  Chargeboeufs  and  the  Cinq-Cygnes 
had  the  same  origin,  the  Prankish  name  of  Duineff  being 
their  joint  property.  Cinq-Cygne  became  the  name  of 
the  junior  branch  of  the  Chargeboeufs.  The  Marquis  de 
Chargeboeuf  was  acquainted  with  Talleyrand,  at  whose 
instance  he  was  enabled  to  transmit  a  petition  to  First- 
Consul  Bonaparte.  M.  de  Chargeboeuf  was  apparently 
reconciled  to  the  new  order  of  things  springing  out  of  the 
year  '89;  at  any  rate  he  displayed  much  politic  prudence. 
His  family  reckoned  their  ancient  titles  from  the  Crusades; 
his  name  arose  from  an  equerry's  exploit  with  Saint  Louis 
in  Egypt.  [The  Gondreville  Mystery.] 

Chargeboeuf  (Madame  de),  mother  of  Bathilde  de  Charge- 
boeuf who  married  Denis  Rogron.  She  lived  at  Troyes 
with  her  daughter  during  the  Restoration.  She  was  poor 
but  haughty.  fPierrette.] 

Chargeboeuf  (Bathilde  de),  daughter  of  the  preceding; 
married  Denis  Rogron.  (See  Rogron,  Madame.) 

Chargeboeuf  (Melchior-Rene",  Vicomte  de),  of  the  poor 
branch  of  the  Chargeboeufs.  Made  sub-prefect  of  Arcis- 
sur-Aube  in  1815,  through  the  influence  of  his  kinswoman, 
Mme.  de  Cinq-Cygne.  It  was  there  that  he  met  Mme. 
SeVerine  Beauvisage.  A  mutual  attachment  resulted,  and 
a  daughter  called  Cecile-Rene'e  was  born  of  their  intimacy. 
[The  Member  for  Arcis.  ]  In  1820  the  Vicomte  de  Chargeboeuf 
removed  to  Sancerre  where  he  knew  Mme.  de  la  Baudraye. 
She  would  probably  have  favored  him,  had  he  not  been 
made  prefect  and  left  the  city.  [The  Muse  of  the  Department. j 


94  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Chargeboeuf  (De),  secretary  of  attorney-general  Granville 
at  Paris  in  1830;  then  a  young  man.  Entrusted  by  the 
magistrate  with  the  details  of  Lucien  dc  Rubempre's  funeral, 
which  was  carried  through  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  one 
believe  that  he  had  died  a  free  man  and  in  his  own  home, 
on  quai  Malaquais.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Chargegrain  (Louis),  inn-keeper  of  Littray,  Normandy. 
He  had  dealings  with  the  brigands  and  was  arrested  in  the 
suit  of  the  Chauffeurs  of  Mortagne,  in  1809,  but  acquitted. 
fThe  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Charles,  first  name  of  a  rather  indifferent  young  painter, 
who  in  1819  boarded  at  the  Vauquer  pension.  A  tutor 
at  college  and  a  Museum  attache";  very  jocular;  given  to 
personal  witticisms,  which  were  often  aimed  at  Goriot. 
[Father  Goriot.] 

Charles,  a  young  prig  who  was  killed  in  a  duel  of  small 
arms  with  Raphael  de  Valentin  at  Aix,  Savoy,  in  1831.  Charles 
had  boasted  of  having  received  the  title  of  "Bachelor  of 
shooting"  from  Lepage  at  Paris,  and  that  of  doctor  from 
Lozes  the  "King  of  foils."  [The  Magic  Skin.] 

Charles,  valet  de  chambre  of  M.  d'Aiglemont  at  Paris 
in  1823.  The  marquis  complained  of  his  servant's  care- 
lessness. [A  Woman  of  Thirty.] 

Charles,  footman  to  Comte  de  Montcornet  at  Aigues, 
Burgundy,  in  1823.  Through  no  good  motive  he  paid  court 
to  Catherine  Tonsard,  being  encouraged  in  his  gallantries 
by  Fourchon  the  girl's  maternal  grandfather,  who  desired 
to  have  a  spy  in  the  chateau.  In  the  peasants'  struggle 
against  the  people  of  Aigues,  Charles  usually  sided  with 
the  peasants :  "  Sprung  from  the  people,  their  livery  remained 
upon  him."  [The  Peasantry.] 

Charlotte,  a  great  lady,  a  duchess,  and  a  widow  without 
children.  She  was  loved  by  Marsay  then  only  sixteen  and 
some  six  years  younger  than  she.  She  deceived  him  and 
he  resented  by  procuring  her  a  rival.  She  died  young  of 
consumption.  He  husband  was  a  statesman.  [Another 
Study  of  Woman.| 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HTJMAINE  95 

Charlotte  (Madame),  name  assumed  by  Mme.  Chardon, 
in  1821  at  Angouleme,  when  obliged  to  make  a  living  as 
a  nurse.  [Lost  Illusions.] 

Chatelet  (Sixte,  Baron  du),  born  in  1776  as  plain  Sixte 
Chatelet.  About  1806  he  qualified  for  and  later  was  made 
baron  under  the  Empire.  His  career  began  with  a  secretary- 
ship to  an  Imperial  princess.  Later  he  entered  the  diplo- 
matic corps,  and  finally,  under  the  Restoration,  M.  de  Barante 
selected  him  for  director  of  the  indirect  taxes  at  Angouleme. 
Here  he  met  and  married  Mme.  de  Bargeton  when  she  became 
a  widow  in  1821.  He  was  the  prefect  of  the  Charente. 
[Lost  Illusions.  A  Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.]  In 
1824  he  was  count  and  deputy.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's 
Life.]  Chatelet  accompanied  General  Marquis  Armand  de 
Montriveau  in  a  perilous  and  famous  excursion  into  Egypt. 
[The  Thirteen.] 

Chatelet  (Marie-Louise-Anai's  de  Negrepelisse,  Baronne  du), 
born  in  1785;  cousin  by  marriage  of  the  Marquise  d'Espard; 
married  in  1803  to  M.  de  Bargeton  of  Angou'eme;  widow 
in  1821  and  married  to  Baron  Sixte  du  Chatelet,  prefect 
of  the  Charente.  Temporarily  enamored  of  Lucien  de 
Rubempre,  she  attached  him  to  her  party  in  a  journey  to 
Paris  made  necessary  by  provincial  slanders  and  ambition. 
There  she  abandoned  her  youthful  lover  at  the  instigation 
of  Chatelet  and  of  Mme.  d'Espard.  [Lost  Illusions.  A  Dis- 
tinguished Provincial  at  Paris.]  In  1824,  Mme.  du  Chatelet 
attended  Mme.  Rabourdin's  evening  reception.  [The  Gov- 
ernment Clerks.]  Under  the  direction  of  Abbe"  Niolant  (of 
Niollant),  Madame  du  Chatelet,  orphaned  of  her  mother, 
had  been  reared  a  little  too  boyishly  at  1'Escarbas,  a 
small  paternal  estate  situated  near  Barbezieux.  [Lost  Illu- 
sions.] 

Chatillonest  (De) ,  an  old  soldier ;  father  of  Marquise  d'Aigle- 
mont.  He  was  hardly  reconciled  to  her  marriage  with  her 
cousin,  the  brilliant  colonel.  [A  Woman  of  Thirty.]  The 
device  of  the  house  of  Chatillonest  (or  Chastillonest)  was; 


96  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Fulgens,  sequar  ("  Shining,  I  follow  thee").  Jean  Butscha 
had  put  this  device  beneath  a  star  on  his  seal.  [Modeste 
Mignon.] 

Chaudet  (Antoine-Denis)  sculptor  and  painter,  born  in 
Paris  in  1763,  interested  in  the  birth  of  Joseph  Bridau's 
genius.  [A  Bachelor's  Establishment.] 

Chaulieu  (Henri,  Due  de),  born  in  1773;  peer  of  France; 
one  of  the  gentlemen  of  the  Court  of  Louis  XVIII.  and 
of  that  of  Charles  X.,  principally  in  favor  under  the  latter. 
After  having  been  ambassador  from  Fiance  to  Madrid, 
he  became  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  at  the  beginning 
of  1830.  He  had  three  children:  the  eldest  was  the  Due 
de  Rhe'tore';  the  second  became  Due  de  Lenoncourt-Givry 
through  his  marriage  with  Madeleine  de  Mortsauf ;  the  third, 
a  daughter,  Armande-Louise-Marie,  married  Baron  de 
Macumer  and,  left  a  widow,  afterwards  married  the  poet 
Marie  Gaston.  [Letters  of  Two  Brides.  Modeste  Mignon. 
A  Bachelor's  Establishment.]  The  Due  de  Chaulieu  was 
on  good  terms  with  the  Grandlieus  and  promised  them  to 
obtain  the  title  of  marquis  for  Lucien  de  Rubempre",  who 
was  aspiring  to  the  hand  of  their  daughter  Clotilde.  The 
Due  de  Chaulieu  resided  in  Paris  in  very  close  relations 
with  these  same  Grandlieus  of  the  elder  branch.  More 
than  once  he  took  particular  interest  in  the  family's  affairs. 
He  employed  Corentin  to  clear  up  the  dark  side  of  the  life 
of  Clotilde's  fiance.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.]  Some 
time  before  this  M.  de  Chaulieu  made  one  of  a  portentous 
conclave  assembled  to  extricate  Mme.  de  Langeais,  a  relative 
of  the  Grandlieus,  from  a  serious  predicament.  [The  Thir- 
teen.] 

Chaulieu  (Eteonore,  Duchesse  de),  wife  of  the  preceding. 
She  was  a  friend  of  M.  d'Aubrion  and  sought  to  influence 
.him  to  bring  about  the  marriage  of  Mile.  d'Aubrion  with 
Charles  Grandet.  [Eugenie  Grandet.]  For  a  long  time 
she  was  the  mistress  of  the  poet  Canalis,  several  years  her 
junior.  She  protected  him,  helping  him  on  in  the  world, 
and  in  public  life,  but  she  was  very  jealous  and  kept  him 


KEPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  97 

under  strict  surveillance.  She  still  retained  her  hold  of 
him  at  fifty  years.  Mme.  de  Chaulieu  gave  her  husband 
the  three  children  designated  in  the  due's  biography.  Her 
hauteur  and  coquetry  subdued  most  of  her  maternal  senti- 
ments. During  the  last  year  of  the  second  Restoration, 
Eleonore  de  Chaulieu  followed  on  the  way  to  Normandy, 
not  far  from  Rosny,  a  chase  almost  royal  where  her  sentiments 
were  fully  occupied.  [Letters  of  Two  Brides.] 

Chaulieu  (Armande-Louise-Marie  de),  daughter  of  Due 
and  Duchesse  de  Chaulieu.  (See  Marie  Gaston,  Madame.) 

Chaussard  (The  Brothers),  inn-keepers  at  Louvigny,  Orne ; 
old  game-keepers  of  the  Troisville  estate,  implicated  in 
a  trial  known  as  the  "Chauffeurs  of  Mortagne"  in  1809. 
Chaussard  the  elder  was  condemned  to  twenty  years'  hard 
labor,  was  sent  to  the  galleys,  and  later  was  pardoned  by 
the  Emperor.  Chaussard  junior  was  contumacious,  and 
therefore  received  sentence  of  death.  Later  he  was  cast 
into  the  sea  by  M.  de  Boislaurier  for  having  been  traitorous 
to  the  Chouans.  A  third  Chaussard,  enticed  into  the  ranks 
of  the  police  by  Contenson,  was  assassinated  in  a  nocturnal 
affair.  [The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Chavoncourt  (De),  Besangon  gentleman,  highly  thought 
of  in  the  town,  representing  an  old  parliamentary  family. 
A  deputy  under  Charles  X.,  one  of  the  famous  221  who 
signed  the  address  to  the  King  on  March  18,  1830.  He  was 
re-elected  under  Louis  Philippe.  Father  of  three  children 
but  possessing  a  rather  slender  income.  The  family  of 
Chavoncourt  was  acquainted  with  the  Wattevilles.  [Albert 
Savarus.] 

Cbavoncourt  (Madame  de),  wife  of  the  preceding  and  one 
of  the  beauties  of  Besangon.  Born  about  1794;  mother 
of  three  children;  managed  capably  the  household  with  its 
slender  resources.  [Albert  Savarus.] 

Chavoncourt  (De),  born  in  1812.  Son  of  M.  and  Mme. 
de  Chavoncourt  of  Besangon.  College-mate  and  chum  of 
M.  de  Vauchelles.  [Albert  bavarus.^ 


98  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COM'EDIE  HUMAINE 

Chavoncourt  (Victoire  de),  second  child  and  elder  daughter 
of  M.  and  Mme.  de  Chavoncourt.  Born  between  1816  and 
1817.  M.  de  Vauchelles  desired  to  wed  her  in  1834.  [Albert 
Savarus.] 

Chavoncourt  (Sidonie  de),  third  and  last  child  of  M.  and 
Mme.  de  Chavoncourt  of  Besangon.  Born  in  1818.  [Albert 
Savarus.ij 

Chazelle,  clerk  under  the  Minister  of  Finance,  in  Baudoyer's 
bureau,  in  1824.  A  benedict  and  wife-led,  although  wishing 
to  appear  his  own  master.  He  argued  without  ceasing  upon 
subjects  and  through  causes  the  idlest  with  Paulmier  the 
bachelor.  The  one  smoked,  the  other  took  snuff  ;  this  different 
way  of  taking  tobacco  was  one  of  the  endless  themes  between 
the  two.  [The  Government  Clerks.] 

Chelius,  physician  of  Heidelberg  with  whom  Halpersohn 
corresponded,  during  the  reign  of  Louis  Philippe.  [The 
Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Chervin,  a  police-corporal  at  Monte"gnac  near  Limoges 
in  1829.  [The  Country  Parson.] 


Chesnel,  or  Choisnel,  notary  at  Alengon,  time  of 
XVIII.  Born  in  1753.  Old  attendant  of  the  house  of 
Gordes,  also  of  the  d'Esgrignon  family  whose  property  he 
had  protected  during  the  Revolution.  A  widower,  childless, 
and  possessed  of  a  considerable  fortune,  he  had  an  aristocratic 
clientele,  notably  that  of  Mme.  de  la  Chanterie.  On  every 
hand  he  received  that  attention  which  his  good  points  merited. 
M.  du  Bousquier  held  him  in  profound  hatred,  blaming 
him  with  the  refusal  which  Mile.  d'Esgrignon  had  made 
of  Du  Bousquier's  proffered  hand  in  marriage,  and  another 
check  of  the  same  nature  which  he  experienced  at  first  from 
Mile.  Cormon.  By  a  dexterous  move  in  1824  Chesnel  suc- 
ceeded in  rescuing  Victurnien  d'Esgrignon,  though  guilty, 
from  the  Court  of  Assizes.  The  old  notary  succumbed  soon 
after  this  event.  [The  Seamy  Side  of  History.  Jealousies 
of  a  Country  Town.jj 


REPERTORY  OP  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  99 

Chessel  (De),  owner  of  the  chateau  and  estate  of  Frapesle 
near  Sach£  in  Touraine.  Friend  of  the  Vandenesses;  he 
introduced  their  son  Felix  to  his  neighbors,  the  Mortsaufs. 
The  son  of  a  manufacturer  named  Durand  who  became  very 
rich  during  the  Revolution,  but  whose  plebeian  name  he  had 
entirely  dropped;  instead  he  adopted  that  of  his  wife,  the 
only  heiress  of  the  Chessels,  an  old  parliamentary  family. 
M.  de  Chessel  was  director-general  and  twice  deputy.  He 
received  the  title  of  count  under  Louis  XVIII.  [The  Lily 
of  the  Valley.] 

Chessel  (Madame  de),  wife  of  the  preceding.  She  made 
up  elaborate  toilettes.  [The  Lily  of  the  Valley.]  In  1824 
she  frequented  Mme.  Rabourdin's  Paris  home.  [The  Govern- 
ment Clerks.] 

Chevrel  (Monsieur  and  Madame),  founders  of  the  house 
of  the  "Cat  and  Racket,"  rue  Saint-Denis,  at  the  close 
of  the  eighteenth  century.  Father  and  mother  of  Mme. 
Guillaume,  whose  husband  succeeded  to  the  management 
of  the  firm.  [At  the  Sign  of  the  Cat  and  Racket.] 

Chevrel,  rich  Parisian  banker  at  the  beginning  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  Probably  brother  and  brother-in-law 
of  the  foregoing.  He  had  a  daughter  who  married  Mai'tre 
Roguin.  [At  the  Sign  of  the  Cat  and  Racket.] 

Chiavari  (Prince  de),  brother  of  the  Duke  of  Vissembourg; 
son  of  Marechal  Vernon.  [Beatrix.] 

Chiffreville  (Monsieur  and  Madame),  ran  a  very  prosperous 
drug-store  and  laboratory  in  Paris  during  the  Restoration. 
Their  partners  were  MM.  Protez  and  Cochin.  This  firm 
had  frequent  business  dealings  with  C4sar  Birotteau's  "  Queen 
of  Roses";  it  also  supplied  Balthazar  Claes.  [Ce"sar  Birot- 
teau.  The  Quest  of  the  Absolute.] 

Chigi  (Prince),  great  lord  of  Rome  in  1758.  He  boasted 
of  having  "made  a  soprano  out  of  Zambinella"  and  disclosed 
the  fact  to  Sarrasine  that  this  creature  was  not  a  woman. 
[Sarrasine.,J 


100  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Chiss<5  (Madame  de),  great  aunt  of  M.  du  Bruel;  a  grasping 
old  Provincial  at  whose  home  the  retired  dancer  Tullia,  now 
Mme.  du  Bruel,  was  fortunate  to  pass  a  summer  in  a  rather 
hypocritical  religious  penance.  [A  Prince  of  Bohemia.] 

Chocardelle  (Mademoiselle),  known  as  Antonia;  a  Parisian 
courtesan  during  the  reign  of  Louis  Philippe;  born  in  1814. 
Maxime  de  Trailles  spoke  of  her  as  a  woman  of  wit;  "She's 
a  pupil  of  mine,  indeed/'  said  he.  About  1834  she  lived 
on  rue  Helder  and  for  fifteen  days  was  the  mistress  of  M. 
de  la  Palferine.  [Beatrix.  A  Prince  of  Bohemia.]  For 
a  time  she  operated  a  reading-room  that  M.  de  Trailles  had 
established  for  her  on  rue  Coquenard.  Like  Marguerite  Turquet 
she  had  "well  soaked  the  little  d'Esgrignon."  [A  Man  of 
Business.]  In  1838  she  was  present  at  the  "house-warming" 
to  Jos<5pha  Mirah  on  rue  de  la  Ville-l'Eveque.  [Cousin 
Betty.]  In  1839  she  accompanied  her  lover  Maxime  de 
Trailles  to  Arcis-sur-Aube  to  aid  him  in  his  official  trans- 
actions relating  to  the  legislative  elections.  [The  Member 
for  Arcis.] 

Choin  (Mademoiselle),  good  Catholic  who  built  a  parsonage 
on  some  land  at  Blangy  bought  expressly  by  her  in  the 
eighteenth  century;  the  property  was  acquired  later  by 
Rigou.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Chollet  (Mother),  janitress  of  a  house  on  rue  du  Sentier 
occupied  by  Finot's  paper  in  1821.  [A  Distinguished  Pro- 
vincial at  Paris.] 

Chrestien  (Michel),  Federalist  Republican;  member  of 
the  "C6nacle"  of  rue  des  Quatre- Vents.  In  1819  he  and 
his  friends  were  invited  by  the  widow  Bridau  to  her  home 
to  celebrate  the  return  of  her  elder  son  Philippe  from  Texas. 
He  posed  as  a  Roman  senator  in  a  historic  picture.  The 
painter  Joseph  Bridau  was  a  friend  of  his.  [A  Bachelor's 
Establishment.]  About  1822  Chrestien  fought  a  duel  with 
Lucien  Chardon  de  Rubempre  on  account  of  Daniel  d'Arthez. 
He  was  a  great  though  unknown  statesman.  He  was  killed 
at  the  Saint-Merri  cloister  on  June  6,  1832,  where  he  was 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  101 

defending  ideas  not  his  own.  [A  Distinguished  Provincial 
at  Paris.]  He  became  foolishly  enamored  of  Diane  de  Mau- 
frigneuse,  but  did  not  confess  his  love  save  by  a  letter  ad- 
dressed to  her  just  before  he  went  to  his  death  at  the  bar- 
ricade. He  had  saved  the  life  of  M.  de  Maufrigneuse  in 
the  Revolution  of  July,  1830,  through  love  for  the  duchesse. 
[The  Secrets  of  a  Princess.] 

Christemio,  Creole  and  foster-father  of  Paquita  Valdes, 
whose  protector  and  body-guard  he  constituted  himself. 
The  Marquis  de  San-Real  caused  his  death  for  having  abetted 
the  intimacy  between  Paquita  and  Marsay.  [The  Thirteen.] 

Christophe,  native  of  Savoy;  servant  of  Mme.  Vauquer 
on  rue  Neuve-Saint-Genevieve,  Paris,  in  1819.  He  alone 
was  with  Rastignac  at  the  funeral  of  Goriot,  accompanying 
the  body  as  far  as  Pere-Lachaise  in  the  priest's  carriage. 
[Father  Goriot.] 

Cibot,  alias  Galope-Chopine,  also  called  Cibot  the  Great. 
A  Chouan  implicated  in  the  Breton  insurrection  of  1799. 
Decapitated  by  his  cousin  Cibot,  alias  Pille-Miche,  and 
by  Marche-a-Terre  for  having  unthinkingly  betrayed  the 
brigand  position  to  the  "Blues."  [The  Ghouans.] 

Cibot  (Barbette),  wife  of  Cibot,  alias  Galope-Chopine. 
She  went  over  to  the  "Blues"  after  her  husband's  execution, 
and  vowed  through  vengeance  to  devote  her  son,  who  was 
still  a  child,  to  the  Republican  cause.  [The  Chouans.] 

Cibot  (Jean),  alias  Pille-Miche;  one  of  the  Chouans  of 
the  Breton  insurrection  of  1799;  cousin  of  Cibot,  alias 
Galope-Chopine,  and  his  murderer.  Pille-Miche  it  was, 
also,  who  shot  and  killed  Adjutant  Gerard  of  the  72d  demi- 
brigade  at  the  Vivetiere.  [The  Chouans.]  Signalized  as 
the  hardiest  of  the  indirect  allies  of  the  brigands  in  the 
affair  of  the  "Chauffeurs  of  Mortagne."  Tried  and  executed 
in  1809.  [The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Cibot,  born  in  1786.  From  1818  to  1845  he  was  tailor- 
janitor  in  a  house  in  rue  de  Normandie,  belonging  to  Claude- 


102  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Joseph  Pillerault,  where  dwelt  Pons  and  Schmucke,  the  two 
musieians,  time  of  Louis  Philippe.  Poisoned  by  the  pawn- 
broker Remonencq,  Cibot  died  at  his  post  in  April,  1845, 
on  the  same  day  of  Sylvain  Pons'  demise.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Cibot  (Madame).  (See  Remonencq,  Madame.) 

Cicognara,  Roman  Cardinal  in  1758;  protector  of  Zam- 
binella.  He  caused  the  assassination  of  Sarrasine  who 
otherwise  would  have  slain  Zambinella.  [Sarrasine.] 

Cinq-Cygne,  the  name  of  an  illustrious  family  of  Cham- 
pagne, the  younger  branch  of  the  house  of  Chargeboeuf. 
These  two  branches  of  the  same  stock  had  a  common  origin 
in  the  Duineffs  of  the  Frankish  people.  The  name  of 
Cinq-Cygne  arose  from  the  defence  of  a  castle  made,  in  the 
absence  of  their  father,  by  five  (cinq)  daughters  all  remarkably 
fair.  On  the  blazon  of  the  house  of  Cinq-Cygne  is  placed 
for  device  the  response  of  the  eldest  of  the  five  sisters  when 
summoned  to  surrender :  "  We  die  singing !".  [The  Gondreville 
Mystery.] 

Cinq-Cygne  (Gomtesse  de),  mother  of  Laurence  de  Cinq- 
Cygne.  Widow  at  the  time  of  the  Revolution.  She  died 
in  the  height  of  a  nervous  fever  induced  by  an  attack  on 
her  chateau  at  Troyes  by  the  populace  in  1793.  [The  Gondre- 
ville Mystery.] 

Cinq-Cygne  (Marquis  de),  name  of  Adrien  d'Hauteserre 
after  his  marriage  with  Laurence  de  Cinq-Cygne.  (See 
Hauteserre,  Adrien  d'.) 

Cinq-Cygne  (Laurence,  Comtesse,  afterwards  Marquise  de), 
born  in  1781.  Left  an  orphan  at  the  age  of  twelve,  she 
lived,  at  the  last  of  the  eighteenth  and  first  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  with  her  kinsman  and  tutor  M.  d'Hauteserre  at 
Cinq-Cygne,  Aube.  She  was  loved  by  both  her  cousins, 
Paul-Marie  and  Marie-Paul  de  Simeuse,  and  also  by  the 
younger  of  her  tutor's  two  sons,  Adrien  d'Hauteserre,  whom 
she  married  in  1813.  Laurence  de  Cinq-Cygne  struggled 
valiantly  against  a  cunning  and  redoubtable  police-agency, 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  103 

the  soul  of  which  was  Corentin.  The  King  of  France  approved 
the  charter  of  the  Count  of  Champagne,  by  virtue  of  which, 
in  the  family  of  Cinq-Cygne,  a  woman  might  "ennoble  and 
succeed";  therefore  the  husband  of  Laurence  took  the  name 
and  the  arms  of  his  wife.  Although  an  ardent  Royalist 
she  went  to  seek  the  Emperor  as  far  as  the  battlefield  of 
Jena,  in  1806,  to  ask  pardon  for  the  two  Simeuses  and  the 
two  Hauteserres  involved  in  a  political  trial  and  condemned 
to  hard  labor,  despite  their  innocence.  Her  bold  move 
succrsded.  The  Marquise  de  Cinq-Cygne  gave  her  husband 
two  children,  Paul  and  Berthe.  This  family  passed  the 
winter  season  at  Paris  in  a  magnificent  mansion  on  Faubourg 
du  Roule.  [The  Gondreville  Mystery.]  In  1832  Mme. 
de  Cinq-Cygne,  at  the  instance  of  the  Archbishop  of  Paris, 
consented  to  call  on  the  Princesse  de  Cadignan  who  had 
reformed.  [The  Secrets  of  a  Princess.]  In  1836  Mme. 
de  Cinq-Cygne  was  intimate  with  Mme.  de  la  Chanterie. 
[The  Seamy  Side  of  History.]  Under  the  Restoration, 
and  principally  during  Charles  X/s  reign,  Mme.  de  Cinq- 
Cygne  exercised  a  sort  of  sovereignty  over  the  Department 
of  the  Aube  which  the  Comte  de  Gondreville  counterbalanced 
in  a  measure  by  his  family  connections  and  through  the 
generosit)'  of  the  department.  Some  time  after  the  death 
of  Louis  XVIII.  she  brought  about  the  election  of  Francois 
Michu  as  president  of  the  Arcis  Court.  [The  Member  for 
Arcis.] 

Cinq-Cygne  (Jules  de),  only  brother  of  Laurence  de  Cinq- 
Cygne.  He  emigrated  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution 
and  died  for  the  Royalist  cause  at  Mayence.  [The  Gondre- 
ville Mystery.] 

Cinq-Cygne  (Paul  de),  son  of  Laurence,  de  Cinq-Cygne 
and  of  Adrien  d'Hauteserre ;  he  became  marquis  after  his 
father's  death.  [The  Gondreville  Mystery.] 

Cinq-Cygne  (Berthe  de).  (See  Maufrigneuse,  Mme. 
Georges  de.) 

Ciprey  of  Provins,  Seine-et-Marne ;  nephew  of  the  maternal 
grandmother  of  Pierrette  Lorrain.  He  formed  one  of  the 


104  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

family  council  called  together  in  1828  to  decide  whether 
or  not  the  young  girl  should  remain  underneath  Denis  Rogron'a 
roof.  This  council  replaced  Rogron  with  the  notary  Auffray 
and  chose  Ciprey  for  vice-guardian.  [Pierrette.] 

Claes-Molina  (Balthazar),  Comte  de  Nourho;  born  at 
Douai  in  1761  and  died  in  the  same  town  in  1832;  sprung 
from  a  famous  family  of  Flemish  weavers,  allied  to  a  very 
noble  Spanish  family,  time  of  Philip  II.  In  1795  he  married 
Josephine  de  Temninck  of  Brussels,  and  lived  happily 
with  her  until  1809,  at  which  time  a  Polish  officer,  Adam 
de  Wierzchownia,  seeking  shelter  at  the  Claes  mansion, 
discussed  with  him  the  subject  of  chemical  affinity.  From 
that  time  on  Balthazar,  who  formerly  had  worked  in  Lavoi- 
sier's laboratory,  buried  himself  exclusively  in  the  "quest 
of  the  absolute."  He  expended  seven  millions  in  experiments, 
leaving  his  wife  to  die  of  neglect.  From  1820  to  18251he 
was  tax-collector  in  Brittany — duties  performed  by  his 
elder  daughter  who  had  secured  the  position  for  him  in  order 
to  divert  him  from  his  barren  labors.  During  this  time 
she  rehabilitated  the  family  fortunes.  Balthazar  died, 
almost  insane,  crying  "Eureka!"  [The  Quest  of  the  Abso- 
lute.] 

Claes  (Josephine  de  Temninck,  Madame),  wife  of  Balthazar 
Clae's;  born  at  Brussels  in  1770,  died  at  Douai  in  1816;  a 
native  Spaniard  on  her  mother's  side;  commonly  called 
Pepita.  She  was  small,  crooked  and  lame,  with  heavy 
black  hair  and  glowing  eyes.  She  gave  her  husband  four 
children:  Marguerite,  Felicie,  Gabriel  (or  Gustave)  and 
Jean-Balthazar.  She  was  passionately  devoted  to  her  hus- 
band, and  died  of  grief  over  his  neglect  of  her  for  the  scientific 
experiments  which  never  came  to  an  end.  [The  Quest 
of  the  Absolute.]  Mme.  Clae's  counted  among  her  kin  the 
Evangelistas  of  Bordeaux.  [A  Marriage  Settlement.] 

Claes  (Marguerite),  elder  daughter  of  Balthazar  Clae'8 
and  Josephine  de  Temninck.  (See  Solis,  Madame  de.) 

1  Given  erroneously  in  original  text  as  1852.— J.  \V.  M. 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  105 

Claes  (Felicie),  second  daughter  of  Balthazar  Claes  and 
of  Josephine  de  Temninck;  born  in  1801.  (See  Pierquin, 
Madame.) 

Claes  (Gabriel  or  Gustave),  third  child  of  Balthazar  Claes 
and  of  Josephine  de  Temninck;  born  about  1802.  He  attended 
the  College  of  Douai,  afterwards  entering  the  Ecole  Poly- 
technique,  becoming  an  engineer  of  roads  and  bridges. 
In  1825  he  married  Mile.  Conyncks  of  Cambrai.  [The  Quest 
of  the  Absolute.] 

Claes  (Jean-Balthazar)  last  child  of  Balthazar  Claes  and 
Josephine  de  Temninck ;  born  in  the  early  part  of  the  nine- 
teenth century.  [The  Quest  of  the  Absolute.] 

Clagny  (J.-B.  de),  public  prosecutor  at  Sancerre  in  1836. 
A  passionate  admirer  of  Dinah  de  la  Baudraye.  He  got 
transferred  to  Paris  when  she  returned  there,  and  became 
successively  the  substitute  for  the  general  prosecutor,  attorney- 
general  and  finally  attorney-general  to  the  Court  of  Cassation. 
He  watched  over  and  protected  the  misguided  woman, 
consenting  to  act  as  godfather  to  the  child  she  had  by  Lous- 
teau.  [The  Muse  of  the  Department.] 

Clagny  (Madame  de),  wife  of  the  preceding.  To  use  an 
expression  of  M.  Gravier's,  she  was  "ugly  enough  to  chase 
a  young  Cossack"  in  1814.  Mme.  de  Clagny  associated 
with  Mme.  de  la  Baudraye.  [The  Muse  of  the  Department.] 

Claparon,  clerk  for  the  Minister  of  the  '  Interior  under 
the  Republic  and  Empire.  Friend  of  Bridau,  Sr.,  after 
whose  death  he  continued  his  cordial  relations  with  Mme. 
Bridau.  He  gave  much  attention  to  Philippe  and  Joseph 
on  their  mother's  account.  Claparon  died  in  1820.  [A 
Bachelor's  Establishment.] 

Claparon  (Charles),  son  of  the  preceding;  born  about  1790. 
Business  man  and  banker  (rue  de  Provence) ;  at  first  a  com- 
mercial traveler;  an  aide  of  F.  du  Tillet  in  transactions 
of  somewhat  shady  nature.  He  was  invited  to  the  famous 
ball  given  by  Cesar  Birotteau  in  honor  of  Cesar's  nomination 
to  the  Legion  of  Honor  and  the  release  of  French  possessions. 


106  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

[A  Bachelor's  Establishment.  Cesar  Birotteau.]  In  1821, 
at  the  Bourse  in  Paris,  he  made  a  peculiar  bargain  with  the 
cashier  Castanier,  who  transferred  to  him,  in  exchange 
for  his  own  individuality,  the  power  which  he  had  received 
from  John  Melmoth,  the  Englishman.  [Melmoth  Reconciled.] 
He  was  interested  in  the  third  liquidation  of  Nucingen  in 
1826,  a  settlement  which  made  the  fortune  of  the  Alsatian 
banker  whose  "man  of  straw'*  he  was  for  some  time.  [The 
Firm  of  Nucingen.]  He  was  associated  with  Cerizet  who 
deceived  him  in  a  deal  about  a  house  sold  to  Thuillier.  Becom- 
ing bankrupt  he  embarked  for  America  about  1840.  He 
was  probably  condemned  for  contumacy  on  account  of  swind- 
ling. [A  Man  of  Business.  The  Middle  Classes.] 

Clapart,  employe  to  the  prefecture  of  the  Seine  during 
the  Restoration,  at  a  salary  of  twelve  hundred  francs.  Born 
about  1776.  About  1803  he  married  a  widow  Husson, 
aged  twenty-two.  At  that  time  he  was  employed  in  the 
Bureau  of  Finance,  at  a  salary  of  eighteen  hundred  francs 
and  a  promise  of  more.  But  his  known  incapacity  held 
him  down  to  a  secondary  place.  At  the  fall  of  the  Empire 
he  lost  his  position,  obtaining  his  new  one  on  the  recommen- 
dation of  the  Comte  de  Se"rizy.  Mme.  Husson  had  by  her 
first  husband  a  child  that  was  Clapart's  evil  genius.  In 
1822  his  family  occupied  an  apartment  renting  for  two 
hundred  and  fifty  francs  at  number  seven  rue  de  la  Cerisaie. 
There  he  saw  much  of  the  old  pensioner  Poiret.  Clapart 
was  killed  by  the  Fieschi  attack  of  July  28,  1835.  [A  Start 
in  Life.] 

Clapart  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding;  born  in  1780; 
one  of  the  "Aspasias"  of  the  Director}'-,  and  famous  for  her 
acquaintance  with  one  of  the  "  Pentarques."  He  married 
her  to  Husson  the  contractor,  who  made  millions  but  who 
became  bankrupt  suddenly  through  the  First  Consul,  and 
suicided  in  1802.  At  that  time  she  was  mistress  of  Moreau, 
steward  of  M.  de  S6rizy.  Moreau  was  in  love  with  her  and 
would  have  made  her  his  wife,  but  just  then  was  under 
sentence  of  death  and  a  fugitive.  Thus  it  was  that  in  her 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  107 

distress  she  married  Clapart,  a  clerk  in  the  Bureau  of  Finance. 
By  her  first  husband  Mme.  Clapart  had  a  son,  Oscar  Husson, 
whom  she  was  bound  up  in,  but  whose  boyish  pranks  caused 
her  much  trouble.  During  the  first  Empire  Mme.  Clapart 
was  a  lady-in-waiting  to  Mme.  Mere — Letitia  Bonaparte. 
[A  Start  in  Life.] 

Clarimbault  (Mare"chal  de),  maternal  grandfather  of  Mme. 
de  Beause"ant.  He  had  married  the  daughter  of  Chevalier 
de  Rastignac,  great-uncle  of  Eugene  de  Rastignac.  [Father 
Goriot.] 

Claude,  an  idiot  who  died  in  the  village  of  Dauphine"  in 
1829,  nursed  and  metamorphosed  by  Dr.  Benassis.  [The 
Country  Doctor.] 

Cleretti,  an  architect  of  Paris  who  was  quite  the  fashion 
in  1843.  Grindot,  though  decadent  at  this  time,  tried  to 
compete  with  him.  [Cousin  Betty.] 

Clerget  (Basine),  laundress  at  Angoule'me  during  the  Res- 
toration, who  succeeded  Mme.  Prieur  with  whom  Eve  Chardon 
had  worked.  Basine  Clerget  concealed  David  Se"chard  and 
Kolb  when  Se"chard  was  pursued  by  the  Cointet  brothers. 
[Lost  Illusions.] 

Clousier,  retired  attorney  of  Limoges;  justice  of  the  peace 
at  Monte"gnac  after  1809.  He  was  in  touch  with  Mme. 
Graslin  when  she  moved  there  about  1830.  An  upright, 
phlegmatic  man  who  finally  led  the  contemplative  life  of 
one  of  the  ancient  hermits.  [The  Country  Parson.] 

Cochegrue  (Jean),  a  Chouan  who  died  of  wounds  received 
at  the  fight  of  La  Pelerine  or  at  the  siege  of  Fougeres  in  1799, 
Abbe"  Gudin  said  a  mass,  in  the  forest,  for  the  repose  of  Jean 
Cochegrue,  and  others  slain  by  the  "Blues."  [The  Chouans.] 

Cochet  (Franchise),  chambermaid  of  Modeste  Mignon 
at  Havre  in  1829.  She  received  the  answers  to  the  letters 
addressed  by  Modeste  to  Canalis.  She  had  also  faithfully 
served  Bettina-Caroline,  Modeste's  elder  sister  who  took 
her  to  Paris.  [Modeste  Mignon.J 


108  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAIKE 

Cochin  (Emile-Louis-Lucien-Emmanuel),  employe  in  Cler- 
geot's  division  of  the  Bureau  of  Finance  during  the  Restora- 
tion. He  had  a  brother  who  looked  after  him  in  the  ad- 
ministration. At  this  time  Cochin  was  also  a  silent  partner 
in  Matifat's  drug-store.  Colleville  invented  an  anagram 
on  Cochin's  name;  with  his  given  names  it  made  up  "Coch- 
enille."  Cochin  and  his  wife  were  in  Birotteau's  circle, 
being  present  with  their  son  at  the  famous  ball  given  by 
the  perfumer.  In  1840,  Cochin,  now  a  baron,  was  spoken 
of  by  Anselme  Popinot  as  the  oracle  of  the  Lombard  and 
Bourdonnais  quarters.  [Cesar  Birotteau.  The  Government 
Clerks.  The  Firm  of  Nucingen.  The  Middle  Classes.] 

Cochin  (Adolphe),  son  of  the  preceding;  an  employe"  of 
the  Minister  of  Finance  as  his  father  had  been  for  some 
years.  In  1826  his  parents  tried  to  obtain  for  him  the  hand 
of  Mile.  Matifat.  [Ce'sar  Birotteau.  The  Firm  of  Nucin- 
gen.] 

Coffinet,  porter  of  a  house  belonging  to  Thuillier  on  rue 
Saint-Dominique-d'Enfer,  Paris,  in  1840.  His  employer 
put  him  to  work  in  connection  with  the  "  Echo  de  la  Bievre," 
when  Louis-Je'rome  Thuillier  became  editor-in-chief  of  this 
paper.  [The  Middle  Classes.] 

Coffinet  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding.  She  looked 
after  Theodose  de  la  Peyrade's  establishment.  [The  Middle 
Classes.] 

Cognet,  inn-keeper  at  Issoudun  during  the  Restoration. 
House  of  the  "Knights  of  Idlesse"  captained  by  Maxence 
Gilet.  A  former  groom;  born  about  1767;  short,  thickset, 
wife-led ;  one-eyed.  [A  Bachelor's  Establishment.] 

Cognet  (Madame),  known  as  Mother  Cognet,  wife  of  the 
preceding;  born  about  1783.  A  retired  cook  of  a  good 
house,  who  on  account  of  her  "Cordon  blue"  talents,  was 
chosen  to  be  the  Leonardo  of  the  Order  which  had  Maxence 
Gilet  for  chief.  A  tall,  swarthy  woman  of  intelligent  and 
pleasant  demeanor.  [A  Bachelor's  Establishment^ 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  109 

Cointet  (Boniface),  and  his  brother  Jean,  ran  a  thriving 
printing-office  at  Angouleme  during  the  Restoration.  He 
ruined  David  Sechard's  shop  by  methods  hardly  honorable. 
Boniface  Cointet  was  older  than  Jean,  and  was  usually  called 
Cointet  the  Great.  He  put  on  the  devout.  Extremely 
wealthy,  he  became  deputy,  was  made  a  peer  of  France 
and  Minister  of  Commerce  in  Louis  Philippe's  coalition 
ministry.  In  1842  he  married  Mile.  Popinot,  daughter  of 
Anselme  Popinot.  [Lost  Illusions.  The  Firm  of  Nucin- 
gen.]  On  May  28,  1839,  he  presided  at  the  sitting  of  the 
Chamber  of  Deputies  when  the  election  of  Sallenauve  was 
ratified.  [The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Cointet  (Jean),  younger  brother  of  the  preceding;  known  as 
"Fatty"  Cointet;  was  foreman  of  the  printing-office,  while 
his  brother  ran  the  business  end.  Jean  Cointet  passed  for 
a  good  fellow  and  acted  the  generous  part.  [Lost  Illusions.^ 

Colas  (Jacques),  a  consumptive  child  of  a  village  near 
Grenoble,  who  was  attended  by  Dr.  Benassis.  His  passion 
was  singing,  for  which  he  had  a  very  pure  voice.  Lived 
with  his  mother  who  was  poverty-stricken.  Died  in  the 
latter  part  of  1829  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  shortly  after  the 
death  of  his  benefactor,  the  physician.  A  nephew  of  Moreau, 
the  old  laborer.  [The  Country  Doctor.] 

Colleville,  son  of  a  talented  musician,  once  leading  violin 
of  the  Opera  under  Francoeur  and  Rebel.  He  himself  was 
first  clarionet  at  the  Ope'ra-Comique,  and  at  the  same  time 
chief  clerk  under  the  Minister  of  Finance,  and,  in  addition, 
book-keeper  for  a  merchant  from  seven  to  nine  in  the  morn- 
ings. Great  on  anagrams.  Made  deputy-chief  clerk  in 
Baudoyer's  bureau  when  the  latter  was  promoted  to  division 
chief.  He  was  preceptor  at  Paris  six  months  later.  In 
1832  he  became  secretary  to  the  mayor  of  the  twelfth  Arron- 
dissement  and  officer  of  the  Legion  of  Honor.  At  that  time 
Colleville  lived  with  his  wife  and  family  on  rue  d'Enfer. 
He  was  Thuillier's  most  intimate  friend.  [The  Government 
Clerks.  The  Middle  Classes.^ 


110  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Colleville  (Flavie  Minoret,  Madame),  born  in  1798;  wife 
of  the  preceding;  daughter  of  a  celebrated  dancer  and,  sup- 
posedly, of  M.  du  Bourguier.  She  made  a  love  match, 
and  between  1816  and  1826  bore  five  children,  each  of  whom 
resembled  and  may  actually  have  had  a  different  father: 

1st.  A  daughter  born  in  1816,  who  favored  Oolleville. 

2d.  A.  son,  Charles,  cut  out  for  a  soldier,  born  during 
his  mother's  acquaintance  with  Charles  de  Gondreville, 
under-lieutenant  of  the  dragoons  of  Saint-Chamans. 

3d.  A  son,  Franc. ois,  destined  for  business,  born  during 
Mme.  Colleville's  intimacy  with  Frangois  Keller,  the  banker. 

4th.  A  daughter,  Celeste,  born  in  1821,  of  whom  Thuillier, 
Colleville's  best  friend,  was  the  godfather — and  father  in 
partibus.  (See  Phelhon,  Mme.  Felix.) 

5th.  A  son,  Theodore,  or  Anatcle,  born  at  a  period  of 
religious  zeal. 

Madame  Colleville  was  a  Parisian,,  piquant,  winning  and 
pretty,  as  well  as  clever  and  ethereal.  She  made  her  husband 
very  happy.  He  owed  all  his  advancement  to  her.  In 
the  interests  of  their  ambition  she  granted  momentary  favor 
to  Chardin  des  Lupeaulx,  the  Secretary-General.  On  Wed- 
nesdays she  was  at  home  to  artists  and  distinguished  people. 
[The  Government  Clerks.  Cousin  Betty.  The  Middle 
Classes.] 

Collin  (Jacques),  born  in  1779.  Reared  by  the  Fathers 
of  the  Oratory.  He  went  as  far  as  rhetoric,  at  school,  and 
was  then  put  in  a  bank  by  his  aunt,  Jacqueline  Collin.  Ac- 
cused, however,  of  a  crime  probably  committed  by  Franches- 
sini,  he  fled  the  country.  Later  he  was  sent  to  the  galleys 
where  he  remained  from  1810  to  1815,  when  he  escaped 
and  came  to  Paris,  stopping  under  the  name  of  Vautrin 
at  the  Vauquer  pension.  There  he  knew  Rastignac,  then 
a  young  man,  became  interested  in  him,  and  tried  to  bring 
about  his  marriage  with  Victorine  Taillefer,  for  whom  he 
procured  a  rich  dowry  by  causing  her  brother  to  be  slain 
in  a  duel  with  Franchessini.  Bibi-Lupin,  chief  of  secret 
police,  arrested  him  in  1819  and  returned  him  to  the  bagne,, 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  111 

whence  he  escaped  again  in  1820,  reappearing  in  Paris  as 
Carlos  Herrera,  honorary  canon  of  the  Chapter  of  Toledo. 
At  this  time  he  rescued  Lucien  de  Rubempre"  from  suicide, 
and  took  charge  of  the  young  poet.  Accused,  with  the 
latter,  of  having  murdered  Esther  Gobseck,  who  in  truth 
was  poisoned,  Jacques  Collin  was  acquitted  of  this  charge, 
and  ended  by  becoming  chief  of  secret  police  under  the  name 
of  Saint-Esteve,  in  1830.  He  held  this  position  till  1845. 
He  finally  became  wealthy,  having  an  income  of  twelve 
thousand  francs,  three  hundred  thousand  francs  inherited 
from  Lucien  de  Rubempre1,  and  the  profits  of  a  green-leather 
manufactory  at  Gentilly.  [Father  Goriot.  Lost  Illusions. 
A  Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.  Scenes  from  a  Cour- 
tesan's Life.  The  Member  for  Arcis.]  In  addition  to  the 
pseudonym  of  M.  Jules,  under  which  he  was  known  by 
Catherine  Goussard,  Jacques  Collin  also  took  for  a  time  the 
English  name  of  William  Barker,  creditor  for  Georges  d'Es- 
tourny.  Under  this  name  he  hoodwinked  the  cunning 
Cerizet,  inducing  that  "  man  of  business"  to  endorse  some 
notes  for  him.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.]  He  was 
also  nick-named  "  Trompe-la-Mort." 

Collin  (Jacqueline),  aunt  of  Jacques  Collin,  whom  she  had 
reared;  born  at  Java.  In  her  youth  she  was  Marat's  mistress, 
and  afterwards  had  relations  with  the  chemist,  Duvignon, 
who  was  condemned  to  death  for  counterfeiting  in  1799. 
During  this  intimacy  she  attained  a  dangerous  knowledge 
of  toxicology.  From  1800  to  1805  she  was  a  clothing  dealer; 
and  from  1806  to  1808  she  spent  two  years  in  prison  for  having 
influenced  minors.  From  1824  to  1830  Mile.  Collin  exerted 
a  strong  influence  over  Jacques,  alias  Vautrin,  toward  his 
life  of  adventure  without  the  pale  of  the  law.  Her  strong 
point  was  disguises.  In  1839  she  ran  a  matrimonial  bureau 
on  rue  de  Provence,  under  the  name  of  Mme.  de  Saint- 
Esteve.  She  often  borrowed  the  name  of  her  friend  Mme. 
Nourrisson,  who,  during  the  time  of  Louis  Philippe,  made 
a  pretence  of  business  more  or  less  dubious  on  rue  Ncuve- 
fclaint-Marc.  She  had  some  dealings  with  Victorin  Hulot, 


112 

at  whose  instance  she  brought  about  the  overthrow  of  Mme. 
Marneffe,  mistress,  and  afterwards  wife,  of  Crevel.  Under 
the  name  of  Asie,  Jacqueline  Collin  made  an  excellent  cook 
for  Esther  Gobseck,  whom  she  was  ordered  by  Vautrin  to 
watch.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.  Cousin  Betty. 
The  Unconscious  Humorists.] 

Collinet,  grocer  at  Arcis-sur-Aube,  time  of  Louis  Philippe. 
Elector  for  the  Liberals  headed  by  (Jolonel  Giguet.  [The 
Member  for  Arcis.] 

Collinet  (Franc,  ois- Joseph),  merchant  of  Nantes.  In  1814 
the  political  changes  brought  about  his  business  failure. 
He  went  to  America,  returning  in  1824  enriched,  and  re- 
established. He  had  caused  the  loss  of  twenty-four  thousand 
francs  to  M.  and  Mme.  Lorrain,  small  retailers  of  Pen-Hoel, 
and  father  and  mother  of  Major  Lorrain.  But,  on  his  return 
to  France,  he  restored  to  Mme.  Lorrain,  then  a  widow  and 
almost  a  septuagenarian,  forty-two  thousand  francs,  being 
capital  and  interest  of  his  indebtedness  to  her.  [Pierrette.] 

Colonna,  an  aged  Italian  at  Genoa,  during  the  latter  part 
of  the  eighteenth  century.  He  had  reared  Luigia  Porta 
under  the  name  of  Colonna  and  as  his  own  son,  from  the 
age  of  six  until  the  time  when  the  young  man  enlisted  in 
the  French  army.  [The  Vendetta.] 

Coloquinte,  given  name  of  a  pensioner  who  was  "office 
boy"  in  Finot's  newspaper  office  in  1820.  He  had  been 
through  the  Egyptian  campaign,  losing  an  arm  at  the  Battle 
of  Montmirail.  [A  Bachelor's  Establishment.  A  Distinguished 
Provincial  at  Paris.] 

Colorat  (J6rome),  estate-keeper  for  Mme.  Graslin  at 
Monte"gnac ;  born  at  Limoges.  Retired  soldier  of  the  Empire  ; 
ex-sergeant  in  the  Royal  Guard;  at  one  time  estate-keeper 
for  M.  de  Navarreins,  before  entering  Mme.  Graslin's  service. 
[The  Country  Parson.] 

Constance,  chambermaid  for  Mme.  de  Restaiid  in  1819. 
Through  her  old  Goriot  knew  about  everything  that  was 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  113 

going  on  at  the  home  of  his  elder  daughter.  This  Constance, 
sometimes  called  Victorie,  took  money  to  her  mistress  when 
the  latter  needed  it.  [Father  Goriot.] 

Constant  de  Rebecque  (Benjamin),  born  at  Lausanne 
in  1767,  died  at  Paris,  Decernber  8,  1830.  About  the  end 
of  1821  he  is  discovered  in  Dauriat's  book-shop  at  Palais- 
Royal,  where  Lucien  de  Rubempre  noticed  his  splendid 
head  and  spiritual  eyes.  [A  Distinguished  Provincial  at 
Paris.] 

Conti  (Gennaro),  musical  composer;  of  Neapolitan  origin, 
but  born  at  Marseilles.  Lover  of  Mile,  des  Touches — Camille 
Maupin — in  1821-1822.  Afterwards  he  paid  court  to  Marquise 
Beatrix  de  Rochefide.  [Lost  Illusions.  Beatrix.] 

Conyncks,  family  of  Bruges,  who  were  maternal  ancestors 
of  Marguerite  Claes.  In  1812  this  young  girl  at  sixteen 
was  the  living  image  of  a  Conyncks,  her  grandmother,  whose 
portrait  hung  in  Balthazar  Claes'  home.  A  Conyncks,  also 
of  Bruges  but  later  established  at  Cambrai,  was  granduncle 
of  the  children  of  Balthazar  Claes,  and  was  appointed  their 
vice-guardian  after  the  death  of  Mme.  Claes.  He  had  a 
daughter  who  married  Gabriel  Claes.  [The  Quest  of  the 
Absolute.] 

Coquelin  (Monsieur  and  Madame),  hardware  dealers, 
successors  to  Claude- Joseph  Pillerault  in  a  store  on  quai 
de  la  Ferraille,  sign  of  the  Golden  Bell.  Guests  at  the  big 
ball  given  by  Cesar  Birotteau.  After  getting  the  invitation, 
Mme.  Coquelin  ordered  a  magnificent  gown  for  the  occasion. 
[Cesar  Birotteau.] 

Coquet,  chief  of  bureau  to  the  Minister  of  War,  in  Lebrun's 
division  in  1838.  Marneffe  was  his  successor  Coquet 
had  been  in  the  service  of  the  administration  since  1809, 
and  had  given  perfect  satisfaction.  He  was  a  married 
man  and  his  wife  was  still  living  at  the  time  when  he  was 
displaced.  [Cousin  Betty.] 

Coralie  (Mademoiselle),  actress  at  the  Panorama-Drama- 
tique  and  at  the  Theatre  du  Gymnase,  Paris,  time  of  Louis 


114  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

XVIII.  Born  in  1803  and  brought  up  a  Catholic,  she  was 
nevertheless  of  distinct  Jewish  type.  She  died  in  August, 
1822.  Her  mother  sold  her  at  fifteen  to  young  Henri 
de  Marsay,  whom  she  abhorred  and  who  soon  deserted  her. 
She  was  then  maintained  by  Camusot,  who  was  not  obnoxious. 
She  fell  in  love  with  Lucieri  de  Rubempre  at  first  sight; 
surrendering  to  him  immediately  and  being  faithful  to  him 
until  her  dying  breath.  The  glory  and  downfall  of  Coralie 
dated  from  this  love.  An  original  criticism  of  the  young 
Chardon  established  the  success  of  "  L'Alcade  dans  T  Embar- 
ras,"  at  the  Marais,  and  brought  to  Coralie,  one  of  the 
principals  in  the  play,  an  engagement  at  Boulevard  Bonne- 
Nouvelle,  with  a  salary  of  twelve  thousand  francs.  But 
here  the  artist  stranded,  the  victim  of  a  cabal,  despite  the 
protection  of  Camille  Maupin.  At  first  she  was  housed 
on  rue  de  Vendome,  afterwards  in  a  more  modest  lodging 
where  she  died,  attended  and  nursed  by  her  cousin,  Berenice. 
She  had  sold  her  elegant  furniture  to  Cardot,  Sr.,  on  leaving 
the  apartment  on  rue  de  Vendome,  and  in  order  to  avoid 
moving  it,  he  installed  Florentine  there.  Coralie  was  the 
rival  of  Mme.  Perrin  and  of  Mile.  Fleuriet,  whom. she  resembled 
and  whose  destiny  should  have  been  her  own.  The  funeral 
service  of  Coralie  took  place  at  noon  in  the  little  church 
of  Notre-Dame  de  Bonne-Nouvelle.  Camusot  promised  to 
purchase  a  permanent  plot  of  ground  for  her  in  the  cemetery 
of  Pere-Lachaise.  [A  Start  in  Life.  A  Distinguished 
Provincial  at  Paris.  A  Bachelor's  Establishment.] 

Corbigny  (De),  prefect  of  Loire-et-Cher,  in  1811.  Friend 
of  Mme.  de  Stael  who  authorized  him  to  place  Louis  Lambert, 
at  her  expense,  in  the  College  of  Vendome.  He  probably 
died  in  1812.  [Louis  Lambert.] 

Corbinet,  notary  at  Soulanges,  Burgundy,  in  1823,  and 
at  one  time  an  old  patron  of  Sibilet's.  The  Gravelots, 
lumber  dealers,  were  clients  of  his.  Commissioned  with  the 
sale  of  Aigues,  when  General  de  Montcornet  became  wearied 
with  developing  his  property.  At  one  time  known  as 
Corbineau.  [The  Peasantry.] 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  115 

Corbinet,  court-judge  at  Ville-aux-Fayes  in  1823;  son  of 
Corbinet  the  notary.  He  belonged,  body  and  soul,  to  Gau- 
bertin,  the  all-powerful  mayor  of  the  town.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Corbinet,  retired  captain,  postal  director  at  Ville-aux- 
Fayes  in  1823;  brother  of  Corbinet,  the  notary.  The  last 
daughter  of  Sibilet,  the  copy-clerk,  was  engaged  to  him  when 
she  was  sixteen.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Corentin,  born  at  Vendome  in  1777;  a  police-agent  of 
great  genius,  trained  by  Peyrade  as  Louis  David  was  by 
Vien.  A  favorite  of  Fouche*'s  and  probably  his  natural 
son.  In  1799  he  accompanied  Mile,  de  Verneuil  sent  to 
lure  and  betray  Alphonse  de  Montauran,  the  young  chief 
of  the  Bretons  who  were  risen  against  the  Republic.  For  two 
years  Corentin  was  attached  to  this  strange  girl  as  a  serpent 
to  a  tree.  [The  Chouans.]  In  1803  he  and  his  chief,  Peyrade, 
were  entrusted  with  a  difficult  mission  in  the  department 
of  Aube,  where  he  had  to  search  the  home  of  Mile,  de  Cinq- 
Cygne.  She  surprised  him  at  the  moment  when  he  was 
forcing  open  a  casket,  and  struck  him  a  blow  with  her  riding 
whip.  This  he  avenged  cruelly,  involving,  despite  their 
innocence,  the  Hauteserres  and  the  Simeuses,  friends  and 
cousins  of  the  young  girl.  This  was  during  the  affair  of 
the  abduction  of  Senator  Malm.  About  the  same  time  lie 
concluded  another  delicate  mission  to  Berlin  to  the  satisfaction 
of  Talleyrand,  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs.  [The  Gondi  e- 
ville  Mystery.]  From  1824  to  1830,  Corentin  was  pitted 
against  the  terrible  Jacques  Collin,  alias  Vautrin,  whose 
friendly  plans  in  behalf  of  Lucien  de  Rubempre*  he  thwarted 
so  cruelly.  Corentin  it  was  who  rendered  futile  the  contem- 
plated marriage  of  the  aspirant  with  Clotilde  de  Grandlieu, 
bringing  about  as  a  consequence  the  absolute  ruin  of  the 
"distinguished  provincial  at  Paris."  He  rusticated  at 
Passy,  rue  des  Vignes,  about  May,  1830.  Under  Charles 
X.,  Corentin  was  chief  of  the  political  police  of  the  chateau. 
[Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.]  For  more  than  thirty 
years  he  lived  on  ruo  Honors-Chevalier  under  the  name  of 
M.  du  Portail.  He  sheltered  Lydie,  daughter  of  his  friend, 


116  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Peyrade,  after  the  death  of  the  old  police-agent.  About 
1840  he  brought  about  her  marriage  with  Theodose  de  la 
Peyrade,  nephew  of  Peyrade,  after  having  upset  the  plans 
of  the  very  astute  young  man,  greatly  in  love  with  Celeste 
Colleville's  dowry.  Corentin — M.  du  Portail — then  installed 
the  chosen  husband  of  his  adopted  child  into  his  own  high 
official  duties.  [The  Middle  Classes.] 

Cormon  (Rose-Marie- Victoire).  (See  Bousquier,  Madame 
du.) 

Cornevin,  an  old  native  of  Perche;  foster-father  of  Olympe 
Michaud.  He  was  with  the  Chouans  in  1794  and  1799. 
In  1823  he  was  a  servant  at  Michaud's.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Cornoiller  (Antoine),  game-keeper  at  Saumur  ;  married 
the  sturdy  Nanon  then  fifty-nine  years  old,  after  the  death 
of  Grandet,  about  1827,  and  became  general  overseer  of 
lands  and  properties  of  Eugenie  Grandet.  [Euge'nie  Grandet.  j 

Cornoiller  (Madame).    (See  Nanon.) 

Cottereau,  well-known  smuggler,  one  of  the  heads  of  the 
Breton  insurrection.  In  1799  he  was  principal  in  a  rather 
stormy  scene  at  the  Vivetiere,  when  he  threatened  the  Marquis 
de  Montauran  with  swearing  allegiance  to  the  First  Consul 
if  he  did  not  immediately  obtain  noteworthy  advantages 
in  payment  of  seven  years  of  devoted  service  to  "the  good 
cause."  "  My  men  and  I  have  a  devilish  importunate  creditor," 
said  he,  slapping  his  stomach.  One  of  the  brothers  of  Jean 
Cottereau,  was  nick-named  the  "Chouan,"  a  title  used  by 
all  the  Western  rebels  against  the  Republic.  [The  Chouans.] 

Cottin  (Mare"chal),  Prince  of  Wissembourg;  Duke  of  Orfano; 
old  soldier  of  the  Republic  and  the  Empire;  Minister  of 
War  in  1841;  born  in  1771.  He  was  obliged  to  bring  great 
shame  upon  his  old  friend  and  companion-in-arms,  Marshal 
Hulot,  by  advising  him  of  the  swindling  of  the  commissariat, 
Hulot  d'Ervy.  Marshal  Cottin  and  Nucingen  were  witnesses 
at  the  wedding  of  Hortense  Hulot  and  Wenceslas  Steinbock. 
[Cousin  Betty.fl 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  117 

Cottin  (Francine),  a  Breton  woman,  probably  born 
at  Fougeres  in  1773;  chambermaid  and  confidante  of  Mile, 
de  Verneuil,  who  had  been  reared  by  Francine's  parents. 
Childhood's  friend  of  Marche-a-Terre,  with  whom  she  used 
her  influence  to  save  the  life  of  her  mistress  during  the  massacre 
of  the  "Blues"  at  the  Vivitiere  in  1799.  [The  Chouans.] 

Coudrai  (Du),  register  of  mortgages  at  Alengon,  time 
of  Louis  XVIII.  A  caller  at  the  home  of  Mile.  Cormon, 
and  afterwards  at  that  of  M.  du  Bousquier,  who  married 
"the  old  maid."  One  of  the  town's  most  open-hearted 
men;  his  only  faults  were  having  married  a  rich  old  lady 
who  was  unendurable,  and  the  habit  of  making  villainous 
puns  at  which  he  was  first  to  laugh.  In  1824  M.  du  Coudrai 
was  poverty-stricken;  he  had  lost  his  place  on  account  of 
voting  the  wrong  way.  [Jealousies  of  a  Country  Town.] 

Coupiau,  Breton  courier  from  Mayenne  to  Fougeres 
in  1799.  In  the  struggle  between  the  "Blues"  and  the 
Chouans  he  took  no  part,  but  acted  as  circumstances  demanded 
and  for  his  own  interests.  Indeed  he  offered  no  resistance 
when  the  "  Brigands "  stole  the  government  chests.  Coupiau 
was  nick-named  M6ne-a-Bien  by  Marche-a-Terre  the  Chouan. 
[The  Chouans.] 

Coupiau  (Sulpice),  Chouan  and  probably  the  father  of 
Coupiau  the  messenger.  Killed  in  1799  in  the  battle  of 
La  Pe'lerine  or  at  the  siege  of  FougSres.  [The  Chouans.] 

Courand  (Jenny),  florist;  mistress  of  Fe*lix  Gaudissart  in 
1831.  At  that  time  she  lived  in  Paris  on  rue  d'Artois. 
[Gaudissart  the  Great.] 

Courceuil  (Fe"lix),  of  Alenc.on,  retired  army  surgeon  of 
the  Rebel  forces  of  the  Vendee.  In  1809  he  furnished  arms 
to  the  "Brigands."  Involved  in  the  trial  known  as  "Chauf- 
feurs of  Mortagne."  Condemned  to  death  for  contumacy. 
[The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Cournant,  notary  at  Provins  in  1827;  rival  of  Auffray,  the 
notary:  of  the  Opposition;  one  of  the  few  public-spirited 
men  of  the  little  town.  [Pierrette.] 


118  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Courtecuisse,  game-keeper  of  the  Aigues  estate  in  Bur- 
gundy under  the  Empire  and  Restoration  until  1823. 
Born  about  1777;  at  first  in  the  service  of  Mile.  Laguerre; 
discharged  by  General  de  Montcornet  for  absolute  incapacity, 
and  replaced  by  keepers  who  were  trusty  and  true.  Courte- 
cuisse was  a  little  fellow  with  a  face  like  a  full  moon.  He 
was  never  so  happy  as  when  idle.  On  leaving  he  demanded 
a  sum  of  eleven  hundred  francs  which  was  not  due  him.  His 
master  indignantly  denied  his  claim  at  first,  but  yielded 
the  point,  however,  on  being  threatened  with  a  lawsuit, 
the  scandal  of  which  he  wished  to  avoid.  Courtecuisse, 
out  of  a  job,  purchased  from  Rigou  for  two  thousand  francs 
the  little  property  of  La  Bachelerie,  enclosed  in  the  Aigues 
estate,  and  wearied  himself,  without  gain,  in  the  manage- 
ment of  his  land.  He  had  a  daughter  who  was  tolerably 
pretty  and  eighteen  years  old  in  1823.  At  this  time  she 
was  in  the  service. of  Mme.  Mariotte  the  elder,  at  Auxerre. 
Courtecuisse  was  given  the  sobriquet  of  "  Courtebotte" 
— short-boot.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Courtecuisse  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding;  in  abject 
fe.*r  of  the  miser,  Gregoire  Rigou,  mayor  of  Blangy,  Burgundy. 
[The  Peasantry.] 

Courteville  (Madame  de),  cousin  of  Comte  de  Bauvan 
on  the  maternal  side;  widow  of  a  judge  of  the  Seine  Court. 
She  had  a  very  beautiful  daughter,  Ame"lie,  whom  the  comte 
wished  to  marry  to  his  secretary,  Maurice  de  1'Hostal.  [Hono- 
rine.] 

Court  >is,  Marsac  miller,  near  Angouleme  during  the  Res- 
toration. In  1821  rumor  had  it  that  he  intended  to  wed 
a  miller's  widow,  his  patroness,  who  was  thirty-two  years 
old.  She  had  one  hundred  thousand  francs  in  her  own 
right.  Dcwid  Sechard  was  advised  by  his  father  to  ask  the 
hand  of  th's  rich  widow.  At  the  end  of  1822  Courtois,  now 
married,  sheltered  Lucien  de  Rubempre",  returning  almost 
dead  from  Paris.  [Lost  Illusions.] 

Courtois    \"Madame),    wife   of   the   preceding,    who    cared 
sympathetically  for   Lucien   de   Rubempre",   on   his   return. 
Illusions.| 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  119 

Coussard  (Laurent).     (See  Goussard,  Laurent.) 

Coutelier,  a  creditor  of  Maxime  de  Trailles.  The  Coutelier 
credit,  purchased  for  five  hundred  francs  by  the  Claparon- 
Cerizet  firm,  came  to  thirty-two  hundred  francs,  seventy- 
five  centimes,  capital,  interest  and  costs.  It  was  recovered 
by  Ce'rizet  by  means  of  strategy  worthy  of  a  Scapin.  [A  Man 
of  Business.] 

Couture,  a  kind  of  financier-journalist  of  an  equivocal 
reputation;  born  about  1797.  One  of  Mme.  Schontz's 
earliest  friends;  and  she  alone  remained  faithful  to  him 
when  he  was  ruined  by  the  downfall  of  the  ministry  of  March 
1st,  1840.  Couture  was  always  welcome  at  the  home  of 
the  courtesan,  who  dreamed,  perhaps,  of  making  him  her 
husband.  But  he  presented  Fabien  du  Ronceret  to  her 
and  the  "lorette"  married  him.  In  1836,  in  company  with 
Finot  and  Blondet,  he  was  present  in  a  private  room  of  a 
well-known  restaurant,  when  Jean-Jacques  Bixiou  related 
the  origin  of  the  Nucingen  fortune.  At  the  time  of  his 
transient  wealth  Couture  splendidly  maintained  Jenny 
Cadine.  At  one  time  he  was  celebrated  for  his  waistcoats. 
He  had  no  known  relationship  with  the  widow  Couture. 
[Beatrix.  The  Firm  of  Nucingen.]  The  financier  drew  upon 
himself  the  hatred  of  Ce'rizet  for  having  deceived  him  in 
a  deal  about  the  purchase  of  lands  and  houses  sit- 
uated in  the  suburbs  of  the  Madeleine,  an  affair  in  which 
J6r6me  Thuillier  was  afterwards  concerned.  [The  Middle 
Classes.] 

Couture  (Madame),  widow  of  an  ordonnance-commissary 
of  the  French  Republic.  Relative  and  protectress  of  Mile. 
Victorine  Taillefer  with  whom  she  lived  at  the  Vauquer 
pension,  in  1819.  [Father  Goriot.] 

Couturier  (Abbe1),  •  curate  of  Saint-Leonard  church  at 
Alencon,  time  of  Louis  XVIII.  Spiritual  adviser  of  Mile. 
Cormon,  remaining  her  confessor  after  her  marriage  with 
Du  Bousquier,  and  influencing  her  in  the  waj  of  excessive 
penances.  [Jealousies  of  a  Country  Town.] 


120  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Cr&nifere,  tax-collector  at  Nemours  during  the  Restoration. 
Nephew  by  marriage  of  Dr.  Minoret,  who  had  secured  the 
position  for  him,  furnishing  his  security.  One  of  the 
three  collateral  heirs  of  the  old  physician,  the  two  others 
being  Minoret-Levrault,  the  postmaster,  and  Massin-Levrault, 
copy -clerk  to  the  justice  of  the  peace.  In  the  curious  branch- 
ing of  these  four  Gatinais  bourgeois  families — the  Minorets, 
the  Massins,  the  Levraults  and  the  Cremieres — the  tax- 
collector  belonged  to  the  Cremiere-Cre'miere  branch.  He 
had  several  children,  among  others  a  daughter  named  Angel- 
ique.  After  the  Revolution  of  July,  1830,  he  became  municipal 
councillor.  [Ursule  Mirouet.] 

Cr&nifere  (Madame),  nee  Massin-Massin,  wife  of  the  tax- 
collector,  and  niece  of  Dr.  Minoret — that  is,  daughter  of 
the  old  physician's  sister.  A  stout  woman  with  a  muddy 
blonde  complexion  splotched  with  freckles.  Passed  for  an 
educated  person  on  account  of  her  novel-reading.  Her 
lapsi  lingua?  were  maliciously  spread  abroad  by  Goupil, 
the  notary's  clerk,  who  labelled  them  "  Capsulinguettes'' ; 
indeed,  Mme.  CremiSre  thus  translated  the  two  Latin  words. 
[Ursule  Mirouet.] 

Cr&nifere-Dionis,  always  called  Dionis,  which  name  see. 

Crevel  (Celestin),  born  between  1786  and  1788;  clerked 
for  Cesar  Birotteau  the  perfumer — first  as  second  clerk,  then 
as  head-clerk  when  Popinot  left  the  house  to  set  up  in  business 
for  himself.  After  his  patron's  failure  in  1819,  he  purchased 
for  five  thousand  seven  hundred  francs,  "  The  Queen  of  Roses," 
making  his  own  fortune  thereby.  During  the  reign  of  Louis 
Philippe  he  lived  on  his  income.  Captain,  then  chief  of 
battalion  in  the  National  Guard;  officer  of  the  Legion  of 
Honor;  mayor  of  one  of  the  arrondissements  of  Paris,  he 
ended  up  by  being  a  very  great  personage.  He  had  married 
the  daughter  of  a  farmer  of  Brie;  became  a  widower  in 
1833,  when  he  gave  himself  over  to  a  life  of  pleasure.  He 
maintained  Jose'pha,  who  was  taken  away  from  him  by 
his  friend,  Baron  Hulot.  To  avenge  himself  he  tried  to 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  121 

win  Mme.  Hulot.  He  "protected"  Heloi'se  Brisetout. 
Finally  he  was  smitten  with  Mme.  Marneffe,  whom  he  had 
for  mistress  and  afterwards  married  when  she  became  a 
widow  in  1843.  In  May  of  this  same  year,  Crevel  and 
his  wife  died  of  a  horrible  disease  which  had  been  communi- 
cated to  Valerie  by  a  negro  belonging  to  Montes  the  Brazilian. 
In  1838  Crevel  lived  on  rue  des  Saussaies ;  at  the  same  time 
he  owned  a  little  house  on  rue  du  Dauphin,  where  he  had 
prepared  a  secret  chamber  for  Mme.  Marneffe;  this  last 
house  he  leased  to  Maxime  de  Trailles.  Besides  these  Crevel 
owned :  a  house  on  rue  Barbet  de  Jouy ;  the  Presles  property 
bought  of  Mme.  de  Serizy  at  a  cost  of  three  million  francs. 
He  caused  himself  to  be  made  a  member  of  the  General 
Council  of  Seine-et-Oise.  By  his  first  marriage  he  had  an 
only  daughter,  Celestine,  who  married  Victorin  Hulot. 
[Cesar  Birotteau.  Cousin  Betty.]  In  1844-1845  Crevel 
owned  a  share  in  the  management  of  the  theatre  directed 
by  Gaudissart.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Crevel  (Celestine),  only  child  of  the  first  marriage  of  the 
preceding.  (See  Hulot,  Mme.  Victorin.) 

Crevel  (Madame  Celestin),  born  Valerie  Fortin  in  1815; 
natural  daughter  of  the  Comte  de  Montcornet,  marshal  of 
France;  married,  first  Marneffe,  an  employe*  in  the  War 
Office,  with  whom  she  broke  faith  by  agreement  with  the 
clerk;  and  second,  Celestin  Crevel.  She  bore  Marneffe  a 
child,  a  stunted,  scrawny  urchin  named  Stanislas.  An  inti- 
mate friend  of  Lisbeth  Fischer  who  utilized  Valerie's  irresist- 
ible attractions  for  the  satisfying  of  her  hatred  towards 
her  rich  relatives.  At  this  time  Mme.  Marneffe  belonged 
jointly  to  Marneffe,  to  the  Brazilian  Montes,  to  Steinbock 
the  Pole,  to  Celestin  Crevel  and  to  Baron  Hulot.  Each 
of  these  she  held  responsible  for  a  child  born  in  1841,  and 
which  died  on  coming  into  the  world.  By  prearrangement, 
she  was  surprised  with  Hulot  by  the  police-commissioners, 
during  this  period,  in  Crevel's  cottage  on  rue  du  Dauphin. 
After  having  lived  with  Marneffe  on.  rue  du  Doyenne"  in  the 
house  occupied  by  Lisbeth  Fischer — "Cousin  Betty  1. — she 


122  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

was  installed  by  Baron  Hulot  on  rue  Vaneau;  then  by  Crevel 
in  a  mansion  on  rue  Barbet-de-Jouy.  She  died  in  1843, 
two  days  prior  to  Celestin.  She  perished  while  trying  to 
"cajole  God" — to  use  her  own  expression.  She  bequeathed, 
as  a  restitution,  300,000  francs  to  Hector  Hulot.  Valerie 
Marneffe  did  not  lack  spirit.  Claude  Vignon,  the  great 
critic,  especially  appreciated  this  woman's  intellectual 
depravity.  [Cousin  Betty.] 

Crochard,  Opera  dancer  in  the  second  half  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  Director  of  theatrical  evolutions.  He  commanded 
a  band  of  assailants  upon  the  Bastile,  July  14,  1789;  became 
an  officer,  a  colonel,  dying  of  wounds  received  at  Lutzen, 
May  2,  1813.  [A  Second  Home.] 

Crochard  (Madame),  widow  of  the  preceding.  Before 
the  Revolution  she  had  sung  with  her  husband  in  the  chorus. 
In  1815  she  lived  wretchedly  with  her  daughter  Caroline, 
following  the  embroiderer's  trade,  in  a  house  on  rue  du 
Tourniquet-Saint-Jean,  which  belonged  to  Molineux.  Wish- 
ing to  find  a  protector  for  her  daughter,  Caroline,  Mme. 
Crochard  favored  the  attentions  of  the  Comte  de  Granville. 
He  rewarded  her  with  a  life-annuity  of  three  thousand  francs. 
She  died,  in  1822,  in  a  comfortable  lodging  on  rue  Saint-Louis 
at  Marais.  She  constantly  wore  on  her  breast  the  cross 
of  chevalier  of  the  Legion  of  Honor  conferred  on  her  husband 
by  the  Emperor.  The  widow  Crochard,  watched  by  an 
eager  circle,  received,  at  her  last  moments,  a  visit  from  Abbe 
Fontanon,  confessor  of  the  Comtesse  de  Granville,  and  was 
greatly  troubled  by  the  prelate's  proceedings.  [A  Second 
Home.] 

Crochard  (Caroline),  daughter  of  the  preceding;  born 
in  1797.  For  several  years  during  the  Restoration  she  was 
the  mistress  of  Comte  de  Granville;  at  that  time  she  was 
known  as  Mile,  de  Bellefeuille,  from  the  name  of  a  small 
piece  of  property  at  Gatinais  given  to  the  young  woman 
by  an  'Uncle  of  the  comte  who  had  taken  a  liking  to  her. 
Her  lover  installed  her  in  an  elegant  apartment  on  rue  Tait- 
bout,  where  Esther  Gobseck  afterwards  lived.  Caroline 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  123 

Crochard  abandoned  M.  de  Granville  and  a  good  position 
for  a  needy  young  fellow  named  Solvet,  who  ran  through 
with  all  her  property.  Sick  and  poverty-stricken  in  1833,  she 
lived  in  a  wretched  two-story  house  on  rue  Gaillon.  She 
gave  the  Comte  de  Granville  a  son,  Charles,  and  a  daughter, 
Eugenie.  [A  Second  Home.] 

Crochard  (Charles),  illegitimate  child  of  Comte  de  Gran- 
ville and  Caroline  Crochard.  In  1833  he  was  apprehended 
for  a  considerable  theft,  when  he  appealed  to  his  father 
through  the  agency  of  Eugene  de  Granville,  his  half- 
brother.  The  comte  gave  the  latter  money  enough  to  clear 
up  the  miserable  business,  if  such  were  possible.  [A  Second 
Home.]  The  theft  in  question  was  committed  at  the  home 
of  Mile.  Beaumesnil.  He  carried  off  her  diamonds.  [The 
Middle  Classes.] 

Croisier  (Du).     (See  Bousquier,  Du.) 

Croizeau,  former  coachmaker  to  Bonaparte's  Imperial 
Court ;  had  an  income  of  about  forty  thousand  francs ;  lived  on 
rue  Buffault;  a  widower  without  children.  He  was  a  constant 
visitor  at  Antonia  Chocardelle's  reading-room  on  rue  Coque- 
nard,  time  of  Louis  Philippe,  and  he  offered  to  marry  the 
"charming  woman."  [A  Man  of  Business.] 

Crottat  (Monsieur  and  Madame),  retired  farmers;  parents 
of  the  notary  Crottat,  assassinated  by  some  thieves,  among 
them  being  the  notorious  Dannepont,  alias  La  Pouraille. 
the  trial  of  this  crime  was  called  in  May,  1830.  [Scenes 
from  a  Courtesan's  Life.]  They  were  well-to-do  folk  and, 
according  to  Cesar  Birotteau  who  knew  them,  old  man  Crottat 
was  as  "  close  as  a  snail."  [C6sar  Birotteau.] 

Crottat  (Alexandre),  head-clerk  of  Maitre  Roguin,  and  his 
successor  in  1819,  after  the  flight  of  the  notary.  He  married 
the  daughter  of  Lourdois,  the  painting-contractor.  Cesar 
Birotteau  thought  for  a  time  of  making  him  his  son-in-law. 
He  called  him,  familiarly,  "  Xandrot."  Alexandre  Crottat 
was  a  guest  at  the  famous  ball  given  by  the  perfumer  in 
December,  1818.  He  was  in  friendly  relations  with  Derville, 


124  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

the  attorney,  who  commissioned  him  with  a  sort  of  half- 
pay  for  Colonel  Chabert.  He  was  also  Comtesse  Ferraud's 
notary  at  this  time.  [Cesar  Birotteau.  Colonel  Chabert. } 
In  1822  he  was  notary  to  Comte  de  Serizy.  [A  Start  in 
Life.  I  He  was  also  notary  to  Charles  de  Vandenesse;  and 
one  evening,  at  the  home  of  the  marquis,  he  made  some 
awkward  allusions  which  undoubtedly  recalled  unpleasant 
memories  to  his  client  and  Mme.  d'Aiglemont.  Upon  his 
return  home  he  narrated  the  particulars  to  his  wife,  who 
chided  him  sharply.  [A  Woman  of  Thirty.]  Alexandre 
Crottat  and  Leopold  Hannequin  signed  the  will  dictated  by 
Sylvain  Pons  on  his  death-bed.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Cruchot  (Abbe"),  priest  of  Saumur;  dignitary  of  the  Chapter 
of  Saini>-Martin  of  Tours;  brother  of  Cruchot,  the  notary; 
uncle  of  President  Cruchot  de  Bonfons;  the  Talleyrand 
of  his  family ;  after  much  angling  he  induced  Eugenie  Grandet 
to  wed  the  president  in  1827.  [Euge'nie  Grandet.] 

Cruchot,  notary  at  Saumur  during  the  Restoration;  brother 
of  Abbe  Cruchot;  uncle  of  President  Cruchot  de  Bonfons. 
He  as  well  as  the  prelate  was  much  concerned  with  making 
the  match  between  his  nephew  and  Eugenie  Grandet.  The 
young  girl's  father  entrusted  M.  Cruchot  with  his  usurious 
dealings  and  probably  with  all  his  money  matters.  [Eugenie 
Grandet.] 

Curieux  (Catherine).     (See  Farrabesche,  Madame.) 

Cydalise,  magnificent  woman  of  Valognes,  Normandy, 
who  launched  out  in  Paris  in  1840  to  make  capital  out  of 
her  beauty.  Born  in  1824,  she  was  then  only  sixteen.  She 
served  as  an  instrument  for  Montes  the  Brazilian  who,  in 
order  to  avenge  himself  on  Mme.  Marneffe — now  Mme. 
Crevel — inoculated  the  young  girl  with  a  terrible  disease 
through  one  of  his  negroes.  He  in  turn  obtained  it  from 
Cydalise  and  transmitted  it  to  the  faithless  Valerie  who  died, 
as  also  did  her  husband.  Cydalise  probably  accompanied 
Montes  to  Brazil,  the  only  place  where  this  horrible  ailment 
is  curable.  [Cousin  Betty.] 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  125 

D 

Ballot,  mason  in  the  suburbs  of  PIsle-Adam  in  the  early 
days  of  the  Restoration,  who  was  to  marry  a  peasant  woman 
of  small  wit  named  Genevieve.  After  having  courted  her 
for  the  sake  of  her  little  property,  he  deserted  her  for  a  woman 
of  more  means  and  also  of  a  sharper  intelligence.  This 
separation  was  so  cruel  a  blow  to  Genevieve  that  she  became 
idiotic.  [Farewell.] 

Dannepont,  alias  La  Pouraille,  one  of  the  assassins  of 
M.  and  Mme.  Crottat.  Imprisoned  for  his  crime  in  1830 
at  the  Conciergerie,  and  under  sentence  of  capital  punishment; 
an  escaped  convict  who  had  been  sought  on  account  of  other 
crimes  by  the  police  for  five  years  past.  Born  about  1785 
and  sent  to  the  galleys  at  the  age  of  nineteen.  There  he 
had  known  Jacques  Collin — Vautrin.  Riganson,  Se'le'rier 
and  he  formed  a  sort  of  triumvirate.  A  short,  skinny,  dried-up 
fellow  with  a  face  like  a  marten.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's 
Life.] 

Dauphin,  pastry-cook  of  Arcis-sur-Aube;  well-known 
Republican.  In  1830,  in  an  electoral  caucus,  he  questioned 
Sallenauve,  a  candidate  for  deputy,  about  Danton.  [The 
Member  for  Arcis.] 

Dauriat,  editor  and  bookman  of  Paris,  on  Palais-Roy  ale, 
Galleries  de  Bois  during  the  Restoration.  He  purchased 
for  three  thousand  francs  a  collection  of  sonnets  "Mar- 
guerites "  from  Lucien  de  Rubempre",  who  had  scored  a  book 
of  Nathan's.  But  he  did  not  publish  the  sonnets  until  a 
long  time  afterwards,  and  with  a  success  that  the  author 
declared  to  be  posthumous.  Dauriat's  shop  was  the  rendez- 
vous of  writers  and  politicians  of  note  at  this  time.  [A 
Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.  Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's 
Life.]  Dauriat,  who  was  Canalis'  publisher,  was  asked  in 
1829  by  Modeste  Mignon  for  personal  information  con- 
cerning the  poet,  to  which  he  made  a  rather  ironical  reply. 
In  speaking  of  celebrated  authors  Dauriat  was  wont  to  say, 
"I  have  made  Canalis.  I  have  made  Nathan."  [Modeste 
Mignon.] 


126  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

David  (Madame),  woman  living  in  the  outskirts  of  Brives, 
who  died  of  fright  on  account  of  the  Chauffeurs,  tune  of  the 
Directory.  [The  Country  Parson.] 

Delbecq,  secretary  and  steward  of  Comte  Ferraud  during 
the  Restoration.  Retired  attorney.  A  capable,  ambitious 
man  in  the  service  of  the  countess,  whom  he  aided  to  rid 
herself  of  Colonel  Chabert  when  that  officer  claimed  his 
former  wife.  [Colonel  Chabert.] 

Denisart,  name  assumed  by  Cerizet. 

Derville,  attorney  at  Paris,  rue  Vivienne,  from  1819  to 
1840.  Born  in  1794,  the  seventh  child  of  an  insignificant 
bourgeois  of  Noyon.  In  1816  he  was  only  second  clerk  and 
dwelt  on  rue  des  Ore's,  having  for  a  neighbor  the  well- 
known  usurer  Gobseck,  who  later  advanced  him  one  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  francs  at  15  per  cent.,  with  which  he 
purchased  the  practice  of  his  patron,  a  man  of  pleasure 
now  somewhat  short  of  funds.  Through  Gobseck  he  met 
his  future  wife,  Jenny  Malvaut;  through  the  same  man  he 
learned  the  Restaud  secrets.  In  the  winter  of  1829-30 
he  told  of  their  troubles  to  the  Vicomtesse  de  Grandlieu. 
Derville  had  re-established  the  fortune  of  the  feminine  repre- 
sentative of  the  Grandlieu's  younger  branch,  at  the  time  of 
the  Bourbon's  re-entry,  and  therefore  was  on  a  friendly 
footing  at  her  home.  [Gobseck.]  He  had  been  a  clerk 
at  Bordin's.  [A  Start  in  Life.  The  Gondreville  Mystery.] 
He  was  attorney  for  Colonel  Chabert  who  sought  his  conjugal 
rights  with  Comtesse  Ferraud.  He  became  keenly  interested 
in  the  old  officer,  aiding  him  and  being  greatly  grieved  when, 
some  years  later,  he  found  him  plunged  into  idiocy  in  the 
Bicetre  hospital.  [Colonel  Chabert.]  Derville  was  also 
attorney  for  Comte  de  Serizy,  Mme.  de  Nucingen  and  the 
Dues  de  Grandlieu  and  de  Chaulieu,  whose  entire  confidence 
he  possessed.  In  1830,  under  the  name  of  Saint-Denis,  he  and 
Corentin  inquired  of  the  S6chards  at  Angouleme  concerning 
the  real  resources  of  Lucien  de  Rubempre.  [Father  Goriot. 
Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 


REPERTORY  O¥  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  127 

Derville  (Madame),  born  Jenny  Malvaut;  wife  of  Derville 
the  attorney;  young  Parisian  girl,  though  born  in  the  country. 
In  1826  she  lived  alone,  but  maintaining  a  virtuous  life, 
supported  by  her  work.  She  was  on  the  fifth  floor  of  a 
gloomy  house  on  rue  Montmartre,  where  Gobseck  had  called 
to  collect  a  note  signed  by  her.  He  pointed  her  out  to  Derville, 
who  married  her  without  dowry.  Later  she  inherited  from 
an  uncle,  a  farmer  who  had  become  wealthy,  seventy  thousand 
francs  with  which  she  aided  her  husband  to  cancel  his  debt 
with  Gobseck.  [Gobseck.]  Being  anxious  for  an  invitation 
to  the  ball  given  by  Birotteau,  she  paid  a  rather  unexpected 
visit  to  the  perfumer's  wife.  She  made  much  of  the  latter 
and  of  Mile.  Birotteau,  and  was  invited  with  her  husband 
to  the  festivities.  It  appears  that  some  years  before  her 
marriage  she  had  worked  as  dressmaker  for  the  Birotteaus. 
[Cesar  Birotteau.] 

Descoings  (Monsieur  and  Madame),  father-in-law  and 
mother-in-law  of  Dr.  Rouget  of  Issoudun.  Dealers  in  wool, 
acting  as  selling  agents  for  owners,  and  buying  agents  for 
fleece  merchants  of  Berry.  They  also  bought  state  lands. 
Rich  and  miserly.  Died  during  the  Republic  within  two  years 
of  each  other  and  before  1799.  [A  Bachelor's  Establish- 
ment.] 

Descoings,  son  of  the  preceding;  younger  brother  of  Mme. 
Rouget,  the  doctor's  wife ;  grocer  at  Paris,  on  rue  Saint-Honore", 
not  far  from  Robespierre's  quarters.  Descoings  had  mar- 
ried for  love  the  widow  of  Bixiou,  his  predecessor.  She  was 
twelve  years  his  senior  but  well  preserved  and  "plump  as 
a  thrush  after  harvest."  Accused  of  foreclosing,  he  was  sent 
to  the  scaffold,  in  company  with  Andre"  Che'nier,  on  the 
seventh  Thermidor  of  year  2,  July  25,  1794.  The  death  of  the 
grocer  caused  a  greater  sensation  than  did  that  of  the  poet. 
Ce"sar  Birotteau  moved  the  plant  of  the  perfumery  "  Queen 
of  Roses"  into  Descoings'  shop  about  1800.  The  successor 
of  the  executed  man  managed  his  business  badly;  the  in- 
ventor of  the  "Eau  Carminative"  went  bankrupt.  [A 
Bachelor's  Establishment,  jj 


128  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Descoings  (Madame),  born  in  1744;  widow  of  two  husbands, 
Bixiou  and  Descoings,  the  latter  succeeding  the  former  in 
the  grocer  shop  on  rue  Saint-Honore,  Paris.  Grandmother 
of  Jean-Jacques  Bixiou,  the  cartoonist.  After  the  death 
of  M.  Bridau,  chief  of  division  in  the  Department  of  the 
Interior,  Mme.  Descoings,  now  a  widow,  came  in  1819  to 
live  with  her  niece,  the  widow  Bridau,  nee  Agathe  Rouget, 
bringing  to  the  common  fund  an  income  of  six  thousand 
francs.  An  excellent  woman,  known  in  her  da)7  as  "the 
pretty  grocer."  She  ran  the  household,  but  had  likewise  a 
decided  mania  for  lottery,  and  always  for  the  same  numbers; 
she  "  nursed  a  trey."  She  ended  by  ruining  her  niece  who 
had  blindly  entrusted  her  interests  to  her,  but  Mme.  Descoings 
repaid  for  her  foolish  doings  by  an  absolute  devotion, — all  the 
while  continuing  to  place  her  money  on  the  evasive  combina- 
tions. One  day  her  hoardings  were  stolen  from  her  mattress 
by  Philippe  Bridau.  On  this  account  she  was  unable  to  renew 
her  lottery  tickets.  Then  it  was  that  the  famous  trey  turned 
up.  Madame  Descoings  died  of  grief,  December  31,  1821. 
Had  it  not  been  for  the  theft  she  would  have  become  a  million- 
aire. [A  Bachelor's  Establishment.] 

Desfondrilles,  substitute  judge  at  Provins  during  the  Res- 
toration; made  president  of  the  court  of  that  town,  time  of 
Louis  Philippe.  An  old  fellow  more  archaeologist  than  judge, 
who  found  delight  in  the  petty  squabbles  under  his  eyes.  He 
forsook  Tiphaine's  party  for  the  Liberals  headed  by  lawyer 
Vinet.  [Pierrette.] 

Deslandes,  surgeon  of  Azay-le-Rideau  in  1817.  Called  in  to 
bleed  Mme.  de  Mortsauf,  whose  life  was  saved  by  this  opera- 
tion. [The  Lily  of  the  Valley.] 

Desmarets  (Jules),  Parisian  stock-broker  under  the  Res- 
toration. Hardworking  and  upright,  being  reared  in  sternness 
and  poverty.  When  only  a  clerk  he  fell  in  love  with  a  charm- 
ing young  girl  met  at  his  patron's  home,  and  he  married 
her  despite  the  irregularity  connected  with  her  birth.  With 
the  money  obtained  by  his  wife's  mother  he  was  able  to 
purchase  the  position  of  the  stock-broker  for  whom  he  had 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  129 

clerked ;  and  for  several  years  he  was  very  happy  in  a  mutual 
love  and  a  liberal  competence — an  income  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  francs.  In  1820  he  and  his  wife  lived  in  a  large 
mansion  on  rue  Menars.  In  the  early  years  of  his  wedded 
life  he  killed  in  a  duel — though  unknown  to  his  wife — a 
man  who  had  villified  Mme.  Desmarets.  The  flawless 
happiness  which  abode  with  this  well-mated  couple  was 
cut  short  by  the  death  of  the  wife,  mortally  wounded  by 
a  doubt,  held  for  a  moment  only  by  her  husband,  concerning 
her  faithfulness.  Desmarets,  bereaved,  sold  his  place  to 
Martin  Falleix's  brother  and  left  Paris  in  despair.  [The 
Thirteen.]  M.  and  Mme.  Desmarets  were  invited  to  the 
famous  ball  given  by  C6sar  Birotteau  in  1818.  After  the 
bankruptcy  of  the  perfumer,  the  broker  kindly  gave  him 
useful  tips  about  placing  funds  laboriously  scraped  together 
towards  the  complete  reimbursing  of  the  creditors.  [Ce"sar 
Birotteau.] 

Desmarets  (Madame  Jules),  wife  of  the  preceding;  natural 
daughter  of  Bourignard  alias  Ferragus,  and  of  a  married 
woman  who  passed  for  her  godmother.  She  had  no  civil 
status,  but  when  she  married  Jules  Desmarets  her  name, 
Cle'mence,  and  her  age  were  publicly  announced.  Despite 
herself,  Mme.  Desmarets  was  loved  by  a  young  officer  of 
the  Royal  Guard,  Auguste  de  Maulincour.  Mme.  Desmaret's 
secret  visits  to  her  father,  a  man  of  mystery,  unknown  to 
her  husband,  caused  the  downfall  of  their  absolute  happiness. 
Desmarets  thought  himself  deceived,  and  she  died  on  account 
of  his  suspicions,  in  1820  or  1821.  The  remains  of  Cle'mence 
were  placed  at  first  in  Pere  Lachaise,  but  afterwards  were 
disinterred,  incinerated  and  sent  to  Jules  Desmarets  by 
Bourignard,  assisted  by  twelve  friends  who  thus  thought 
to  dull  the  edge  of  the  keenest  of  conjugal  sorrows.  [The 
Thirteen.^  M.  and  Mme.  Desmarets  were  often  alluded 
to  as  M.  and  Mme.  Jules.  At  the  ball  given  by  Ce"sar  Birot- 
teau, Mme.  Desmarets  shone  as  the  most  beautiful  woman, 
according  to  the  perfumer's  wife  herself.  [Cesar  Birot- 
teau.] 


130  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Desmarets,  Parisian  notary  during  the  Restoration;  elder 
brother  of  the  broker,  Jules  Desmarets.  The  notary  was 
set  up  in  business  by  his  younger  brother  and  grew  rich 
rapidly.  He  received  his  brother's  will.  He  accompanied 
him  to  Mme.  Desmarets'  funeral.  [The  Thirteen.] 

Desplein,  famous  surgeon  of  Paris,  born  about  the  middle 
of  the  eighteenth  century.  Sprung  of  a  poor  provincial 
family,  he  spent  a  youth  full  of  suffering,  being  enabled  to 
pass  his  examinations  only  through  assistance  rendered 
him  by  his  neighbor  in  poverty,  Bourgeat  the  water-carrier. 
For  two  years  he  lived  with  him  on  the  sixth  floor  of  a  wretched 
house  on  rue  des  Quatre- Vents,  where  later  was  established 
the  "Cenacle"  with  Daniel  d'Arthez  as  host — on  which 
account  the  house  came  to  be  spoken  of  as  the  "bowl  for 
great  men."  Desplein,  evicted  by  his  landlord  whom  he 
could  not  pay,  lodged  next  with  his  friend  the  Auvergnat  in 
the  Court  de  Rohan,  Passage  du  Commerce.  Afterwards, 
when  an  "intern"  at  Hotel-Dieu,  he  remembered  the  good 
deeds  of  Bourgeat,  nursed  him  as  a  devoted  son,  and,  in 
the  time  of  the  Empire,  established  in  honor  of  this  simple 
man  who  professed  religious  sentiments  a  quarterly  mass 
at  Saint-Sulpice,  at  which  he  piously  assisted,  though  himself 
an  outspoken  atheist.  [The  Atheist's  Mass.]  In  1806 
Desplein  had  predicted  speedy  death  for  an  old  fellow  then 
fifty-six  years  old,  but  who  was  still  alive  in  1846.  [Cousin 
Pons.]  The  surgeon  was  present  at  the  death  caused  by 
despair  of  M.  Chardon,  an  old  military  doctor.  [Lost  Illu- 
sions.] Desplein  attended  the  last  hours  of  Mme.  Jules  Des- 
marets, who  died  in  1820  or  1821 ;  also  of  the  chief  of  division, 
Flamet  de  la  Billardiere,  who  died  in  1824.  [The  Thirteen. 
The  Government  Clerks.]  In  March,  1828,  at  Provins, 
he  performed  an  operation  of  trepanning  on  Pierrette 
Lorrain.  [Pierrette.]  In  the  same  year  he  undertook  a 
bold  operation  upon  Mme.  Philippe  Bridau  whose  abuse 
of  strong  drink  had  induced  a  "magnificent  malady"  that 
he  believed  had  disappeared.  This  operation  was  reported 
in  the  "Gazette  des  Hopitaux;"  but  the  patient  died.  [A 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  131 

Bachelor's  Establishment.]  In  1829  Desplein  was  summoned 
on  behalf  of  Vanda  de  Mergi,  daughter  of  Baron  de  Bourlac. 
[The  Seamy  Side  of  History.]  In  the  latter  part  of  the  same 
year  he  operated  successfully  upon  Mme.  Mignon  for  blindness. 
In  February,  1830,  on  account  of  the  foregoing,  he  was  a 
witness  at  Modeste  Mignon's  wedding  with  Ernest  de  la 
Briere.  [Modeste  Mignon.]  In  the  beginning  of  the  same 
year,  1830,  he  was  called  by  Corentin  to  visit  Baron  de 
Nucingen,  love-sick  for  Esther  Gobseck;  and  Mme.  de  Se"rizy 
ill  on  account  of  the  suicide  of  Lucien  de  Rubempre".  [Scenes 
from  a  Courtesan's  Life.]  He  and  his  assistant,  Bianchon, 
waited  on  Mme.  de  Ban  van,  who  was  on  the  verge  of  death 
at  the  close  of  1830  and  beginning  of  1831.  [Honorine.] 
Desplein  had  an  only  daughter  whose  marriage  in  1829 
was  arranged  with  the  Prince  of  Loudon. 

Desroches,  clerk  of  the  Minister  of  the  Interior  under  the 
Empire;  friend  of  Bridau  Senior,  who  had  procured  him 
the  position.  He  was  also  on  friendly  terms  with  the  chief's 
widow,  at  whose  home  he  met,  nearly  every  evening,  his 
colleagues  Du  Bruel  and  Claparon.  A  diy,  crusty  man, 
who  would  never  become  sub-chief,  despite  his  ability. 
He  earned  only  one  thousand  eight  hundred  francs,  and 
his  wife  one  thousand  two  hundred  francs  by  running  a 
department  for  stamped  paper.  Retired  after  the  second 
return  of  Louis  XVIII.,  he  talked  of  entering  as  chief  of 
bureau  into  an  insurance  company  with  a  graduated  salary. 
In  1821,  despite  his  scarcely  tender  disposition,  Desroches 
undertook  with  much  discretion  and  confidence  to  extricate 
Philippe  Bridau  out  of  a  predicament — the  latter  having 
made  a  "loan"  on  the  cash-box  of  the  newspaper  for  which 
he  was  working;  he  brought  about  his  resignation  without 
any  scandal.  Desroches  was  a  man  of  good  "judgment." 
He  remained  to  the  last  a  friend  of  the  widow  Bridau  after 
the  death  of  MM.  du  Bruel  and  Claparon.  He  was  a  persistent 
fisherman.  [A  Bachelor's  Establishment.] 

Desroches  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding.  A  widow, 
in  1826,  she  sought  the  hand  of  Mile.  Matifat  for  her  son, 
Desroches  the  attorney.  [The  Firm  of  Nuciugen.J 


132  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Desroches,  son  of  the  two  foregoing;  born  about  1795; 
reared  strictly  by  a  very  harsh  father.  He  went  into  Derville's 
office  as  fourth  clerk  in  1818,  and  on  the  following  year 
passed  to  the  second  clerkship.  He  saw  Colonel  Chabert 
at  Derville's.  In  1821  or  1822  he  purchased  a  lawyer's 
office  with  bare  title  on  rue  de  Be"thizy.  He  was  shrewd 
and  quick  and  therefore  was  not  long  in  finding  a  clientele 
composed  of  litterateurs,  artists,  actresses,  famous  lorettes 
and  elegant  Bohemians.  He  was  counsellor  for  Agathe  and 
Joseph  Bridau,  and  also  gave  excellent  advice  to  Philippe 
Bridau  who  was  setting  out  for  Issoudun  about  1822.  [A 
Bachelor's  Establishment.  Colonel  Chabert.  A  Start  in 
Life.]  Desroches  was  advocate  for  Charles  de  Vandenesse, 
pleading  against  his  brother  Felix;  for  the  Marquise  d'Espard, 
seeking  interdiction  against  her  husband;  and  for  the  Secre- 
tary-General Chardin  des  Lupeaulx,  with  whom  he  counseled 
astutely.  [A  Woman  of  Thirty.  The  Commission  in  Lunacy. 
The  Government  Clerks.]  Lucien  de  Rubempre"  consulted 
Desroches  about  the  seizure  of  the  furniture  of  Coralie, 
his  mistress,  in  1822.  [A  Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.] 
Vautrin  appreciated  the  attorney;  he  said  that  the  latter 
would  be  able  to  "recover"  the  Rubempre  property,  to 
improve  it  and  make  it  capable  of  yielding  Lucien  an  income 
of  thirty  thousand  francs,  which  would  probably  have  allowed 
him  to  wed  Clotilde  de  Grandlieu.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's 
Life.]  In  1826  Desroches  made  a  short-lived  attempt  to 
marry  Malvina  d'Aldrigger.  [The  Firm  of  Nucingen.] 
About  1840  he  related,  at  Mile.  Turquet's — Malaga's — 
home,  then  maintained  by  Cardot  the  notary,  and  in  the 
presence  of  Bixiou,  Lousteau  and  Nathan,  who  were  invited 
by  the  tabellion,  the  tricks  employed  by  Cerizet  to  obtain 
the  face  value  of  a  note  out  of  Maxime  de  Trailles.  [A 
Man  of  Business.]  Indeed,  Desroches  was  Cerizet's  lawyer 
when  the  latter  had  a  quarrel  with  Th6odose  de  la  Peyrade 
in  1840.  He  also  looked  after  the  interests  of  the  contractor, 
Sauvaignou,  at  this  same  time.  [The  Middle  Classes.] 
Desroches'  office  was  probably  located  for  a  time  on  rue 
tie  Buci.  .[A  Bachelor's  Establishment.] 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  133 

Desroys,  clerk  with  the  Minister  of  Finance  in  Baudoyer's 
bureau,  under  the  Restoration.  The  son  of  a  Conventionalist 
who  had  not  favored  the  King's  death.  A  Republican; 
friend  of  Michel  Chrestien.  He  did  not  associate  with  any 
of  his  colleagues,  but  kept  his  manner  of  life  so  concealed 
that  none  knew  where  he  lived.  In  December,  1824,  he  was 
discharged  because  of  his  opinions  concerning  the  denunciation 
of  Dutocq.  [The  Government  Clerks.] 

Desroziers,  musician;  prize-winner  at  Rome;  died  in 
that  city  through  typhoid  fever  in  1836.  Friend  of  the 
sculptor  Dorlange,  to  whom  he  recounted  the  story  of  Zam- 
binella,  the  death  of  Sarrasine  and  the  marriage  of  the 
Count  of  Lanty.  Desroziers  gave  music  lessons  to  Marianina, 
daughter  of  the  count.  The  musician  employed  his  friend, 
who  was  momentarily  in  need  of  money,  to  undertake  a 
copy  of  a  statue  of  Adonis,  which  reproduced  Zambinella's 
features.  This  copy  he  sold  to  M.  de  Lanty.  [The  Member 
for  Arcis.] 

Desroziers,  printer  at  Moulins,  department  of  the  Allier. 
After  1830  he  published  a  small  volume  containing  the 
works  of  "Jan  Diaz,  son  of  a  Spanish  prisoner,  and  born 
in  1807  at  Bourges."  This  volume  had  an  introductory 
sketch  on  Jan  Diaz  by  M.  de  Clagny.  [The  Muse  of  the 
Department.] 

Dey  (Comtesse  de),  born  about  1755.  Widow  of  a  lieu- 
tenant-general retired  to  Carentan,  department  of  the  Manche, 
where  she  died  suddenly  in  November,  1793,  through  a 
shock  to  her  maternal  sensibilities.  [The  Conscript.] 

Dey  (Auguste,  Comte  de),  only  son  of  Mme.  de  Dey.  Made 
lieutenant  of  the  dragoons  when  only  eighteen,  and  followed 
the  princes  in  emigration  as  a  point  of  honor.  He  was 
idolized  by  his  mother,  who  had  remained  in  France  in  order 
to  preserve  his  fortune  for  him.  He  participated  in  the 
Granville  expedition.  Imprisoned  as  a  result  of  this  affair, 
he  wrote  Mme.  de  Dey  that  he  would  arrive  at  her  home, 
disguised  and  a  fugitive,  within  three  days'  time.  But  he 
was  shot  in  the  Morbihan  at  the  exact  moment  when  his 


134  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

mother  expired  from  the  shock  of  having  received  instead 
of  her  son  the  conscript  Julien  Jussieu.  [The  Conscript.] 

Diard  (Pierre-Francois),  born  in  the  suburbs  of  Nice; 
the  son  of  a  merchant-provost;  quartermaster  of  the  Sixth 
regiment  of  the  line,  in  1808,  then  chief  of  battalion  in  the 
Imperial  Guard;  retired  with  this  rank  on  account  of  a 
rather  severe  wound  received  in  Germany;  afterwards  an 
administrator  and  business  man;  excessive  gambler.  Hus- 
band of  Juana  Mancini  who  had  been  the  mistress  of  Captain 
Montefiore,  Diard's  most  intimate  friend.  In  1823,  at  Bor- 
deaux, Diard  killed  and  robbed  Montefiore,  whom  he  met  by 
accident.  Upon  his  return  home  he  confessed  his  crime  to 
his  wife  who  vainly  besought  him  to  commit  suicide ;  and  she 
herself  finally  blew  out  his  brains  with  a  pistol  shot.  [The 
Maranas.] 

Diard  (Maria-Juana-Pepita),  daughter  of  La  Marana, 
a  Venetian  courtesan,  and  a  young  Italian  nobleman,  Mancini, 
who  acknowledged  her.  Wife  of  Pierre-Frangois  Diard 
whom  she  accepted  on  her  mother's  request,  after  having 
given  herself  to  Montefiore  who  did  not  wish  to  marry  her. 
Juana  had  been  reared  very  strictly  in  the  Spanish  home 
of  Perez  de  Lagounia,  at  Tarragone,  and  she  bore  her  father's 
name.  She  was  the  descendant  of  a  long  line  of  courtesans, 
a  feminine  branch  that  had  never  made  legal  marriages. 
The  blood  of  her  ancestors  was  in  her  veins;  she  showed 
this  involuntarily  by  the  way  in  which  she  yielded  to  Monte- 
fiore. Although  she  did  not  love  her  husband,  yet  she  re- 
mained entirely  faithful  to  him,  and  she  killed  him  for 
honor's  sake.  She  had  two  children.  [The  Maranas.] 

Diard  (Juan),  first  child  of  Mme.  Diard.  Born  seven  months 
after  his  mother's  marriage,  and  perhaps  the  son  of  Montefiore. 
He  was  the  image  of  Juana,  who  secretly  petted  him  extrav- 
agantly, although  she  pretended  to  like  her  younger  son 
the  better.  By  a  "species  of  admirable  flattery"  Diard 
had  made  Juan  his  choice.  [The  Maranas.] 

Diard  (Francisque),  second  son  of  M.  and  Mme.  Diard, 
born  in  Paris.  A  counterpart  of  his  father,  and  the  favorite — 
only  outwardly — of  his  mother.  (The  Maranas.] 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  135 

Diaz  (Jan),  assumed  name  of  Mme.  Dinah  de  la  Baudraye. 

Diodati,  owner  of  a  villa  on  Lake  Geneva  in  1823-1824. — 
Character  in  a  novel  called  "  L'Ambitieux  par  Amour" 
published  by  Albert  Savarus  in  the  "Revue  de  1'Est"  in 
1834.  [Albert  Savarus.] 

Dionis,  notary  at  Nemours  from  about  1813  till  the  early 
part  of  the  reign  of  Louis  Philippe.  He  was  a  CremiSre- 
Dionis,  but  was  always  known  by  the  latter  name.  A 
shrewd,  double-faced  individual,  who  was  secretly  a  partner 
with  Massin-Levrault  the  money-lender.  He  concerned  him- 
self with  the  inheritance  left  by  Dr.  Minoret,  giving  advice 
to  the  three  legatees  of  the  old  physician.  After  the  Revo- 
lution of  1830,  he  was  elected  mayor  of  Nemours,  instead 
of  M.  Levrault,  and  about  1837  he  became  deputy.  He 
was  then  received  at  court  balls,  in  company  with  his  wife, 
and  Mme.  Dionis  was  "enthroned"  in  the  village  because 
of  her  "ways  of  the  throne."  The  couple  had  at  least  one 
daughter.  [Ursule  Mirouet.]  Dionis  breakfasted  familiarly 
with  Rastignac,  Minister  of  Public  Works,  from  1839  to 
1845.  [The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Doguereau,  publisher  on  rue  de  Coq,  Paris,  in  1821,  having 
been  established  since  the  first  of  the  century ;  retired  professor 
of  rhetoric.  Lucien  de  Rubempre  offered  him  his  romance, 
"The  Archer  of  Charles  IX.,"  but  the  publisher  would  not 
give  him  more  than  four  hundred  francs  for  it,  so  the  trade 
was  not  concluded.  [A  Distinguished  Provincial  at 
Paris.] 

Doisy,  porter  of  the  Lepitre  Institution,  quarter  du  Marais, 
Paris,  about  1814,  at  the  time  when  Felix  de  Vandenesse 
came  there  to  complete  his  course  of  study.  This  young 
man  contracted  a  debt  of  one  hundred  francs  on  Doisy 's 
account,  which  resulted  in  a  very  severe  reprimand  from 
his  mother.  [The  Lily  of  the  Valley.] 

Dominis  (Abbe"  de),  priest  of  Tours  during  the  Restoration; 
preceptor  of  Jacques  de  Mortsauf.  [The  Lily  of  the  Val- 
ley.] 

Dommanget,    an    accoucheur-physician,    famous   in    Paris 


136  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

at  the  time  of  Louis  Philippe.    In  1840  he  was  called  in 
to  visit  Mine.  Calyste  du  Guenic,  whom  he  had  accouched, 
and  who  had  taken  a  dangerous  relapse  on  learning  of  her 
husband's  infidelity.     She  was  nursing  her  son  at  this  time. 
On  being  taken  into  her   confidence,   Dommanget  treated 
and  cured  her  ailment  by  purely  moral  methods.     [Beatrix.] 
Doni  (Massimilla).      (See  Varese,  Princesse  ^e.) 
Dorlange  (Charles),  first  name  of  Sallenauve,  which  name 
see. 

Dorsonval  (Madame),  bourgeoise  of  Saumur,  acquainted 
with  M.  and  Mme.  de  Grassins  at  the  time  of  the  Restoration. 
[Eugenie  Grandet.] 

Doublon  (Victor- Ange-Herme'negilde),  bailiff  at  AngouleTne 
during  the  Restoration.  He  acted  against  David  Sechard 
on  behalf  of  the  Cointet  brothers.  [Lost  Illusions.] 

Duberghe,  wine-merchant  of  Bordeaux  from  whom  Nucin- 
gen  purchased  in  1815,  before  the  battle  of  Waterloo,  150,000 
bottles  of  wine,  averaging  thirty  sous  to  the  bottle.  The 
financier  sold  them  for  six  francs  each  to  the  allied  armies, 
from  1817  to  1819.  [The  Firm  of  Nucingen.] 

Dubourdieu,  born  about  1805;  a  symbolic  painter  of  the 
Fouierist  school;  decorated.  In  1845  he  was  met  at  the 
corner  of  rue  Neuve-Vivienne  by  his  friend  Le"on  de  Lora, 
when  he  expressed  his  ideas  on  art  and  philosophy  to  Gazonal 
and  Bixiou,  who  were  with  the  famous  landscape-painter. 
[The  Unconscious  Humorists.] 

Dubut  of  Caen,  merchant  connected  with  MM.  de  Bois- 
franc,  de  Boisfrelon  and  de  Boislaurier  who  were  also  Dubuts, 
and  whose  grandfather  was  a  dealer  in  linens.  Dubut  of 
Caen  was  involved  in  the  trial  of  the  Chauffeurs  of  Mortagne, 
in  1809,  and  sentenced  to  death  for  contumacy.  During  the 
Restoration,  on  account  of  his  devotion  to  the  Royal  cause,  he 
had  hoped  to  obtain  the  succession  to  the  title  of  M.  de 
Boisfranc.  Louis  XVIII.  made  him  grand  provost,  in  1815, 
and  later  public  prosecutor  under  the  coveted  name;  finally 
he  died  as  first  president  of  the  court.  [The  Seamy  Side  of 
History.J 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  137 

Ducange  (Victor),  novelist  and  playwright  of  France;  born 
in  1783  at  La  Haye;  died  in  1833;  one  of  the  collaborators  in 
"Thirty  Years,"  or  "A  Gambler's  Life,"  and  the  author  of 
"Leonide."  Victor  Ducange  was  present  at  Braulard's,  the 
head-claquer's,  in  1821,  at  a  dinner  where  were  also  Adele 
Dupois,  Frederic  Dupetit-Mere  and  Mile.  Millot,  Braulard's 
mistress.  [A  Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.] 

Dudley  (Lord),  statesman;  one  of  the  most  distinguished  of 
the  older  English  peers  living  in  Paris  after  1816;  husband  of 
Lady  Arabella  Dudley ;  natural  father  of  Henri  de  Marsay,  to 
Whom  he  paid  small  attention,  and  who  became  the  lover  of 
Arabella.  He  was  "  profoundly  immoral.",  '  He  reckoned 
among  his  illegitimate  progeny,  Euphe'mia  Porraberil,  and 
among  the  women  he  maintained  a  certain  Hortense  who 
lived  on  rue  Tronchet.  Before  removing  to  France,  Lord 
Dudley  lived  in  his  native  land  with  two  sons  born  in  wedlock, 
but  who  were  astonishingly  like  Marsay.  [The  Lily  of  the 
Valley.  The  Thirteen.  A  Man  of  Business.]  Lord  Dudley 
was  present  at  Mile,  des  Touches,  shortly  after  1830,  when 
Marsay,  then  prime  minister,  told  of  his  first  love  affair; 
these  two  statesmen  exchanged  philosophical  reflections. 
[Another  Study  of  Woman.]  In  1834  he  chanced  to  be  present 
at  a  grand  ball  given  by  his  wife,  when  he  gambled  in  a  salon 
with  bankers,  ambassadors  and  retired  ministers.  [A.  Daugh- 
ter of  Eve.] 

Dudley  (Lady  Arabella),  wife  of  the  preceding;  member  of 
an  illustrious  English  family  that  was  free  of  any  mesalliance 
from  the  time  of  the  Conquest;  exceedingly  wealthy;  one  of 
those  almost  regal  ladies;  the  idol  of •  the  highest  French 
society  during  the  Restoration.  She  did  not  live  with  her 
husband  to  whom  she  had  left  two  sons  who  resembled  Mar- 
say,  whose  mistress  she  had  been.  In  some  way  she  suc- 
ceeded in  taking  Felix  de  Vandenesse  away  from  Mme.  de 
Mortsauf,  thus  causing  that  virtuous  woman  keen  anguish. 
She  was  born,  so  she  said,  in  Lancashire,  where  women  die  of 
love.  [The  Lily  of  the  Valley.]  In  the  early  years  of  the 
reign  of  Charles  X.,  at  least  during  the  summers,  she  lived  at 


138  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

the  village  of  Chatenay,  near  Sgeaux.  [The  Ball  at  Sgeaux.] 
Raphael  de  Valentin  desired  her  and  would  have  sought  her 
but  for  the  fear  of  exhausting  the  "  magic  skin."  [The  Magic 
Skin.]  In  1832  she  was  among  the  guests  at  a  soiree  given  by 
Mme.  d'  Espard,  where  the  Duchesse  de  Maufrigneuse  was 
maligned  in  the  presence  of  Daniel  d'Arthez,  in  love  with  her. 
[The  Secrets  of  a  Princess.]  She  was  quite  jealous  of  Mme. 
Felix  de  Vandenesse,  the  wife  of  her  old-time  lover,  and  in 
1834-35  she  monoeuvred,  with  Mme.  de  Listom£re  and  Mme. 
d'Espard  to  make  the  young  woman  fall  into  the  arms  of  the 
poet  Nathan,  whom  she  wished  to  be  even  homelier  than  he 
was.  She  said  to  Mme.  Felix  de  Vandenesse :  "Marriage,  my 
child,  is  our  purgatory;  love  our  paradise."  [A  Daughter  of 
Eve.]  Lady  Dudley,  vengeance-bent,  caused  Lady  Brandon 
to  die  of  grief.  [Letters  of  Two  Brides.] 

Dufau,  justice  of  the  peace  in  a  commune  in  the  outskirts 
of  Grenoble,  where  Dr.  Benassis  was  mayor  under  the  Restor- 
ation. Then  a  tall,  bony  man  with  gray  locks  and  clothed  in 
black.  He  aided  materially  in  the  work  of  regeneration 
accomplished  by  the  physician  in  the  village.  [The  Country 
Doctor.] 

Dufaure  (Jules-Armand-Stanislaus),  attorney  and  French 
politician;  born  December  4,  1798,  at  Saujon,  Charente- 
Infe'rieure;  died  an  Academician  at  Rueil  in  the  summer  of 
1881;  friend  and  co-disciple  of  Louis  Lambert  and  of 
Barchou  de  Penhoen  at  the  college  of  Vendome  in  1811. 
[Louis  Lambert.] 

Dumay  (Anne-Frangois-Bernard),  born  at  Vannes  in  1777; 
son  of  a  rather  mean  lawyer,  the  president  of  a  revolutionary 
tribunal  under  the  Republic,  and  a  victim  of  the  guillotine 
subsequent  to  the  ninth  Thermidor.  His  mother  died  of 
grief.  In  1799  Anne  Dumay  enlisted  in  the  army  of  Italy. 
On  the  overthrow  of  the  Empire,  he  retired  with  the  rank  of 
lieutenant,  and  came  in  touch  with  Charles  Mignon,  with 
whom  he  had  become  acquainted  early  in  his  military  career. 
He  was  thoroughly  devoted  to  his  friend,  who  had  once  saved 
his  life  at.  Waterloo.  He  gave  great  assistance  to  the  commer- 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  139 

cial  enterprises  of  the  Mignon  house,  and  faithfully  looked 
after  the  interests  of  Mme.  and  Mile.  Mignon  during  the  pro- 
tracted absence  of  the  head  of  the  family,  who  was  suddenly 
ruined.  Mignon  came  back  from  America  a  rich  man,  and 
he  made  Dumay  share  largely  in  his  fortune.  [Modeste 
Mignon.] 

Dumay  (Madame),  nie  Grummer,  wife  of  the  foregoing;  a 
pretty  little  American  woman  who  married  Dumay  while  he 
was  on  a  journey  to  America  on  behalf  of  his  patron  and 
friend  Charles  Mignon,  during  the  Restoration.  Having  had 
the  misfortune  to  lose  several  children  at  birth,  and  deprived 
of  the  hope  of  others,  she  became  entirely  devoted  to  the  two 
Mignon  girls.  She  as  well  as  her  husband  was  thoroughly 
attached  to  that  family.  [Modeste  Mignon.] 

Dupetit-M6r6  (Frederic),  born  at  Paris  in  1785  and  died  in 
1827;  dramatic  author  who  enjoyed  his  brief  hour  of  fame. 
Under  the  name  of  Frederic  he  constructed  either  singly,  or  in 
collaboration  with  Ducange,  Rougemont,  Brazier  and  others, 
a  large  number  of  melodramas,  vaudevilles,  and  fantasies. 
In  1821  he  was  present  with  Ducange,  Adele  Dupuis  and  Mile. 
Millot  at  a  dinner  at  Braulard's,  the  head-claquer.  [A 
Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.] 

Duplanty  (Abbe"),  vicar  of  Saint-Frangois  church  at  Paris; 
at  Schmucke's  request  he  administered  extreme  unction  to  the 
dying  Pons,  in  April,  1845,  who  understood  and  appreciated 
his  goodness.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Duplay  (Madame),  wife  of  a  carpenter  of  rue  Honore"  at 
whose  house  Robespierre  lived;  a  customer  of  the  grocer 
Descoings,  whom  she  denounced  as  a  forestaller.  This  accusa- 
tion led  to  the  grocer's  imprisonment  and  execution.  [A 
Bachelor's  Establishment.] 

Dupotet,  a  sort  of  banker  established  at  Croisic  under  the 
Restoration.  He  had  on  deposit  the  modest  patrimony  of 
Pierre  Cambremer.  [A  Seaside  Tragedy.] 

Dupuis,  notary  of  the  Saint-Jacques  quarter,  time  of  Louis 
Philippe;  affectedly  pious;  beadle  of  the  parish.  He  kept  the 
savings  of  a  lot  of  servants.  Th6odose  de  la  Peyrade,  who 


140  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

drummed  up  trade  for  him  in  this  special  line,  induced  Mme. 
Lambert,  the  housekeeper  of  M.  Picot,  to  place  two  thousand 
five  hundred  francs,  saved  at  her  employer's  expense,  with 
this  virtuous  man,  who  immediately  went  into  bankrutpcy. 
[The  Middle  Classes.] 

Dupuis  (Adele),  Parisian  actress  who  for  a  long  time  and 
brilliantly  held  the  leading  roles  and  creations  at  the  Gaite 
theatre.  In  1821  she  dined  with  the  chief  claquer,  Brau- 
lard,  in  company  with  Ducange,  Fre"denc  Dupetit-Mere'  and 
Mile.  Millot.  [A  Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.] 

Durand,  real  name  of  the  Chessels.  This  name  of  Chessel 
had  been  borrowed  by  Mme.  Durand,  who  was  born  a  Chessel. 

Duret  (Abbe),  cure  of  Sancerre  during  the  Restoration; 
aged  member  of  the  old  clerical  school.  Excellent  company; 
a  frequenter  of  the  home  of  Mme.  de  la  Baudraye,  where  he 
satisfied  his  penchant  for  gaming.  With  much  'finesse 
Duret  showed  this  young  woman  the  character  of  M.  de  la 
Baudraye  in  its  true  light.  He  counseled  her  to  seek  in 
literature  relief  from  the  bitterness  of  her  wedded  life.  [The 
Muse  of  the  Department.] 

Duriau,  a  celebrated  accoucheur  of  Paris.  Assisted  by 
Bianchon  he  delivered  Mme.  de  la  Baudraye  of  a  child  at  the 
home  of  Lousteau,  its  father,  in  1837.  [The  Muse  of  the 
Department.] 

Durieu,  cook  and  house  servant  at  the  chateau  de  Cinq- 
Cygne,  under  the  Consulate.  An  old  and  trusted  servant, 
thoroughly  devoted  to  his  mistress,  Laurence  de  Cinq-Cygne, 
whose  fortunes  he  had  always  followed.  He  was  a  married 
man,  his  wife  being  general  housekeeper  in  the  establishment. 
[The  Gondreville  Mystery.] 

Duroc  (Ge'rard-Christophe-Michel),  Due  de  Frioul;  grand 
marshal  of  the  palace  of  Napoleon ;  born  at  Pont-a-Mousson,  in 
1772;  killed  on  the  battlefield  in  1813.  On  October  13,  1806, 
the  eve  of  the  battle  of  Jena,  he  conducted  the  Marquis  de 
Chargeboeuf  and  Laurence  de  Cinq-Cygne  to  the  Emperor's 
presence.  [The  Gondreville  Mystery.]  In  April,  1813,  he 
was  at  a  dress-parade  at  the  Carrousel,  Paris,  when  Napoleon 


EEPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  141 

addressed  him,  regarding  Mile,  de  Chatillonest,  noted  by  him 
m  the  throng,  in  language  which  made  the  grand  marshal 
smile.  [A  Woman  of  Thirty.] 

Durut  (Jean-Frangois),  a  criminal  whom  Prudence  Servien 
helped  convict  to  hard  labor  by  her  testimony  in  the  Court 
of  Assizes.  Durut  took  oath  to  Prudence,  before  the  .same 
tribunal,  that,  once  free,  he  would  kill  her.  However,  he  was 
executed  at  the  bagne  of  Toulon  four  years  later  (1829). 
Jacques  Collin,  alias  Vautrin,  to  obtain  Prudence's  affections, 
boasted  of  having  freed  her  from  Durut,  whose  threat  held  her 
in  perpetual  terror.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Dutheil  (Abbe"),  one  of  the  two  vicars-general  of  the  Bishop 
of  Limoges  during  the  Restoration.  One  of  the  lights  of  the 
Gallican  clergy.  Made  a  bishop  in  August,  1831,  and  promoted 
to  archbishop  in  1840.  He  presided  at  the  public  confession 
of  Mme.  Graslin,  whose  friend  and  adviser  he  was,  and  whose 
funeral  procession  he  followed  in  1844.  [The  Country  Parson.] 

Dutocq,  born  in  1786.  In  1814  he  entered  the  Department 
of  Finance,  succeeding  Poiret  senior  who  was  displaced  in  the 
bureau  directed  by  Rabourdin.  He  was  order  clerk.  Idle 
and  incapable,  he  hated  his  chief  and  caused  his  overthrow. 
Very  despicable  and  very  prying,  he  tried  to  make  his  place 
secure  by  acting  as  spy  in  the  bureau.  Chardin  des  Lupeaulx, 
the  secretary-general,  was  advised  by  him  of  the  slightest 
developments.  After  1816,  Dutocq  outwardly  affected  very 
pronounced  religious  tendencies  because  he  believed  them 
useful  to  his  advancement.  He  eagerly  collected  old  engrav- 
ings, possessing  complete  "his  Charlet,"  which  he  desired  to 
give  or  lend  to  the  minister's  wife.  At  this  time  he  dwelt  on 
rue  Saint-Louis-Saint-Honore"  (in  1854  this  street  disappeared) 
near  Palais  Royal,  on  the  fifth  floor  of  an  enclosed  house,  and 
boarded  in  a  pension  of  rue  de  Beaune.  [The  Government 
Clerks.]  In  1840,  retired,  he  clerked  for  a  justice  of  the  peace 
of  the  Pantheon  municipality,  and  lived  in  Thuillier's  house, 
rue  Saint-Dominique  d'Enfer.  He  was  a  bachelor  and  had 
all  the  vices  which,  however,  he  religiously  concealed.  He 
kept  in  with  his  superiors  by  fawning.  He  was  concerned 


with  the  villainous  intrigues  of  Ce"rizet,  his  copy-clerk,  and 
with  Theodose  de  la  Peyrade,  the  tricky  lawyer.  [The 
Middle  Classes.] 

Duval,  wealthy  forge-master  of  AlenQon,  whose  daughter, 
the  grand-niece  of  M.  du  Croisier  (du  Bousquier),  was  married 
in  1830  to  Victurnien  d'Esgrignon.  Her  dowry  was  three 
million  francs.  [Jealousies  of  a  Country  Town.] 

Duval,  famous  professor  of  chemistry  at  Paris  in  1843.  A 
friend  of  Dr.  Bianchon,  at  whose  instance  he  analyzed  the 
blood  of  M.  and  Mme  Crevel,  who  were  infected  by  a  peculiar 
cutaneous  disease  of  which  they  died.  [Cousin  Betty.] 

Duvignon.     (See  Lanty,  de.) 

Duvivier,  jeweler  at  Vendome  during  the  Empire.  Mme. 
de  Merret  declared  to  her  husband  that  she  had  purchased  of 
this  merchant  an  ebony  crucifix  encrusted  with  silver;  but  in 
truth  she  had  obtained  it  of  her  lover,  Bagos  de  Fere"dia.  She 
swore  falsely  on  this  very  crucifix.  [La  Grande  Breteche.j 

E 

Emile,  a  "lion  of  the  most  triumphant  kind,"  of  the 
acquaintance  of  Mme.  Komorn — Comtesse  Godollo.  One 
evening  in  1840  or  1841  this  woman,  in  order  to  avoid  Theo- 
dose de  la  Peyrade,  on  the  Boulevard  des  Italiens,  took  the 
dandy's  arm  and  requested  him  to  take  her  to  Mabille.  [The 
Middle  Classes.] 

Esgrignon  (Charles-Marie-Victor-Ange-Carol,  Marquis  d'), 
or,  Des  Grignons — following  the  earlier  name — commander 
of  the  Order  of  Saint-Louis;  born  about  1750,  died  in  1830. 
Head  of  a  very  ancient  family  of  the  Francs,  the  Karawls 
who  came  from  the  North  to  conquer  the  Gauls,  and  who  were 
entrusted  with  the  defence  of  a  French  highway.  The 
Esgrignons,  quasi-princes  under  the  House  of  Valois  and 
all-powerful  under  Henry  IV.,  were  very  little  known  at  the 
court  of  Louis  XVIII. ;  and  the  marquis,  ruined  by  the  Revolu- 
tion, lived  in  rather  reduced  circumstances  at  Alengon  in  an 
old  gable-roofed  house  formerly  belonging  to  him,  which  had 
been  sold  as  common  property,  and  which  the  faithful  notary 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  143 

Chesnel  had  repurchased,  together  with  certain  portions  of  his 
other  estates.  The  Marquis  d'Esgrignon,  though  not  having 
to  emigrate,  was  still  obliged  to  conceal  himself.  He  partici- 
pated in  the  Vendean  struggle  against  the  Republic,  and  was 
one  of  the  members  of  the  Committee  Royal  of  Alencon.  In 
1800,  at  the  age  of  fifty,  in  the  hope  of  perpetuating  his  race, 
he  married  Mile,  de  Nouastre,  who  died  in  child-birth,  leaving 
the  marquis  an  only  son.  M.  d'Esgrignon  always  overlooked 
the  escapades  of  this  child,  whose  reputation  was  preserved  by 
Chesnel;  and  he  passed  away  shortly  after  the  downfall  of 
Charles  X.,  saying:  "The  Gauls  triumph."  [The  Chouans. 
Jealousies  of  a  Country  Town.] 

Esgr'gnon  (Madame  d'),  n£e  Nouastre;  of  blood  the  purest 
and  noblest;  married  at  twenty-two,  in  1800,  to  Marquis 
Carol  d'Esgrignon,  a  man  of  fifty.  She  soon  died  at  the 
birth  of  an  only  son.  She  was  "  the  prettiest  of  human  beings ; 
in  her  person  were  reawakened  the  charms — now  fanciful — of 
the  feminine  figures  of  the  sixteenth  century."  [Jealousies  of 
a  Country  Town.] 

Esgrignon  (Victurnien,  Comte,  then  Marquis  d'),  only  son 
of  Marquis  Carol  d'Esgrignon;  born  about  1800  at  Alencon. 
Handsome  and  intelligent,  reared  with  extreme  indulgence 
and  kindness  by  his  aunt,  Mile.  Armande  d'Esgrignon,  he 
gave  himself  over  without  restraint  to  all  the  whims  usual  to 
the  ingenuous  egoism  of  his  age.  From  eighteen  to  twenty- 
one  he  squandered  eighty  thousand  francs  without  the 
knowledge  of  his  father  and  his  aunt;  the  devoted  Chesnel 
footed  all  the  bills.  The  youthful  d'Esgrignon  was  system- 
atically urged  to  wrong-doing  by  an  ally  of  his  own  age, 
Fabien  du  Ronceret,  a  perfidious  fellow  of  the  town  whom 
M.  du  Croisicr  employed.  About  1823  Victurnien  d'Esgrig- 
non was  sent  to  Paris.  There  he  had  the  misfortune  to  fall 
into  the  society  of  the  Parisian  route — Marsay,  Ronquerolles, 
Trailles,  Chardin  des  Lupeaulx,  Vandenesse,  Ajuda-Pinto, 
Beaudenord,  Martial  dc  la  Roche-Hugon,  Manerville,  people 
met  at  the  homes  of  Marquise  d'Espard,  the  Duchesses  de 
Grandlieu,  de  Carigliano,  de  Chaulieu,  the  Marquises  d'Aigle- 


144  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

mont  and  de  Listomere,  Mme.  Firmiani  and  the  Comtesse  de 
Se"rizy;  at  the  opera  and  at  the  embassies — being  welcomed 
on  account  of  his  good  name  and  seeming  fortune.  It  was 
not  long  until  he  became  the  lover  of  the  Duchesse  de  Maufrig- 
neuse,  ruined  himself  for  her  and  ended  by  forging  a  note 
against  M.  du  Croisier  for  one  hundred  thousand  francs.  His 
aunt  took  him  back  quickly  to  Alengon,  and  by  a  great  effort 
he  was  rescued  from  legal  proceedings.  Following  this  he 
fought  a  duel  with  M.  du  Croisier,  who  wounded  him  danger- 
ously. Nevertheless,  shortly  after  the  death  of  his  father, 
Victurnien  d'Esgrignon  married  Mile.  Duval,  niece  of  the 
retired  contractor.  He  did  not  give  himself  over  to  his  wife, 
but  instead  betook  himself  to  his  former  gay  life  of  a  bachelor. 
[Jealousies  of  a  Country  Town.  Letters  of  Two  Brides.] 
According  to  Marguerite  Turquet  "the  little  D'Esgrignon  was 
well  soaked"  by  Antonia.  [A  Man  of  Business.]  In  1832 
Victurnien  d'Esgrignon  declared  before  a  numerous  company 
at  Mme.  d'Espard's  that  the  Princesse  de  Cadignan — Mme. 
de  Maufrigneuse — was  a  dangerous  woman.  "To  her  I  owe 
the  disgrace  of  my  marriage,"  he  added.  Daniel  d'Arthez, 
who  was  then  in  love  with  this  woman,  was  present  at  the 
conversation.  [The  Secrets  of  a  Princess.]  In  1838  Victur- 
nien d'Esgrignon  was  present  with  some  artists,  lorettes  and 
men  about  town,  at  the  opening  of  the  house  on  rue  de  la 
Ville-Eveque  given  to  Josepha  Mirah,  by  the  Due  d'He"rou- 
ville.  The  young  marquis  himself  had  been  Josepha's  lover; 
Baron  Hulot  and  he  had  been  rivals  for  her  on  another  occa- 
sion. [Cousin  Betty.] 

Esgrignon  (Marie- Armande-Claire  d'),  born  about  1775; 
sister  of  Marquis  Carol  d'Esgrignon  and  aunt  of  Victurnien 
d'Esgrignon  to  whom  she  had  been  as  a  mother,  with  an 
absolute  tenderness.  In  his  old  age  her  father  had  married 
for  a  second  time,  and  to  the  young  daughter  of  a  tax  collector, 
ennobled  by  Louis  XIV.  She  was  born  of  this  union  which 
was  looked  upon  as  a  horrible  mesalliance,  and  although  the 
marquis  loved  her  dearly  he  regarded  her  as  an  alien.  He 
made  her  weep  for  joy,  one  day,  by  saying  solemnly :  "You 
are  an  Esgrignon,  my  sister."  Emile  Blondet,  reared  at 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  14S 

Alengort,  had  known  and  loved  her  in  his  childhood,  and  often 
later  he  praised  her  beauty  and  good  qualities.  On  account 
of  her  devotion  to  her  nephew  she  refused  M.  de  la  Roche- 
Guyon  and  the  Chevalier  de  Valois,  also  M.  du  Bousquier. 
She  gave  the  fullest  proof  of  her  genuinely  maternal  affection 
for  Victurnien,  when  the  latter  committed  the  crime  at  Paris, 
which  would  have  placed  him  on  the  prisoner's  bench  of  the 
Court  of  Assizes,  but  for  the  clever  work  of  Chesnel.  She 
outlived  her  brother,  given  over  "to  her  religion  and  her  over- 
thrown beliefs.'  About  the  middle  of  Louis  Philippe's  reign 
Blondet,  who  had  come  to  Alenc.on  to  obtain  his  marriage 
license,  was  again  moved  on  the  contemplation  of  that  noble 
face.  [Jealousies  of  a  Country  Town.] 

Espard  (Charles-Maurice-Marie-Andoche,  Comte  de  Ne"gre- 
pelisse,  Marquis  d'),  born  about  1789;  by  name  a  Negrepelisse, 
of  an  old  Southern  family  which  acquired  by  a  marriage,  time 
of  Henry  IV.,  the  lands  and  titles  of  the  family  of  Espard,  of 
Beam,  which  was  allied  also  with  the  Albret  house.  The 
device  of  the  d'Espards  was:  "Des  partem  leonis."  The 
Negrepelisses  were  militant  Catholics,  ruined  at  the  time  of 
the  Church  wars,  and  afterwards  considerably  enriched  by  the 
despoiling  of  a  family  of  Protestant  merchants,  the  Jeanrenauds 
whose  head  had  been  hanged  after  the  revocation  of  the  Edict 
of  Nantes.  This  property,  so  badly  acquired,  became  won- 
drously  profitable  to  the  Ne"grepelisses-d'Espards.  Thanks 
to  his  fortune,  the  grandfather  of  the  marquis  was  enabled  to 
wed  a  Navarreins-Lansac,  an  extremely  wealthy  heiress; 
her  father  was  of  the  younger  branch  of  the  Grandlieus.  In 
1812  the  Marquis  d'Espard  married  Mile,  de  Blamont- 
Chauvry,  then  sixteen  years  of  age.  He  had  two  sons  by  her, 
but  discord  soon  arose  between  the  couple.  Her  silly 
extravagances  forced  the  marquis  to  borrow.  He  left  her 
in  1816,  going  with  his  two  children  to  live  on  rue  de  la  Mon- 
tagne-Sainte-Genevieve.  Here  he  devoted  himself  to  the 
education  of  his  boys  and  to  the  composition  of  a  great  work : 
"The  Picturesque  History  of  China."  the  profits  of  which, 
combined  with  the  savings  resultant  from  an  austere  manner 
of  living,  allowed  him  to  pay  in  twelve  years'  time  to  the 


146  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

legatees  of  the  suppliant  Jeanrenauds  eleven  hundred  thou- 
sand francs,  representing  the  value — time  of  Louis  XIV. — of 
the  property  confiscated  from  their  ancestors.  This  book 
was  written,  so  to  speak,  in  collaboration  with  Abbe  Crozier, 
and  its  financial  results  aided  greatly  in  comforting  the  declin- 
ing years  of  a  ruined  friend,  M.  de  Nouvion.  In  1828  Mme. 
d'Espard  tried  to  have  a  guardian  appointed  for  her  husband, 
by  ridiculing  the  noble  conduct  of  the  marquis.  But  the 
defendant  won  his  rights  at  court.  [Th  -  Commission  in 
Lunacy.]  Lucien  de  Rubempre",  who  entc.tained  Attorney- 
General  Granville  with  an  account  of  this  suit,  probably  was 
instrumental  in  causing  the  judgment  to  favor  M.  d'Espard. 
Thus  he  drew  upon  himself  the  hatred  of  the .  marquise. 
[Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life. 

Espard  (Camille,  Vicomte  d'),  second  son  of  Marquis 
d'Espard;  born  in  1815;  pursued  his  studies  at  the  college  of 
Henri  IV.,  in  company  with  his  elder  brother,  the  Comte 
Clement  de  NSgrepelisse.  He  studied  rhetoric  in  1828.  [The 
Commission  in  Lunacy.] 

Espard  (Chevalier  d'),  brother  of  Marquis  d'Espard,  whom 
he  wished  to  see  interdicted,  in  order  that  he  might  be  made 
curator.  His  face  was  thin  as  a  knife-blade,  and  he  was  frigid 
and  severe.  Judge  Popinot  said  he  reminded  him  somewhat 
of  Cain.  He  was  one  of  the  deepest  personages  to  be  found 
in  the  Marquise  d'Espard's  drawing-room,  and  was  the 
political  half  of  that  woman.  [The  Commission  in  Lunacy. 
Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.  The  Secrets  of  a  Princess.] 

Espard  (Jeanne-Clementine- Athenais  de  Blamont-Chauvry, 
Marquise  d'),  born  in  1795;  wife  of 'Marquis  d'Espard;  of 
one  of  the  most  illustrious  houses  of  Faubourg  Saint-Germain. 
Deserted  by  her  husband  in  1816,  she  was  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
two  mistress  of  herself  and  of  her  fortune,  an  income  of 
twenty-six  thousand  francs.  At  first  she  lived  in  seclusion; 
then  in  1820  she  appeared  at  court,  gave  some  receptions  at 
her  own  home,  and  did  not  long  delay  about  becoming  a 
society  woman.  Cold,  vain  and  coquettish  she  knew  neither 
love  nor  hatred ;  her  indifference  for  all  that  did  not  directh 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  147 

concern  her  was  profound.  She  never  showed  emotion. 
She  had  certain  scientific  formulas  for  preserving  her  beauty. 
She  never  wrote  but  spoke  instead,  believing  that  two  words 
from  a  woman  were  sufficient  to  kill  three  men.  More  than 
once  she  made  epigrams  to  peers  or  deputies  which  the 
courts  of  Europe  treasured.  In  1828  she  still  passed  with 
the  men  for  youthful.  Mme.  d'Espard  lived  at  number 
104  rue  du  Faubourg  Saint-Honore".  [The  Commission  in 
Lunacy.]  She  was  a  magnificent  Ce'limene.  She  displayed 
such  prudence  and  severity  on  her  separation  from  her 
husband  that  society  was  at  a  loss  to  account  for  this  dis- 
agreement. She  was  surrounded  by  her  relatives,  the 
Navarreins,  the  Blamont-Chauvrys  and  the  Lenoncourts; 
ladies  of  the  highest  social  position  claimed  her  acquaintance. 
She  was  a  cousin  of  Mme.  de  Bargeton,  who  was  rehabilitated 
by  her  on  her  arrival  from  Angouleme  in  1821,  and  whom 
she  introduced  into  Paris,  showing  her  all  the  secrets  of 
elegant  life  and  taking  her  away  from  Lucien  de  Rubempre". 
Later,  when  the  "Distinguished  Provincial"  had  won  his 
way  into  high  society,  she,  at  the  instance  of  Mme.  de  Mont- 
cornet,  enlisted  him  on  the  Royalist  side.  [A  Distinguished 
Provincial  at  Paris.]  In  1824  she  was  at  an  Ope"ra  ball  to 
which  she  had  come  through  an  anonymous  note,  and,  leaning 
on  the  arm  of  Sixte  du  Ch&telet,  she  met  Lucien  de  Rubempre" 
whose  beauty  struck  her  and  whom  she  seemed,  indeed, 
not  to  remember.  The  poet  had  his  revenge  for  her  former 
disdain,  by  means  of  some  cutting  phrases,  and  Jacques 
Collin — Vautrin — masked,  caused  her  uneasiness  by  persuad- 
ing her  that  Lucien  was  the  author  of  the  note  and  that  he 
loved  her.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.]  The  Chaulieus 
were  intimate  with  her  at  the  time  when  their  daughter 
Louise  was  courted  by  Baron  de  Macumer.  [Letters  of 
Two  Brides.]  Despite  the  silent  opposition  of  the  Faubourg 
Saint-Germain,  after  the  Revolution  of  1830,  the  Marquise 
d'Espard  did  not  close  her  salon,  since  she  did  not  wish  to  re- 
nounce her  Parisian  prestige.  In  this  she  was  seconded  by 
one  or  two  women  in  her  circle  and  by  Mile,  des  Touches. 
[Another  Study  of  Woman.]  She  was  at  home  Wednesdays. 


148  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

In  1833  she  attended  a  soiree  at  the  home  of  the  Princess 
de  Cadignan,  where  Marsay  disclosed  the  mystery  surrounding 
the  abduction  of  Senator  Malin  in  1806.  [The  Gondreville 
Mystery.]  Notwithstanding  an  evil  report  circulated  against 
her  by  Mme.  d'Espard,  the  princesse  told  Daniel  d'Arthez 
that  the  marquise  was  her  best  friend ;  she  was  related  to  her. 
[The  Secrets  of  a  Princess.]  A  tuated  by  jealou  y  for  Mme. 
Felix  de  Vandenesse,  Mme.  d'Espard  fostered  the  growing 
intimacy  between  that  young  woman  and  Nathan  the  poet; 
she  wished  to  see  an  apparent  rival  compromised.  In 
1835  the  marquise  defended  vaudeville  entertainments 
against  Lady  Dudley,  who  said  she  could  not  endure  them. 
[A  Daughter  of  Eve  ]  In  1840,  on  leaving  the  Italiens, 
Mme.  d'Espard  humiliated  Mme.  de  Rochefide  by  snubbing 
her;  all  the  women  followed  her  example,  shunning  the  mistress 
of  Calyste  du  Gue*nic.  [Beatrix.]  In  short  the  Marquise 
d'Espard  was  one  of  the  most  snobbish  people  of  her  day. 
Her  disposition  was  sour  and  malevolent,  despite  its  elegant 
veneer. 

Estiva!  (Abbe"  d'),  provincial  priest  and  Lenten  exhorter 
at  the  church  of  Saint-Jacques  du  Haut-Pas,  Paris.  According 
to  The"odose  de  la  Peyrade,  who  pointed  him  out  to  Mme. 
Colleville,  he  was  devoted  to  predication  in  the  interest  of 
the  poor.  By  spirituality  and  unction  he  redeemed  a  scarcely 
agreeable  exterior.  [The  Middle  Classes.] 

Estorade  (Baron,  afterwards  Comte  de  1'),  a  little  Provincial 
gentleman,  father  of  Louis  de  1'Estorade.  A  very  religious 
and  very  miserly  man  who  hoarded  for  his  son.  He  lost  his 
wife  about  1814,  who  died  of  grief  through  lack  of  hope  of 
ever  seeing  her  son  again — having  heard  nothing  of  him 
after  the  battle  of  Leipsic.  M.  de  1'Estorade  was  an  excellent 
grandparent.  He  died  at  the  end  of  1826.  [Letters  of 
Two  Brides.] 

Estorade  (Louis,  Chevalier,  then  Vicomte  and  Comte  de  1'), 
son  of  the  preceding ;  peer  of  France ;  president  of  the  Chamber 
in  the  Court  of  Accounts;  grand  officer  of  the  Legion  of  Honor; 
born  in  1787.  After  having  been  excluded  from  the  conscrip- 


149 

tion  under  the  Empire,  for  a  long  time,  he  was  enlisted  in 
1813,  serving  on  the  Guard  of  Honor.  At  Leipsic  he  was 
captured  by  the  Russians  and  did  not  reappear  in  France 
until  the  Restoration.  He  suffered  severely  in  Siberia; 
at  thirty-seven  he  appeared  to  be  fifty.  Pale,  lean,  taciturn 
and  somewhat  deaf,  he  bore  much  resemblance  to  the  Knight 
of  the  Rueful  Countenance.  He  succeeded,  however,  in 
making  himself  agreeable  to  Renee  de  Maucombe  whom 
he  married,  dowerless,  in  1824.  Urged  on  by  his  wife 
who  became  ambitious  after  becoming  a  mother,  he  left 
Crampade,  his  country  estate,  and  although  a  mediocre  he 
rose  to  the  highest  offices.  [Letters  of  Two  Brides.  The 
Member  for  Arcis.] 

Estorade  (Madame  de  1'),  born  Rene"e  de  Maucombe  in 
1807,  of  a  very  old  Provengal  family,  located  in  the  Ge'me'nos 
Valley,  twenty  kilometres  from  Marseilles.  She  was  educated 
at  the  Carmellite  convent  of  Blois,  where  she  was  intimate 
with  Louise  de  Chaulieu.  The  two  friends  always  remained 
constant.  For  several  years  they  corresponded,  writing 
about  life,  love  and  marriage,  when  Renee  the  wise  gave  to 
the  passionate  Louise  advice  and  prudent  counsel  not  always 
followed.  In  1836  Mme.  de  1'Estorade  hastened  to  the  country 
to  be  present  at  the  death-bed  of  her  friend,  now  become 
Mme.  Marie  Gaston.  Rene"e  de  Maucombe  was  married 
at  the  age  of  seventeen,  upon  leaving  the  convent.  She 
gave  her  husband  three  children,  though  she  never  loved 
him,  devoting  herself  to  the  duties  of  motherhood.  [Letters 
of  Two  Brides.]  In  1838-39  the  serenity  of  this  sage 
person  was  disturbed  by  meeting  Dorlange-Sallenauve. 
She  believed  he  sought  her,  and  she  must  needs  fight  an 
'insidious  liking  for  him.  Mme.  de  Camps  counseled  and 
enlightened  Mme.  de  1'Estorade,  with  considerable  foresight, 
in  this  delicate  crisis.  Some  time  later,  when  a  widow, 
Mme.  de«l'Estorade  was  on  the  point  of  giving  her  hand  to 
Sallenauve,  who  became  her  son-in-law.  [The  Member  for 
Arcis.]  In  1841  Mme.  de  1'Estorade  remarked  of  M.  and 
Mme.  Savinien  de  Portenduere :  "  Theirs  is  the  most  perfect 
happiness  that  I  have  ever  seen!"  [Ursule  Mirouet.] 


150  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Estorade  (Armand  de  1'),  elder  son  of  M.  and  Mme.  de 
1'Estorade ;  godson  of  Louise  de  Chaulieu,  who  was  Baronne 
de  Macumer  and  afterwards  Mme.  Marie  Gaston.  Born  in 
December,  1825;  educated  at  the  college  of  Henri  IV.  At 
first  stupid  and  meditative,  he  awakened  afterwards,  was 
crowned  at  Sorbonne,  having  obtained  first  prize  for  a  trans- 
lation of  Latin,  and  in  1845  made  a  brilliant  showing  in  his 
thesis  for  the  degree  of  doctor  of  laws.  [Letters  of  Two 
Brides.  The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Estorade  (Rene"  de  1'),  second  child  of  M.  and  Mme.  de 
1'Estorade.  Bold  and  adventurous  as  a  child.  He  had  a 
will  of  iron,  and  his  mother  was  convinced  that  he  would  be 
"the  cunningest  sailor  afloat."  [Letters  of  Two  Brides.] 

Estorade  ( Jeanne- Athe"nais  de  1'),  daughter  and  third  child 
of  M.  and  Mme.  de  1'Estorade.  Called  "Na'is"  for  short. 
Married  in  1847  to  Charles  de  Sallenauve.  (See  Sallenauve, 
Mme.  Charles  de.) 

Estourny  (Charles  d'),  a  young  dandy  of  Paris  who  went  to 
Havre  during  the  Restoration  to  view  the  sea,  obtained 
entrance  into  the  Mignon  household  and  eloped  with  Bettina- 
Caroline,  the  elder  daughter.  He  afterwards  deserted  her  and 
she  died  of  shame.  In  1827  Charles  d'Estourny  was  sentenced 
by  the  police  court  for  habitual  fraud  in  gambling.  [Modeste 
Mignon.]  A  Georges-Marie  Destourny,  who  styled  himself 
Georges  d'Estourny,  was  the  son  of  a  bailiff,  at  Boulogne, 
near  Paris,  and  was  undoubtedly  identical  with  Charles 
d'Estourny.  For  a  time  he  was  the  protector  of  Esther  van 
Gobseck,  known  as  La  Torpille.  He  was  born  about  1801, 
and,  after  having  obtained  a  splendid  education,  had  been 
left  without  resources  by  his  father,  who  was  forced  to  sell  out 
under  adverse  circumstances.  Georges  d'Estourny  speculated 
on  the  Bourse  with  money  obtained  from  "kept"  women 
who  trusted  in  him.  After  his  sentence  he  left  Paris  without 
squaring  his  accounts.  He  had  aided  Ce"rizet,  who  afterwards 
became  his  partner.  He  was  a  handsome  fellow,  open- 
hearted  and  generous  as  the  chief  of  robbers.  On  account  of 
the  knaveries  which  brought  him  into  court,  Bixiou  nick- 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  151 

named  him  "Tricks  at  Cards."     [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's 
Life.    A  Man  of  Business.] 

Etienne  &  Co.,  traders  at  Paris  under  the  Empire.  In 
touch  with  Guillaume,  clothier  of  rue  Saint-Denis,  who  fore- 
saw their  failure  and  awaited  "  with  anxiety  as  at  a  game  of 
cards."  [At  the  Sign  of  the  Cat  and  Racket.] 

Eugene,  Corsican  colonel  of  the  Sixth  regiment  of  the 
line,  which  was  made  up  almost  entirely  of  Italians — the  first 
to  enter  Tarragone  in  1808.  Colonel  Eugene,  a  second  Murat, 
was  extraordinarily  brave.  He  knew  how  to  make  use  of  the 
species  of  bandits  who  composed  his  regiment.  [The  Mar- 
anas.] 

Eugenie,  assumed  name  of  Prudence  Servien,  which  name 
see. 

Euphrasie,  Parisian  courtesan,  timer:  of  the  Restoration  and 
Louis  Philippe.  A  pretty,  winsome  blonde  with  blue  eyes 
and  a  melodious  voice ;  she  had  an  air  of  the  utmost  frankness, 
yet  was  profoundly  depraved  and  expert  in  refined  vice.  In 
1821  she  transmitted  a  terrible  and  fatal  disease  to  Crottat, 
the  notary.  At  that  time  she  lived  on  rue  Feydeau.  Eu- 
phrasie pretended  that  in  her  early  youth  she  had  passed 
entire  days  and  nights  trying  to  support  a  lover  who  had  for- 
saken her  for  a  heritage.  With  the  brunette,  Aquilina, 
Euphrasie  took  part  in  a  famous  orgy,  at  the  home  of  Fre'de'ric 
Taillefer,  on  rue  Jouberu,  where  were  also  Emile  Blondet, 
Rastignac,  Bixiou  and  Raphael  de  Valentin.  Later  she  is 
seen  at  the  The'atre-I  ^alien,  in  company  with  the  aged  anti- 
quarian, who  had  sold  Raphael  the  celebrated  "  magic  skin'' ; 
she  was  running  through  with  the  old  merchant's  treasures. 
[Melmoth  Reconciled.  The  Magic  Skin.] 

Europe,  assumed  name  of  Prudence  Servien,  which  name 
see. 

Evange"lista  (Madame),  born  Casa-Re'al  in  1781,  of  a  great 
Spanish  family  collaterally  descended  from  the  Duke  of  Alva 
and  related  to  the  Claes  of  Douai ;  a  Creole  who  came  to  Bor- 
deaux in  1800  with  her  husband,  a  large  Spanish  financier.  In 
1813  she  was  left  a  widow,  with  her  daughter.  She  paid  no 


152 

thought  to  the  value  of  money,  never  knowing  how  to  resist 
a  whim.  So  one  morning  in  1821  she  was  forced  to  call  on  the 
broker  and  expert,  Elie  Magus,  to  get  an  estimate  on  the 
value  of  her  magnificent  diamonds.  She  became  wearied  of 
life  in  the  country,  and  therefore  favored  the  marriage  of  her 
daughter  with  Paul  de  Manerville,  in  order  that  she  might 
follow  the  young  couple  to  Paris  where  she  dreamed  of  appear- 
ing in  grand  style  and  of  a  further  exercise  of  her  power.  For 
that  matter  she  displayed  much  astuteness  in  arranging  the 
details  of  this  marriage,  at  which  time  Maitre  Solonet,  her 
notary,  was  much  taken  with  her,  desiring  to  wed  her,  and 
defending  her  warmly  against  Maitre  Mathias  the  lawyer  for 
the  Manervilles.  Beneath  the  exterior  of  an  excellent  woman 
she  knew,  like  Catherine  de  Medicis,  how  to  hate  and  wait. 
[A  Marriage  Settlement.] 

Evangglista  (Natalie),  daughter  of  Mme.  Evangelista; 
married  to  Paul  de  Manerville.  (See  that  name.) 

Evelina,  young  girl  of  noble  blood,  wealthy  and  cultured,  of 
a-  strict  Jansenist  family ;  sought  in  marriage  by  Benassis,  in 
the  beginning  of  the  Restoration.  Evelina  reciprocated 
Benassis'  love,  but  her  parents  opposed  the  match.  Evelina 
died  soon  after  gaining  her  freedom  and  the  doctor  did  not 
survive  her  long.  [The  Country  Doctor.  J 


Faille  &  Bouchot,  Parisian  perfumers  who  failed  in  1818. 
They  gave  an  order  for  ten  thousand  phials  of  peculiar  shape 
to  hold  a  new  cosmetic,  which  phials  Anselme  Popinot  pur- 
chased for  four  sous  each  on  six  months'  time,  with  the  inten- 
tion of  filling  them  with  the  "  Cephalic  Oil "  invented  by  C6sar 
Birotteau.  [Ce"sar  Birotteau.jj 

Falcon  (Jean),  alias  Beaupied,  or  more  often  Beau-Pied, 
sergeant  in  the  Seventy-second  demi-brigade  in  1799,  under 
the  command  of  Colonel  Hulot.  Jean  Falcon  was  the  clown 
of  his  company.  Formerly  he  had  served  in  the  artillery. 
[The  Chouans.]  In  1808,  still  under  the  command  of  Hulot, 
he  was  one  in  the  army  of  Spain  and  in  the  troops  led  by  Murat. 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  153 

In  that  year  he  was  witness  of  the  death  of  B6ga,  the  French 
surgeon,  assassinated  by  a  Spaniard,  [The  Muse  of  the 
Department.]  In  1841  he  was  body-servant  of  his  old-time 
colonel,  now  become  a  marshal.  For  thirty  years  he  had 
been  in  his  employ.  [Cousin  Betty.] 

Falcon  (Marie-Cornelie),  famous  singer  of  the  Op£ra;  born 
at  Paris  on  January  28,  1812.  On  July  20,  1832,  she  made  a 
brilliant  debut  in  the  role  of  Alice,  in  "Robert  le  Diable." 
She  also  created  with  equal  success  the  parts  of  Rachel  in 
"  La  Juive  "  and  Valentine  in  "  The  Huguenots."  In  1836  the 
composer  Conti  declared  to  Calyste  du  Guenic  that  he  was 
madly  enamored  of  this  singer,  "  the  youngest  and  prettiest 
of  her  time."  He  even  wished  to  marry  her — so  he  said — 
but  this  remark  was  probably  a  thrust  at  Calyste,  who  was 
smitten  with  the  Marquise  de  Rochefide,  whose  lover  the 
musician  was  at  this  time.  [Beatrix.]  Corne'lie  Falcon 
disappears  from  the  scene  in  1840,  after  a  famous  evening 
when,  before  a  sympathetic  audience,  she  mourned  on  account 
of  the  ruin  of  her  voice.  She  married  a  financier,  M.  Malen- 
yon,  and  is  now  a  grandmother.  Mme.  Falcon  has  given,  in 
the  provinces,  her  name  to  designate  tragic  "  sopranos."  "  La 
Vierge  de  1'Opera,"  interestingly  delineated  by  M.  Emmanuel 
Gonzales,  reveals — according  to  him — certain  incidents  in  her 
career. 

Falleix  (Martin),  Auvergnat  coppersmith  on  rue  du  Fau- 
bourg Saint- Antoine,  Paris;  born  about  1796;  he  had  come 
from  the  country  with  his  kettle  under  his  arm.  He  was 
patronized  by  Bidault,  alias  Gigonnet,  who  advanced  him 
capital  though  at  heavy  interest.  The  usurer  also  introduced 
him  to  Saillard,  the  cashier  of  the  Minister  of  Finance,  who 
with  his  savings  enabled  him  to  open  a  foundry.  Martin 
Falleix  obtained  a  brevet  for  invention  and  a  gold  medal  at  the 
Exposition  of  1824.  Mme.  Baudoyer  undertook  his  education, 
deciding  he  would  do  for  a  son-in-law.  On  his  side  he  worked 
for  the  interests  of  his  future  father-in-law.  [The  Govern- 
ment Clerks.]  About  1826  he  discussed  on  the  Bourse,  with 
Du  Tillet,  Werbrust  and  Claparon,  the  third  liquidation  of 


154  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Nucingen,  which  solidly  established  the  fortune  of  that 
celebrated  Alsatian  banker.  [The  Firm  of  Nucingen.] 

Falleix  (Jacques),  brother  of  the  preceding;  stock-broker, 
one  of  the  shrewdest  and  richest,  the  successor  of  Jules  Des- 
marets  and  stock-broker  for  the  firm  of  Nucingen  On  rue 
Saint-George  he  fitted  up  a  most  elegant  little  house  for  his 
mistress,  Mme.  du  Val-Noble.  He  failed  in  1829,  the  victim 
of  one  of  the  Nucingen  liquidations.  [The  Government 
Clerks.  The  Thirteen.  Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Fanchette,  servant  of  Doctor  Rouget  at  Issoudun,  at  the 
close  of  the  eighteenth  century;  a  stout  Berrichonne  who, 
before  the  advent  of  La  Cognette,  was  thought  to  be  the  best 
cook  in  town.  [A  Bachelor's  Establishment.] 

Fanjat,  physician  and  something  of  an  alienist;  uncle  of 
Comtesse  Stephanie  de  Vandieres.  She  was  supposed  to 
have  perished  in  the  disaster  of  the  Russian  campaign.  He 
found  her  near  Strasbourg,  in  1816,  a  lunatic,  and  took  her  to 
the  ancient  convent  of  Bon-Hommes,  in  the  outskirts  of 
1'Isle  Adam,  Seine-et-Oise,  where  he  tended  her  with  a  ten- 
der care.  In  1819  he  had  the  sorrow  of  seeing  her  expire  as  a 
result  of  a  tragic  scene  when,  recovering  her  reason  all  at  once, 
she  recognized  her  former  lover  Philippe  de  Sucy,  whom  she 
had  not  seen  since  1812.  [Farewell.] 

Fanny,  aged  servant  in  the  employ  of  Lady  Brandon,  at 
La  Grenadiere  under  the  Restoration.  She  closed  the  eyes 
of  her  mistress,  whom  she  adored,  then  conducted  the  two 
children  from  that  house  to  one  of  a  cousin  of  hers,  an  old 
retired  dressmaker  of  Tours,  rue  de  la  Guerche  (now  rue 
Marceau) ,  where  she  intended  to  live  with  them ;  but  the  elder 
of  the  sons  of  Lady  Brandon  enlisted  in  the  navy  and  placed 
his  brother  in  college,  under  the  guidance  of  Fanny.  [La 
Grenadiere.] 

Fanny,  young  girl  of  romantic  temperament,  fair  and  blonde, 
the  only  daughter  of  a  banker  of  Paris.  One  evening  at  her 
father's  house  she  asked  the  Bavarian  Hermann  for  a  "  dread- 
ful German  story/'  and  thus  innocently  led  to  the  death  of 
Frederic  Taillefer  who  had  in  his  youth  committed  a  secret 
murder,  now  related  in  his  hearing.  [The  Red  Inn.] 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  155 

Fario,  old  Spanish  prisoner  of  war  at  Issoudun  during  the 
Empire.  After  peace  was  declared  he  remained  there  making 
a  small  business  venture  in  grains.  He  was  of  Grenada  and 
had  been  a  peasant  He  was  the  butt  of  many  scurvy  tricks 
on  the  part  of  the  "  Knights  of  Idlesse,"  and  he  avenged  him- 
self by  stabbing  their  leader,  Maxence  Gilet.  This  attempted 
assassination  was  momentarily  charged  to  Joseph  Bridau. 
Fario  finally  obtained  full  satisfaction  for  his  vindictive  spirit 
by  witnessing  a  duel  where  Gilet  fell  mortally  wounded  by  the 
hand  of  Philippe  Bridau.  Gilet  had  previously  become  dis- 
concerted by  the  presence  of  the  grain-dealer  on  the  field  of 
battle.  [A  Bachelor's  Establishment.] 

Farrabesche,  ex-convict,  now  an  estate-guard  for  Mme. 
Graslin,  at  Montegnac,  time  of  Louis  Philippe;  of  an  old 
family  of  La  Correze;  born  about  1791.  He  had  had  an 
elder  brother  killed  at  Montebello,  in  1800  a  captain  at 
twenty-two,  who  by  his  surpassing  heroism  had  saved  the 
army  and  the  Consul  Bonaparte.  There  was,  loo,  a  second 
brother  who  fell  at  Austerlitz  in  1805,  a  sergeant  in  the 
First  regiment  of  the  Guard.  Farrabesche  himself  had  got 
it  into  his  head  that  he  would  never  serve,  and  when  summoned 
in  1811  he  fled  to  the  woods.  There  he  affiliated  more  or  less 
with  the  Chauffeurs  and,  accused  of  several  assassinations, 
was  sentenced  to  death  for  contumacy.  At  the  instance  of 
Abbe"  Bonnet  he  gave  himself  up,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
Restoration,  and  was  sent  to  the  bagne  for  ten  years,  return- 
ing in  1827.  After  1830,  re-established  as  a  citizen,  he  mar- 
ried Catherine  Curieux,  by  whom  he  had  a  child.  Abbe" 
Bonnet  for  one,  and  Mme.  Graslin  for  another,  proved  them- 
selves counselors  and  benefactors  of  Farrabesche.  [The 
Country  Parson.] 

Farrabesche  (Madame),  born  Catherine  Curieux,  about 
1798;  daughter  of  the  tenants  of  Mme.  Bre*zac,  at  Vizay,  an 
important  mart  of  La  Correze ;  mistress  of  Farrabesche  in  the 
last  years  of  the  Empire.  She  bore  him  a  son,  at  the  age  of 
seventeen,  and  was  soon  separated  from  her  lover  on  his 
imprisonment  in  the  galleys.  She  returned  to  Paris  and 
hired  out.  In  her  last  place  she  worked  for  an  old  lady  whom 


156  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

she  tended  devotedly,  but  who  died  leaving  her  nothing.  In 
1833  she  came  back  to  the  country ;  she  was  just  out  of  a  hos- 
pital, cured  of  a  disease  caused  by  fatigue,  but  still  very 
feeble.  Shortly  after  she  married  her  former  lover.  Cath- 
erine Curieux  was  rather  large,  well-made,  pale,  gentle  and 
refined  by  her  visit  to  Paris,  though  she  could  neither  read  nor 
write.  She  had  three  married  sisters,  one  at  Aubusson,  one 
at  Limoges,  and  one  at  Saint-Leonard.  [The  Country  Par- 
son.] 

Farrabesche  (Benjamin),  son  of  Farrabesche  and  Catherine 
Curieux;  born  in  1815;  brought  up  by  the  relatives  of  his 
mother  until  1827,  then  taken  back  by  his  father  whom  he 
dearly  loved  and  whose  energetic  and  rough  nature  he  inher- 
ited. [The  Country  Parson.] 

Faucombe  (Madame  de),  sister  of  Mme.  des  Touches  and 
aunt  of  Felicite  des  Touches — Camille  Maupin ; — an  inmate  of 
the  convent  of  Chelles,  to  whom  Felicite"  was  confided  by  her 
dying  mother,  in  1793.  The  nun  took  her  niece  to  Faucombe, 
a  considerable  estate  near  Nantes  belonging  to  the  deceased 
mother,  where  she  (the  nun)  died  of  fear  in  1794.  [Beatrix.] 

Faucombe  (De),  grand-uncle  on  the  maternal  side  of 
Felicite*  des  Touches.  Born  about  1734,  died  in  1814.  He 
lived  at  Nantes,  and  in  his  old  age  had  married  a  frivolous 
young  woman,  to  whom  he  turned  over  the  conduct  of  affairs. 
A  passionate  archaeologist  he  gave  little  attention  to  the 
education  of  his  grand-niece  who  was  left  with  him  in  1794, 
after  the  death  of  Mme.  de  Faucombe,  the  aged  nun  of  Chelles. 
Thus  it  happened  that  Felicite*  grew  up  by  the  side  of  the  old 
man  and  young  woman,  without  guidance,  and  left  entirely 
to  her  own  devices.  [Beatrix.] 

Faustine,  young  woman  of  Argentan  who  was  executed  in 
1813  at  Mortagne  for  having  killed  her  child.  [Jealousies  of  a 
Country  Town.] 

Felicia,  chambermaid  of  Mme.  Diard  at  Bordeaux  in  1823. 
[The  Maranas.] 

Felicite",  a  stout,  ruddy,  cross-eyed  girl,  the  servant  of  Mme. 
Vauthier  who  ran  a  lodging-house  on  the  corner  of  Notre- 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  157 

Dame-des-Champs  and  Boulevard  du  Montparnasse,  time  of 
Louis  Philippe.     [The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Felix,  office-boy  for  Attorney-General  Granville,  in  1830. 
[Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Pendant,  former  head-clerk  of  the  house  of  Vidal  & 
Porchon;  a  partner  with  Cavalier.  Both  were  book-sellers, 
publishers,  and  book-dealers,  doing  business  on  rue  Serpente, 
Paris,  about  1821.  At  this  time  they  had  dealings  with  Lucien 
Chardon  de  Rubempre1.  The  house  for  social  reasons  was 
known  as  Fendant  &  Cavalier.  Half-rascals,  they  passed 
for  clever  fellows.  While  Cavalier  traveled,  Fendant,  the  more 
wily  of  the  two,  managed  the  business.  [A  Distinguished 
Provincial  at  Paris.] 

Ferdinand,  real  name  of  Ferdinand  du  Tillet. 

Ferdinand,  fighting  name  of  one  of  the  principal  figures  in 
the  Breton  uprising  of  1799.  One  of  the  companions  of  MM. 
du  Guenic,  de  la  Billardiere,  de  Fontaine  and  de  Montauran. 
[The  Chouans.  Beatrix.] 

Fe"re"dia  (Count  Bagos  de),  Spanish  prisoner  of  war  at  the 
Vendome  under  the  Empire ;  lover  of  Mme.  de  Merret.  Sur- 
prised one  evening  by  the  unexpected  return  of  her  husband, 
he  took  refuge  in  a  closet  which  was  ordered  walled  up  by  M. 
de  Merret.  There  he  died  heroically  without  even  uttering 
a  cry.  [La  Grande  Breteche.] 

Fe*ret  (Athanase),  law-clerk  of  Maitre  Bordin,  procureur 
to  the  Chatelet  in  1787.  [A  Start  in  Life.] 

Ferragus  XXIII.     (See  Bourignard.) 

Ferraro  (Count),  Italian  colonel  whom  Castanier  had  known 
during  the  Empire,  and  whose  death  in  the  Zembin  swamps 
Castanier  alone  had  witnessed.  The  latter  therefore  intended 
to  assume  Ferraro's  personality  in  Italy  after  forging  certain 
letters  of  credit.  [Melmoth  Reconciled.] 

Ferraud  (Comte),  son  of  a  retired  councilor  of  the  Parisian 
Parliament  who  had  emigrated  during  the  Terror,  and  who 
was  ruined  by  these  events.  Born  in  1781.  During  the  Con- 
sulate he  returned  to  France,  at  which  time  he  declined  certain 
offers  made  by  Bonaparte.  He  remained  ever  true  to  the  tenets 


158  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

of  Louis  XVIII.  Of  pleasing  presence  he  won  his  way,  and  the 
Faubourg  Saint-Germain  regarded  him  as  an  ornament. 
About  1809  he  married  the  widow  of  Colonel  Chabert,  who 
had  an  income  of  forty  thousand  francs.  By  her  he  had  two 
children,  a  son  and  a  daughter.  He  resided  on  rue  de  Varenne, 
having  a  pretty  villa  in  the  Montmorency  Valley.  During  the 
Restoration  he  was  made  director-general  in  a  ministry,  and 
councilor  of  state.  [Colonel  Chabert.] 

Ferraud  (Comtesse),  born  Rose  Chapotel;  wife  of  Comte 
Ferraud.  During  the  Republic,  or  at  the  commencement  of 
the  Empire,  she  married  her  first  husband,  an  officer  named 
Hyacinthe  and  known  as  Chabert,  who  was  left  for  dead  on 
the  battlefield  of  Eylau,  in  1807.  About  1818  he  tried  to 
reassert  his  marital  rights.  Colonel  Chabert  claimed  to  have 
taken  Rose  Chapotel  out  of  a  questionable  place  at  Palais- 
Royal.  During  the  Restoration  this  woman  was  a  countess 
and  one  of  the  queens  of  Parisian  society.  When  brought 
face  to  face  with  her  first  husband  she  feigned  at  first  not  to 
recognize  him,  then  she  displayed  such  a  dislike  for  him  that 
he  abandoned  his  idea  of  legal  restitution.  [Colonel  Chabert.] 
The  Comtesse  Ferraud  was  the  last  mistress  of  Louis  XVIII., 
and  remained  in  favor  at  the  court  of  Charles  X.  She  and 
Mesdames  de  Listomere,  d'Espard,  de  Camps  and  de  Nucin- 
gen  were  invited  to  the  select  receptions  of  the  Minister  of 
Finance,  in  1824.  [The  Government  Clerks.] 

Ferraud  (Jules),  son  of  Comte  Ferraud  and  Rose  Chapotel, 
the  Comtesse  Ferraud.  While  still  a  child,  in  1817  or  1818, 
he  was  one  day  at  his  mother's  home  when  Colonel  Chabert 
called.  She  wept  and  he  asked  hotly  if  the  officer  was  respon- 
sible for  the  grief  of  the  countess.  The  latter  with  her  two 
children  then  played  a  maternal  comedy  which  was  successful 
with  the  ingenuous  soldier.  [Colonel  Chabert.] 

Fessard,  grocer  at  Saumur  during  the  Restoration.  Aston- 
ished one  day  by  Nanon's,  the  servant's,  purchase  of  a  wax- 
candle,  he  asked  if  "the  three  magi  were  visiting  them." 
[Eugenie  Grandet.] 

Fichet  (Mademoiselle),  the  richest  heiress  of  Issoudun  dur- 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  159 

ing  the  Restoration.  Godet,  junior,  one  of  the  "Knights  of 
Idlesse  "  paid  court  to  her  mother  in  the  hope  of  obtaining,  as  a 
reward  for  his  devotion,  the  hand  of  the  young  girl.  [A 
Bachelor's  Establishment.] 

Finot  (Andoche),  managing-editor  of  journals  and  reviews, 
times  of  the  Restoration  and  Louis  Philippe.  Son  of  a 
hatter  of  rue  du  Coq  (now  rue  Marengo) .  Finot  was  aban- 
doned by  his  father,  a  hard  trader,  and  made  a  poor  begin- 
ning. He  wrote  a  bombastic  announcement  for  Popinot's 
"Cephalic  Oil."  His  first  work  was  attending  to  announce- 
ments and  personals  in  the  papers.  He  was  invited  to  the 
Birotteau  ball.  Finot  was  acquainted  with  Felix  Gaudissart, 
who  introduced  him  to  little  Anselme,  as  a  great  promoter. 
He  was  previously  on  the  editorial  staff  of  the  "  Courrier  des 
Spectacles,"  and  he  had  a  piece  performed  at  the  Gaite". 
[C6sar  Birotteau.]  In  1820  he  ran  a  little  theatrical  paper 
whose  office  was  located  on  rue  du  Sentier.  He  was  nephew 
of  Giroudeau,  a  captain  of  dragoons;  was  witness  of  the  mar- 
riage of  Philippe  Bridau  with  Flore  Brazier,  the  widow  of  J.- 
J.  Rouget.  [A  Bachelor's  Establishment.]  In  1821  Finot's 
paper  was  on  rue  SaintrFiacre.  Etienne  Lousteau,  Hector 
Merlin,  Felicien  Vernou,  Nathan,  F.  du  Bruel  and  Blondet  all 
contributed  to  it.  Then  it  was  that  Lucien  de  Rubempre' 
made  his  reputation  by  a  remarkable  report  of  "L'Alcade 
dans  1'embarras, "  a  three  act  drama  performed  at  the  Pano- 
rama-Dramatique.  Finot  then  lived  on  rue  Feydeau.  [A 
Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.]  In  1824  he  was  at  the 
Ope'ra  ball  in  a  group  of  dandies  and  litterateurs,  which  sur- 
rounded Lucien  de  Rubempre",  who  was  flirting  with  Esther 
Gobseck.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.]  In  this  year 
Finot  was  guest  at  an  entertainment  at  the  home  of  Rabour- 
din,  the  chief  of  bureau,  when  he  allowed  himself  to  be  won 
over  to  that  official's  cause  by  his  friend  Chardin  des  Lupeaulx, 
who  had  asked  him  to  exert  the  voice  of  the  press  against 
Baudoyer,  the  rival  of  Rabourdin.  [The  Government  Clerks.] 
In  1825  he  was  present  at  a  breakfast  given  at  the  Rocher  do 
Cancale,  by  Fre'de'ric  Marest  in  celebration  of  his  entrance  to 
the  law  office  of  Desroches;  he  was  also  at  the  orgy  which 


160  KEPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

followed  at  the  home  of  Florine.  [A  Start  in  Life.]  In  1831 
Gaudissart  said  that  his  friend  Finot  had  an  income  of  thirty 
thousand  francs,  that  he  would  be  councilor  of  state,  and  was 
booked  for  a  peer  of  France.  He  aspired  to  end  up  as  his 
"shareholder."  [Gaudissart  the  Great.]  In  1836  Finot 
was  dining  with  Blondet,  his  fellow-editor,  and  with  Couture, 
a  man  about  town,  in  a  private  room  of  a  well-known  restau- 
rant, when  he  heard  the  story  of  the  financial  trickeries  of 
Nucingen,  wittily  related  by  Bixiou.  [The  Firm  of  Nucingen.] 
Finot  concealed  "  a  brutal  nature  under  a  mild  exterior,"  and 
his  "  impertinent  stupidity  was  flecked  with  wit  as  the  bread 
of  a  laborer  is  flecked  with  garlic."  [Scenes  from  a  Courte- 
san's Life.] 

Firmiani,  a  respectable  quadragenarian  who  in  1813  married 
the  lady  who  afterwards  became  Mme.  Octave  de  Camps. 
He  was  unable,  so  it  was  said,  to  offer  her  more  than  his  name 
and  his  fortune.  He  was  formerly  receiver-general  in  the 
department  of  Montenotte.  He  died  in  Greece  in  1823. 
[Madame  Firmiani.] 

Firmiani  (Madame).    (See  Camps,  Mme.  de.) 

Fischer,  the  name  of  three  brothers,  laborers  in  a  village 
situated  on  the  extreme  frontiers  of  Lorraine,  at  the  foot  of 
the  Vosges.  They  set  out  to  join  the  army  of  the  Rhine  by 
reason  of  Republican  conscriptions.  The  first,  Pierre,  father 
of  Lisbeth — or  "Cousin  Betty" — was  killed  in  1815  in  the 
Francstireurs.  The  second,  Andre",  father  of  Adeline  who 
became  the  wife  of  Baron  Hulot,  died  at  Treves  in  1820.  The 
third,  Johann,  having  committed  some  acts  of  peculation,  at 
the  instigation  of  his  nephew  Hulot,  while  a  commissary 
contractor  in  Algiers,  province  of  Oran,  committed  suicide 
in  1841 .  He  was  over  seventy  when  he  killed  himself.  [Cousin 
Betty.] 

Fischer  (Adeline).     (See  Hulot  d'Ervy,  Baronne  Hector.) 

Fischer  (Lisbeth),  known  as  "Cousin  Betty";  born  in  1796; 

brought  up  a  peasant.     In  her  childhood  she  had  to  give  way 

to  her  first  cousin,  the  pretty  Adeline,  who  was  pampered  by  the 

whole  family.     In  1809  she  was  called  to  Paris  by  Adeline's 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  161 

husband  and  placed  as  an  apprentice  with  the  well-known 
Pons  Brothers,  embroiderers  to  the  Imperial  Court.  She 
became  a  skilled  workwoman  and  was  about  to  set  up  for 
herself  when  the  Empire  was  overthrown.  Lisbeth  was  a 
Republican,  of  restive  temperament,  capricious,  independent 
and  unaccountably  savage.  She  habitually  declined  to  wed. 
She  refused  in  succession  a  clerk  of  the  minister  of  war,  a 
major,  an  army-contractor,  a  retired  captain  and  a  wealthy 
lace-maker.  Baron  Hulot  nick-named  her  the  "Nanny- 
Goat."  A  resident  of  rue  du  Doyenne"  (which  ended 
at  the  Louvre  and  was  obliterated  about  1855),  where 
she  worked  for  Rivet,  a  successor  of  Pons,  she  made  the 
acquaintance  of  her  neighbor,  Wenceslas  Steinbock,  a 
Livonian  exile,  whom  she  saved  from  poverty  and  suicide, 
but  whom  she  watched  with  a  jealous  strictness.  Hor- 
tense  Hulot  sought  out  and  succeeded  in  seeing  the  Pole; 
a  wedding  followed  between  the  young  people  which  caused 
Cousin  Betty  a  deep  resentment,  cunningly  concealed,  but 
terrific  in  its  effects.  Through  her  Wenceslas  was  introduced 
to  the  irresistible  Mme.  Marneffe,  and  the  happiness  of  a 
young  household  was  quickly  demolished.  The  same  thing 
happened  to  Baron  Hulot  whose  misconduct  Lisbeth  secretly 
abetted.  Lisbeth  died  in  1844  of  a  pulmonary  phthisis, 
principally  caused  by  chagrin  at  seeing  the  Hulot  family  re- 
united. The  relatives  of  the  old  maid  never  found  out  her 
evil  actions.  They  surrounded  her  bedside,  caring  for  her  and 
lamenting  the  loss  of  "  the  angel  of  the  family."  Mile.  Fischer 
died  on  rue  Louis-le-Grand,  Paris,  after  having  dwelt  in  turn 
on  rues  du  Doyenne",  Vaneau,  Plumet  (now  Oudinot)  and 
du  Montparnasse,  where  she  managed  the  household  of  Mar- 
shal Hulot,  through  whom  she  dreamed  of  wearing  the  count- 
ess' coronet,  and  for  whom  she  donned  mourning.  [Cousin 
Betty.] 

Fitz-William  (Miss  Margaret),  daughter  of  a  rich  and  noble 
Irishman  who  was  the  maternal  uncle  of  Calyste  du  Gu6nic; 
hence  the  first  cousin  of  that  young  man.  Mme.  du  Gue"nic, 
the  mother,  was  desirous  of  mating  her  son  with  Miss  Marga- 
ret. [B6atrix.il 


162  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Flamet.     (See  la  Billardiere,  Flamet  de.) 
Fleurant  (Mother),  ran    a  cafe    at  Croisic  which  Jacques 
Cambremer  visited.     [A  Seaside  Tragedy.] 

Fleuriot,  grenadier  of  the  Imperial  Guard,  of  colossal  size,  to 
whom  Philippe  de  Suey  entrusted  Stephanie  de  Vandieres, 
during  the  passage  of  the  Bere'sma  in  1812.  Unfortunately 
separated  from  Stephanie,  the  grenadier  did  not  find  her 
again  until  1816.  She  had  taken  refuge  in  an  inn  of  Stras- 
bourg, after  escaping  from  an  insane  asylum.  Both  were 
then  sheltered  by  Dr.  Fanjat  and  taken  to  Auvergne,  where 
Fleuriot  soon  died.  [Farewell.] 

Fleury,  retired  infantry  captain,  comptroller  of  the  Cirque- 
Olympique,  and  employed  during  the  Restoration  in  Rabour- 
din's  bureau,  of  the  minister  of  finance.  He  was  attached  to 
his  chief,  who  had  saved  him  from  destitution.  A  subscriber, 
but  a  poor  payer,  to  "Victories  and  Conquests."  A  zealous 
Bonapartist  and  Liberal.  His  three  great  men  were  Napo- 
leon, Bolivar  and  Beranger,  all  of  whose  ballads  he  knew  by 
heart,  and  sang  in  a  sweet,  sonorous  voice.  He  was  swamped 
with  debt.  His  skill  at  fencing  and  small-arms  kept  him  from 
Bixiou's  jests.  He  was  likewise  much  feared  by  Dutocq  who 
flattered  him  basely.  Fleury  was  discharged  after  the  nomina- 
tion of  Baudoyer  as  chief  of  division  in  December,  1824.  He 
did  not  take  it  to  heart,  saying  that  he  had  at  his  disposal  a 
managing  editorship  in  a  journal.  [The  Government  Clerks.] 
In  1840,  .still  working  for  the  above  theatre,  Fleury  became 
manager  of  "L'Echo  de  la  Bievre,"  the  paper  owned  by 
Thuillier.  [The  Middle  Classes. ] 

Flicoteaux,  rival  of  Rousseau  the  Aquatic.  Historic, 
legendary  and  strictly  honest  restaurant-keeper  in  the  Latin 
quarter  between  rue  de  la  Harpe  and  rue  des  Gr6s — Cujas — 
enjoying  the  custom,  in  1821-22,  of  Daniel  d'Arthez,  Etienne 
Lousteau  and  Lucien  Chardon  de  Rubempre.  [A  Distin- 
guished Provincial  at  Paris.] 

Florent,  partner  of  Chanor;  they  were  manufacturers  and 
dealers  in  bronze,  rue  des  Tournelles,  Paris,  time  of  Louis 
Philippe.  [Cousin  Betty.  Cousin  Pons.] 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  163 

Florentine.  (See  Cabirolle,  Agathe-Florentine.) 
Florimond  (Madame),  dealer  in  linens,  rue  Vielle-du-Temple, 
Paris,  1844-45.  Maintained  by  an  "old  fellow"  who  made 
her  his  heir,  thanks  to  Fraisier,  the  man  of  business,  whom  she 
perhaps  would  have  married  through  gratitude,  had  it  not 
been  for  his  physical  condition.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Florine.     (See  Nathan,  Mme.  Raoul.) 

Florville  (La),  actress  at  the  Panorama-Dramatique  in 
1821.  Among  her  contemporaries  were  Coralie,  Florine  and 
Bouffe,  or  Vignol.  On  the  first  night  performance  of  "The 
Alcade, "  she  played  in  a  curtain-raiser,  "Bertram."  For  a 
few  days  she  was  the  mistress  of  a  Russian  prince  who  took 
her  to  Saint-Mande1,  paying  her  manager  a  good  sum  for  her 
absence  from  the  theatre.  [A  Distinguished  Provincial 
at  Paris.] 

Fcedora  (Comtesse),  born  about  1805.  Of  Russian  lower 
class  origin  and  wonderfully  beautiful.  Espoused  perhaps 
morganatically  by  a  great  lord  of  the  land.  Left  a  widow  she 
reigned  over  Paris  in  1827.  Supposed  to  have  an  income  of 
eighty  thousand  francs.  She  received  in  her  drawing-rooms 
all  the  notables  of  the  period,  and  there  "appeared  all  the 
works  of  fiction  that  were  not  published  anywhere  else." 
Raphael  de  Valentin  was  presented  to  the  countess  by  Rastig- 
nac  and  fell  desperately  in  love  with  her.  But  he  left  her 
house  one  day  never  to  return,  being  definitely  persuaded 
that  she  was  "  a  woman  without  a  heart."  Her  memory  was 
cruel,  and  her  address  enough  to  drive  a  diplomat  to  despair. 
Although  the  Russian  ambassador  did  not  receive  her,  she 
had  entry  into  the  set  of  Mme.  de  S6rizy ;  visited  with  Mme. 
de  Nucingen  and  Mme.  de  Restaud;  received  the  Duchesse  de 
Carigliano,  the  haughtiest  of  the  Bonapartist  clique.  She 
had  listened  to  many  young  dandies,  and  to  the  son  of  a  peer 
of  France,  who  had  offered  her  their  names  in  exchange  for 
her  fortune.  [The  Magic  Skin.] 

Fontaine  (Madame),  fortune-teller,  Paris,  rue  Vielle-du- 
Temple,  time  of  Louis  Philippe.  At  one  time  a  cook.  Born 
in  1767.  Earned  a  considerable  amount  of  money,  but  pre- 


164  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

viously  had  lost  heavily  in  a  lottery.  After  the  suppression  of 
this  game  of  chance  she  saved  up  for  the  benefit  of  a  nephew. 
In  her  divinations  Mme.  Fontaine  made  use  of  a  giant  toad 
named  Astaroth,  and  of  a  black  hen  with  bristling  feathers, 
called  Cleopatra  or  Bilouche.  These  two  animals  caught 
Gazonal's  eye  in  1845,  when  in  company  with  De  Lora  and 
Bixiou  he  visited  the  fortune-teller's.  The  Southerner,  how- 
ever, asked  only  a  five-franc  divination,  while  in  the  same 
year  Mme.  Cibot,  who  came  to  consult  her  on  an  important 
matter,  had  to  pay  a  hundred  francs.  According  to  Bixiou, 
"  a  third  of  the  lorettes,  a  fourth  of  the  statesmen  and  a  half  of 
the  artists"  consulted  Mme.  Fontaine.  She  was  the  Egeria 
of  a  minister,  and  also  looked  for  "a  tidy  fortune,"  which 
Bilouche  had  promised  her.  [The  Unconscious  Humorists. 
Cousin  Pons.] 

Fontaine  (Comte  de),  on^  of  the  leaders  of  the  Vendee,  in 
1799,  and  then  known  as  Grand-Jacques.  [The  Chouans.] 
One  of  the  confidential  advisers  of  Louis  XVIII.  Field  mar- 
shal, councilor  of  state,  comptroler  of  the  extraordinary 
domains  of  the  realm,  deputy  and  peer  of  France  under 
Charles  X.;  decorated  with  the  cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honor 
and  the  Order  of  Saint  Louis.  Head  of  one  of  the  oldest 
houses  of  Poitou.  Had  married  a  Mile,  de  Kergarouet,  who 
had  no  fortune,  but  who  came  of  a  very  old  Brittany  family 
related  to  the  Rohans.  Was  the  father  of  three  sons  and 
three  daughters.  The  oldest  son  became  president  of  a  court, 
married  the  daughter  of  a  multi-millionaire  salt  merchant. 
The  second  son,  a  lieutenant-general,  married  Mile.  Monegod, 
a  rich  banker's  daughter  whom  the  aunt  of  Due  d'Herouville 
had  refused  to  consider  for  her  nephew.  [Modeste  Mignon.] 
The  third  son,  director  of  a  Paris  municipality,  then  director- 
general  in  the  Department  of  Finance,  married  the  only 
daughter  of  M.  Grossetete,  receiver-general  at  Bourges.  Of 
the  three  daughters,  the  first  married  M.  Planat  de  Baudry, 
receiver-general;  the  second  married  Baron  de  Villaine,  a 
magistrate  of  bourgeois  origin  ennobled  by  the  king;  the 
third,  Emilie,  married  her  old  uncle,  'the  Comte  de  Kergarouet, 
and  after  his  death,  Marquis  Charles  de  Vandenesse.  [The 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  165 

Ball  at  Sgeaux.]  The  Comte  de  Fontaine  and  his  family 
were  present  at  the  Birotteau  ball,  and  after  the  perfumer's 
bankruptcy  procured  a  situation  for  him.  [Cesar  Birotteau.] 
He  died  in  1824.  [The  Government  Clerks.] 

Fontaine  (Baronne  de),  born  Anna  Grossetcjte,  only  daughter 
of  the  receiver-general  of  Bourges.  Attended  the  school 
of  Miles.  Chamarolles  with  Dinah  Piedefer,  who  became 
Mme.  de  la  Baudraye.  Thanks  to  her  fortune  she  married 
the  third  son  of  the  Comte  de  Fontaine.  She  removed  to 
Paris  after  her  marriage  and  kept  up  correspondence  with  her 
old  school-mate  who  now  lived  at  Sancerre.  She  kept  her 
informed  as  to  the  prevailing  styles.  Later  at  the  first  per- 
formance of  one  of  Nathan's  dramas,  about  the  middle  of  the 
reign  of  Louis  Philippe,  Anna  de  Fontaine  affected  not  to 
recognize  this  same  Mme.  de  la  Baudraye,  then  the  known 
mistress  of  Etienne  Lousteau.  [The  Muse  of  the  Depart- 
ment.] 

Fontanieu  (Madame),  friend  and  neighbor  of  Mme.  Ver- 
nier at  Vouvray  in  1831.  The  j  oiliest  gossip  and  greatest 
joker  in  town.  She  was  present  at  the  interview  between  the 
insane  Margaritis  and  Felix  Gaudissart,  when  the  drummer 
was  so  much  at  sea.  [Gaudissart  the  Great.] 

Fontanon  (Abbe"),  born  about  1770.  Canon'  of  Bayeux 
cathedral  in  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  when 
he  "guided  the  consciences"  of  Mme.  and  Mile.  Bontems.  In 
November,  1808,  he  got  himself  enrolled  with  the  Parisian 
clergy,  hoping  thus  to  obtain  a  curacy  and  eventually  a 
bishopric.  He  became  again  the  confessor  of  Mile.  Bontems, 
now  the  wife  of  M.  de  Granville,  and  contributed  to  the 
trouble  of  that  household  by  the  narrowness  of  his  provincial 
Catholicism  and  his  inflexible  bigotry.  He  finally  disclosed 
to  the  magistrate's  wife  the  relations  of  Granville  with  Caroline 
Crochard.  He  also  brought  sorrow  to  the  last  moments  of  Mme. 
Crochard,  the  mother,  [A  Second  Home.]  In  December, 
1824,  at  Saint-Roch  he  pronounced  the  funeral  oration  of 
Baron  Flamet  de  la  Billardiere.  [The  Government  Clerks.] 
Previous  to  1824  Abbe  Fontanon  was  vicar  at  the  church  of 


166  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Saint  Paul,  rue  Saint- Antoine.  [Honorine.]  Confessor  of 
Mme.  de  Lanty  in  1839,  and  always  eager  to  pry  into  family 
secrets,  he  undertook  an  affair  with  Dorlange-Sallenauve 
in  the  interest  of  Mariannina  de  Lanty.  [The  Member  for 
Arcis.] 

Fortin  (Madame),  mother  of  Mme.  Marneffe.  Mistress  of 
General  de  Montcornet,  who  had  lavished  money  on  her  dur- 
ing his  visits  to  Paris  which  she  had  entirely  squandered, 
under  the  Empire,  in  the  wildest  dissipations.  For  twenty 
years  she  queened  it,  but  died  in  poverty  though  still  believ- 
ing herself  rich.  Her  daughter  inherited  from  her  the  tastes 
of  a  courtesan.  [Cousin  Betty.] 

Fortin  (Valerie),  daughter  of  preceding  and  of  General  de 
Montcornet.  (See  Crevel,  Madame.) 

Fosseuse  (La),  orphan  daughter  of  a  grave-digger,  whence 
the  nick-name.  Born  in  1807.  Frail,  nervous,  independent, 
retiring  at  first,  she  tried  hiring  out,  but  then  fell  into  vagrant 
habits.  Reared  in  a  village  on  the  outskirts  of  Grenoble, 
where  Dr.  Benassis  came  to  live  during  the  Restoration,  she 
became  an  object  of  special  attention  on  the  part  of  the 
physician  who  became  keenly  interested  in  the  gentle,  loyal, 
peculiar  and  impressionable  creature.  La  Fosseuse  though 
homely  was  not  without  charm.  She  may  have  loved  her 
benefactor.  [The  Country  Doctor.] 

Fouch6  (Joseph),  Due  d'Otrante,  born  near  Nantes  in  1753; 
died  in  exile  at  Trieste  in  1820.  Oratorian,  member  of  the 
National  Convention,  councilor  of  state,  minister  of  police 
under  the  Consulate  and  Empire,  also  chief  of  the  depart- 
ment of  the  Interior  and  of  the  government  of  the  Illyrian 
provinces,  and  president  of  the  provisional  government  in 
1815.  In  September,  1799,  Colonel  Hulot  said:  "Bernadotte, 
Carnot,  even  citizen  Talleyrand—all  have  left  us.  In  a  word 
we  have  with  us  but  a  single  good  patriot,  friend  Fouche",  who 
holds  everything  by  means  of  the  police.  There's  a  man  for 
youl"  Fouch6  took  especial  care  of  Corentin  who  was  per- 
haps his  natural  son.  He  sent  him  to  Brittany  during  an 
uprising  in  the  year  VIII,  to  accompany  and  direct  Mile,  da 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  167 

Verneuil,  who  was  commissioned  to  betray  and  capture  the 
Marquis  de  Montauran,  the  Chouan  leader.  [The  Chouans.] 
In  1806  he  caused  Senator  Malin  de  Gondreville  to  be  kid- 
napped by  masked  men  in  order  that  the  Chateau  de  Gon- 
dreville might  be  searched  for  important  papers  which,  how- 
ever, proved  as  compromising  for  Fouche*  as  for  the  senator. 
This  kidnapping,  which  was  charged  against  Michu,  the  Si- 
meuses  and  the  Hauteserres,  led  to  the  execution  of  the  first 
and  the  ruin  of  the  others.  In  1833,  Marsay,  president  of  the 
ministerial  chamber,  while  explaining  the  mysteries  of  the 
aff  air  to  the  Princesse  de  Cadignan,  paid  this  tribute  to  Fouche" : 
"A  genius  dark,  deep  and  extraordinary,  little  understood 
but  certainly  the  peer  of  Philip  II.,  Tiberius  or  Borgia." 
[The  Gondreville  Mystery.]  In  1809  Fouche"  and  Peyrade 
saved  France  in  connection  with  the  Walcheren  episode;  but 
on  the  return  of  the  Emperor  from  the  Wagram  campaign 
Fouche"  was  rewarded  by  dismissal.  [Scenes  from  a  Courte- 
san's Life.] 

Fouquereau,  concierge  to  M.  Jules  Desmarets,  stock-broker, 
rue  Me"nars  in  1820.  Specially  employed  to  look  after  Mme. 
Desmarets.  [The  Thirteen.] 

Fourchon,  retired  farmer  of  the  Ronquerolles  estate,  near 
the  forest  of  Aigues,  Burgundy.  Had  also  been  a  schoolmas- 
ter and  a  mail-carrier.  An  old  man  and  a  confirmed  toper 
since  his  wife's  death.  At  Blangy  in  1823  he  performed  the 
three-fold  duties  of  public  clerk  for  three  districts,  assistant  to 
a  justice  of  the  peace,  and  clarionet  player.  At  the  same  time 
he  followed  the  trade  of  rope-maker  with  his  apprentice 
Mouche,  the  natural  son  of  one  of  his  natural  daughters.  But 
his  chief  income  was  derived  from  catching  otters.  Fourchon 
was  the  father-in-law  of  Tonsard,  who  ran  the  Grand-I-Vert 
tavern.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Foy  (Maximilicn-Se'bastien),  celebrated  general  and  orator 
born  in  1775  at  Ham;  died  at  Paris  in  1825.  [C4sar  Birot- 
teau.]  In  1821,  General  Foy,  while  in  the  shop  of  Dauriat 
talking  with  an  editor  of  the  "  Constitutional "  and  the  mana- 
ger of  "La  Minerve,"  noticed  the  beauty  of  Lucien  de 


168  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Rubempre",  who  had  come  in  with  Lousteau  to  dispose  of 
some  sonnets.     [A  Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.] 

Fraisier,  born  about  1814,  probably  at  Mantes.  Son  of  a 
cobbler;  an  advocate  and  man  of  business  at  No.  9  rue  de  la 
Perle,  Paris,  in  1844-45.  Began  as  copy-clerk  at  Couture's 
office.  After  serving  Desroches  as  head-clerk  for  six  years  he 
bought  the  practice  of  Levroux,  an  advocate  of  Mantes, 
where  he  had  occasion  to  meet  Lebceuf,  Vinet,  Vatinelle  and 
Bouyonnet.  But  he  soon  had  to  sell  out  and  leave  town  on 
account  of  violating  professional  ethics.  Whereupon  he 
opened  up  a  consultation  office  in  Paris.  A  friend  of  Dr. 
Poulain  who  attended  the  last  days  of  Sylvain  Pons,  he  gave 
crafty  counsel  to  Mme.  Cibot,  who  coveted  the  chattels  of  the 
old  bachelor.  He  also  assured  the  Camusot  de  Marvilles  that 
they  should  be  the  legatees  of  the  old  musician  despite  the 
faithful  Schmucke.  In  1845  he  succeeded  Vitel  as  justice  of  the 
peace ;  the  coveted  place  being  secured  for  him  by  Camusot  de 
Marville,  as  a  fee  for  his  services.  In  Normandy  he  again  acted 
successfully  for  this  family.  Fraisier  was  a  dried-up  little  man 
with  a  blotched  face  and  an  unpleasant  odor.  At  Mantes  a 
certain  Mme.  Vatinelle  nevertheless  "  made  eyes  at  him" ;  and 
he  lived  at  Marais  with  a  servant-mistress,  Dame  Sauvage.  But 
he  missed  more  than  one  marriage,  not  being  able  to  win 
either  his  client,  Mme.  Florimond,  or  the  daughter  of  Tabar- 
eau.  To  tell  the  truth  De  Marville  advised  him  to  leave  the 
latter  alone.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Franchessini  (Colonel),  born  about  1789,  served  in  the 
Imperial  Guard,  and  was  one  of  the  most  dashing  colonels  of 
the  Restoration,  but  was  forced  to  resign  on  account  of  a  slur 
on  his  character.  In  1808,  to  provide  for  foolish  expenditures 
into  which  a  woman  led  him,  he  forged  certain  notes.  Jac- 
ques Collin — Vautrin — took  the  crime  to  himself  and  was  sent 
to  the  galleys  for  several  years.  In  1819  Franchessini  killed 
young  Taillefer  in  a  duel,  at  the  instigation  of  Vautrin.  The 
following  year  he  was  with  Lady  Brandon — probably  his  mis- 
tress— at  the  grand  ball  given  by  the  Vicomtesse  de  Beaus^ant, 
just  before  her  flight.  In  1839,  Franchessini  was  a  leading; 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDiE  riUMAlNt  169 

member  of  the  Jockey  club,  and  held  the  rank  of  colonel  in 
the  National  Guard.  Married  a  rich  Irishwoman  who  was 
devout  and  charitable  and  lived  in  one  of  the  finest  mansions 
of  the  Breda  quarter.  Elected  deputy,  and  being  an  intimate 
friend  of  Rastignac,  he  evinced  open  hostility  for  Sallenauve 
and  voted  against  his  being  seated  in  order  to  gratify  Maxim\ 
de  Traill es.  [Fatkei  <Groriot.  The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Frangois  (Abb^),  cure  of  the  parish  at  Alencon  in  1816 
*  A  Cheverus  on  a  small  scale  "  he  had  taken  the  constitutional 
oath  during  the  devolution  and  for  this  reason  was  despi&ed 
by  the  "ultiravs"  of  the  town  although  he  was  a  model  of 
charity  and  virtue.  Abbe  Fr angels  frequented  the  homes 
of  M  an&  Mme.  du  Bousquier  and  M.  and  Mme.  Granson;  but 
M.  du  Btmsquier  and  Athanase  Granson  were  the  only  ones  to 
give  him  cordiial  welcome.  In  his  last  days  he  became  recon- 
ciled witVi  the  curate  of  Saint-Le'onard,  Alengon's  aristocratic 
church,  and  died  universally  lamented.  [Jealousies  of  a 
Country  '/own.] 

Francois,  head  valet  to  Marshal  de  Montcornet  at  Aigues 
in  1823.  Attached  specially  to  Emile  Blondet  when  the 
journalist  visited  there.  Salary  twelve  hundred  francs.  In 
his  master  3  confidence.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Franc,  ois^  in  1822,  stage-driver  between  Paris  and  Beaumont- 
sur-Oise,  in  the  service  of  the  Touchard  Company.  [A  Start 
in  Life.] 

Franchise,  servant  of  Mme.  Crochard,  rue  Saint-Louis  in 
Marais  in  1822.  Toothless  woman  of  thirty  years'  service. 
Was  present  at  her  mistress'  death-bed.  This  was  the  fourth 
she  had  buried.  [A  Second  Home.] 

Frappart,  in  1839,  at  Arcis-sur-Aube,  proprietor  of  a  dance- 
hall  where  was  held  the  primary,  presided  over  by  Colonel 
Giguet,  which  nominated  Sallenauve.  [The  Member  for 
Arcis.] 

Frappier,  finest  carpenter  in  Provins  in  1827-28.  It  was  to 
him  that  Jacques  Brigaut  came  as  apprentice  when  he  went 
to  the  town  to  be  near  his  childhood's  friend,  Pierrette 


170  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Lorrain.     Trappier  took  care  of  her  when  she  left  R-ogion'a 
house.    Frappier  was  married.     [Pierrette.] 

Fr6d6ric,  one  of  the  editors  of  Finot's  paper  in  1821,  who 
reported  the  The'atre-Frangais  and  the  Odeon.  [A  Dis- 
tinguish d  Provincial  at  Paris.] 

Frelu  (La  Grande),  girl  of  Croisic  who  had  a  child  by 
Simon  Gaudry.  Nurse  to  Pierrette  Cambremer  whose  mother 
died  when  she  was  very  young.  [A  Seaside  Tragedy.] 

Fresconi,  an  Italian  who,  during  the  Restoration  and  until 

1828,  ran  a  nursery  on  Boulevard  du  Montparnasse.     The 
business   was   not   a   success.    Barbet  the  book-seller  was 
interested  in  it;  he  turned  it  into  a  lodging-house,  where 
dwelt  Baron  Bourlac.     [The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Fresquin,  former  supervisor  of  roads  and  bridges.  Married 
and  father  of  a  family.  Employed,  time  of  Louis  Philippe,  by 
Gregoire  Gerard  in  the  hydraulic  operations  for  Mme.  Graslin 
at  Monte"gnac.  In  1843  Fresquin  was  appointed  district  tax 
collector.  [The  Country  Parson.] 

Frisch   (Samuel),  Jewish    jeweler  on  rue    Saint- Avoie   in 

1829.  Furnisher  and  creditor  of  Esther  Gobseck.     A  general 
pawnbroker.     [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Fritaud  (Abbe),  priest  of  Sancerre  in  1836.  [The  Muse  of 
the  Department.] 

Fritot,  dealer  in  shawls  on  the  stock  exchange,  Paris,  time 
of  Louis  Philippe.  Rival  of  Gaudissart.  He  sold  an  absurd 
shawl  for  six  thousand  francs  to  Mistress  Noswell,  an  eccentric 
Englishwoman.  Fritot  was  once  invited  to  dine  with  the 
King.  [Gaudissart  II.] 

Fritot  (Madame),  wife  of  preceding.     [Gaudissart  II.] 

Froidfrond  (Marquis  de),  born  about  1777.  Gentleman  of 
Maine-et-Loire.  While  very  young  he  became  insolvent  and 
sold  his  chateau  near  Saumur,  which  was  bought  at  a  low 
price  for  Felix  Grandet  by  Cruchot  the  notary,  in  1811. 
About  1827  the  marquis  was  a  widower  with  children,  and 
was  spoken  of  as  a  possible  peer  of  France.  At  this  time  Mme. 
des  Grassins  tried  to  persuade  Eugenie  Grandet,  now  an  orphan, 
that  she  would  do  well  to  wed  the  marquis,  and  that  this 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  171 

marriage  was  a  pet  scheme  of  her  father.  And  again  in  1832 
when  Eugenie  was  left  a  widow  by  Cruchot  de  Bonfons,  the 
family  of  the  marquis  tried  to  arrange  a  marriage  with  him. 
[Eugenie  Grandet.] 

Fromaget,  apothecary  at  Arcis-sur-Aube,  time  of  Louis 
Philippe.  As  his  patronage  did  not  extend  to  the  Gondre- 
villes,  he  was  disposed  to  work  against  Keller ;  that  is  why  he 
probably  voted  for  Giguet  in  1839.  [The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Fromenteau,  police-agent.  With  Contenson  he  had  belonged 
to  the  political  police  of  Louis  XVIII.  In  1845  he  aided  in 
unearthing  prisoners  for  debt.  Being  encountered  at  the 
home  of  Theodore  Gaillard,  by  Gazonal,  he  revealed  some 
curious  details  concerning  different  kinds  of  police  to  the 
bewildered  countryman.  [The  Unconscious  Humorists.] 

Funcal  (Comte  de),  an  assumed  name  of  Bourignard,  when 
he  was  met  at  the  Spanish  Embassy,  Paris,  about  1820,  by 
Henri  de  Marsay  and  Auguste  de  Maulincour.  There  was  a 
real  Comte  de  Funcal,  a  Portuguese-Brazilian,  who  had  been  a 
sailor,  and  whom  Bourignard  duplicated  exactly.  He  may 
have  been  "  suppressed  "  violently  by  the  usurper  of  his  name. 
[The  Thirteen.^ 

6 

Gabilleau,  deserter  from  the  Seventeenth  infantry;  chauf- 
feur executed  at  Tulle,  during  the  Empire,  on  the  very  day 
when  he  had  planned  an  escape.  Was  one  of  the  accomplices 
of  Farrabesche  who  profited  by  a  hole  made  in  his  dungeon  by 
the  condemned  man  to  make  his  own  escape.  [The  Country 
Parson.] 

Gabriel,  born  about  1790;  messenger  at  the  Department  of 
Finance,  and  check-receiver  at  the  Theatre  Royal,  during  the 
Restoration.  A  Savoyard,  and  nephew  of  Antoine,  the  oldest 
messenger  in  the  department.  Husband  of  a  skilled  lace- 
maker  and  shawl-mender.  He  lived  with  his  uncle  Antoine 
and  another  relative  employed  in  the  department,  Laurent. 
[The  Government  Clerks.] 

Gabusson,  cashier  in  employ  of  Dauriat  the  editor  in  1821. 
|JA  Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris,  jj 


172  KEPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Gaillard  (Th  odore),  journalist,  proprietor  or  manager  of 
newspapers.  In  1822  he  and  Hector  Merlin  established  a 
Royalist  paper  in  which  Rubempre,  palinodist,  aired  opinions 
favorable  to  the  existing  government,  and  slashed  a  very 
good  book  of  his  friend  Daniel  d'Arthez.  [A  Distinguished 
Provincial  at  Paris.]  Under  Louis  Philippe  he  was  one  of  the 
owners  of  a  very  important  political  sheet.  [Beatrix.  Scenes 
from  a  Courtesan's  Life.]  In  1845  he  ran  a  strong  paper.  At 
first  a  man  of  wit,  "  he  ended  by  becoming  stupid  on  account 
of  staying  in  the  same  environment."  He  interlarded  his 
speech  with  epigrams  from  popular  pieces,  pronouncing  them 
with  the  emphasis  given  by  famous  actors.  Gaillard  was 
good  with  his  Odry  and  still  better  with  Lemaitre.  He 
lived  at  rue  Menars.  There  he  was  met  by  Lora,  Bixiou  and 
Gazonal.  [The  Unconscious  Humorists.] 

Gaillard  (Madame  Theodore),  born  at  Alengon  about  1800. 
Given  name  Suzanne.  "A  Norman  beauty,  fresh,  blooming, 
and  sturdy."  One  of  the  employes  of  Mme.  Lardot,  the  laun- 
dress, in  1816,  the  year  when  she  left  her  native  town  after 
having  obtained  some  money  of  M.  du  Bousquier  by  per- 
suading him  that  she  was  with  child  by  him.  The  Chevalier 
de  Valois  liked  Suzanne  immensely,  but  did  not  allow  himself 
to  be  caught  in  this  trap.  Suzanne  went  to  Paris  and  speedily 
became  a  fashionable  courtesan.  Shortly  thereafter  she 
reappeared  at  Alenc,on  for  a  visit  to  attend  Athanase  Granson's 
funeral.  She  mourned  with  the  desolate  mother,  saying  to 
her  on  leaving :  "  I  loved  him !"  At  the  same  time  she  ridiculed 
the  marriage  of  Mile.  Cormon  with  M.  du  Bousquier,  thus 
avenging  the  deceased  and  Chevalier  de  Valois.  [Jealousies 
of  a  Country  Town.]  Under  the  name  of  Mme.  du  Val-Noble 
she  became  noted  in  the  artistic  and  fashionable  set.  In  1821- 
22,  she  was  the  mistress  of  Hector  Merlin.  [A  Distinguished 
Provincial  at  Paris.  A  Bachelor's  Establishment.]  After 
having  been  maintained  by  Jacques  Falleix,  the  broker  who 
failed,  she  was  for  a  short  time  in  1830  mistress  of  Peyrade, 
who  was  concealed  under  the  name  of  Samuel  Johnson,  "  the 
nabob."  She  was  acquainted  with  Esther  Gobseck,  who 
lived  on  rue  Saint-Georges  in  a  mansion  that  had  been  fitted 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  173 

I 

up  for  her — Suzanne — by  Falleix,  and  obtained  by  Nucingen 
for  Esther.  [Scenes  fr  m  a  Courtesan's  Life.]  In  1838  she 
married  Theodore  Gaillard  her  lover  since  1830.  In  1845 
she  received  Lora,  Bixiou,  and  Gazonal.  [Beatrix.  The 
Unconscious  Humorists.] 

Gaillard,  one  of  three  guards  who  succeeded  Courte- 
cuisse,  and  under  the  orders  of  Michaud,  in  the  care  of  the 
estate  of  General  de  Montcornet  at  Aigues.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Galard,  market-gardener  of  Auteuil;  father  of  Mme.  Lem- 
prun,  maternal  grandfather  of  Mme.  Je'rome  Thuillier.  He 
died,  very  aged,  of  an  accident  in  1817.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Galard  (Mademoiselle),  old  maid,  landed  proprietor  at 
Bcsangon,  rue  du  Perron.  She  let  the  first  floor  of  her  house 
to  Albert  Savarus,  in  1834.  [Albert  Savarus.] 

Galardon  (Madame),  nee  Tiphaine,  elder  sister  of  M.  Tiph- 
aine,  president  of  the  court  at  Provins.  Married  at  first  to  a 
Gu6nee,  she  kept  one  of  the  largest  retail  dry-goods  shops  in 
Paris,  on  rue  Saint-Denis.  Towards  the  end  of  the  year  1815 
she  sold  out  to  Rogron  and  went  back  to  Provins.  She  had 
three  daughters  whom  she  provided  with  husbands  in  the 
little  town:  the  eldest  married  M.  Lesourd,  king's  attorney; 
the  second,  M.  Martener  a  physician;  the  third,  M.  Auffray  a 
notary.  Finally  she  herself  married  for  her  second  husband, 
M.  Galardon,  receiver  of  taxes.  She  invariably  added  to  her 
signature,  "nee  Tiphaine."  She  defended  Pierrette  Lor- 
rain,  and  was  at  outs  with  the  Liberals  of  Provins,  who  were 
induced  to  persecute  Rogron's  ward.  [Pierrette.] 

Galathionne  (Prince  and  Princess),  Russians.  The  prince 
was  one  of  the  lovers  of  Diane  de  Maufrigneuse.  [The 
Secrets  of  a  Princess.]  In  September,  1815,  he  protected  La 
Minoret  a  celebrated  opera  dancer,  to  whose  daughter  he 
gave  a  dowry.  [The  Middle  Glasses.]  In  1819  Marsay, 
appearing  in  the  box  of  the  Princess  Galathionne,  at  the 
Italiens,  had  Mme.  de  Nucingen  at  his  mercy.  [Father 
Goriot.]  In  1821  Lousteau  said  that  the  story  of  the  Prince 
Galathionne's  diamonds,  the  Maubrcuil  affair  and  the  Pom- 
breton  will,  were  fruitful  newspaper  topics.  [A  Distinguished 


174  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAIXE 

f 

Provincial  at  Paris.]  In  1834-35,  the  princess  gave  balls 
which  the  Comtesse  Felix  de  Vandenesse  attended.  [A 
Daughter  of  Eve.]  About  1840  the  prince  tried  to  get  Mme. 
Schontz  away  from  the  Marquis  de  Rochefide ;  but  she  said : 
"Prince,  you  are  no  handsomer,  but  you  are  older  than 
Rochefide.  You  would  beat  me,  while  he  is  like  a  father  to 
me."  [B6atrix.] 

Galope-Chopine.  (See  Cibot.) 

Gamard  (Sophie),  old  maid;  owner  of  a  house  at  Tours  on 
rue  de  la  Psalette,  which  backed  the  Saint  Gatien  church. 
She  let  part  of  it  to  priests.  Here  lodged  the  Abbes  Troubert, 
Chapeloud  and  Frangois  Birotteau.  The  house  had  been 
purchased  during  the  Terror  by  the  father  of  Mile.  Gamard,  a 
dealer  in  wood,  a  kind  of  parvenu  peasant.  After  receiving 
Abbe"  Birotteau  most  cordially  she  took  a  disliking  to  him 
which  was  secretly  fostered  by  Troubert,  and  she  finally  dis- 
possessed him,  seizing  the  furniture  which  he  valued  so  greatly. 
Mile.  Gamard  died  in  1826  of  a  chill.  Troubert  circulated  the 
report  that  Birotteau  had  caused  her  death  by  the  sorrow 
which  he  had  caused  the  old  maid.  [The  Vicar  of  Tours.] 

Gambara  (Paolo),  musician,  born  at  Cremona  in  1791;  sor> 
of  an  instrument-maker,  a  moderately  good  performer  and  a 
great  composer  who  was  driven  from  his  home  by  the  French 
and  ruined  by  the  war.  These  events  consigned  Paolo 
Gambara  to  a  wandering  existence  from  the  age  of  ten.  He 
found  little  quietude  and  obtained  no  congenial  situation  till 
about  1813  in  Venice.  At  this  time  he  put  on  an  opera, 
"Mahomet,"  at  the  Fenice  theatre,  which  failed  miserably. 
Nevertheless  he  obtained  the  hand  of  Marianina,  whom  he 
loved,  and  with  her  wandered  through  Germany  to  settle 
finally  in  Paris  in  1831,  in  a  wretched  apartment  on  rue 
Froidmanteau.  The  musician,  an  accomplished  theorist, 
could  not  interpret  intelligently  any  of  his  remarkable  ideas, 
and  he  would  play  to  his  wondering  auditors  jumbled  compo- 
sitions which  he  thought  to  be  sublime  inspirations.  How- 
ever he  enthusiastically  analyzed  "Robert  le  Diable,"  having 
heard  Meyerbeer's  masterpiece  while  a  guest  of  Andrea 
Marcosini.  In  1837  he  was  reduced  to  mending  musical 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  175 

instruments,  and  occasionally  he  went  with  his  wife  to  sing 
duets  in  the  open  air  on  the  Champs-Elysees,  to  pick  up  a  few 
sous.  Emilio  and  Massimilla  de  Varese  were  deeply  sympa- 
thetic of  the  Gambaras,  whom  they  met  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Faubourg  Saint-Honore.  Paolo  Gambara  had  no  common- 
sense  except  when  drunk.  He  had  invented  an  outlandish 
instrument  which  he  called  the  "  panharmonicon."  [Gam- 
bara.] 

Gambara  (Marianina),  Venetian,  wife  of  Paolo  Gambara. 
With  him  she  led  a  life  of  almost  continual  poverty,  and  for  a 
long  time  maintained  them  at  Paris  by  her  needle.  Her 
clients  on  rue  Froidmanteau  were  mostly  profligate  women, 
who  however  were  kind  and  generous  towards  her.  From 
1831  to  1836  she  left  her  husband,  going  with  a  lover,  Andr6a 
Marcosini,  who  abandoned  her  at  the  end  of  five  years  to  marry 
a  dancer;  and  in  January,  1837,  she  returned  to  her  husband's 
home  emaciated,  withered  and  faded,  "a  sort  of  nervous 
skeleton,"  to  resume  a  life  of  still  greater  squalor.  [Gam- 
bara.] 

Gandolphini  (Prince),  Neapolitan,  former  partisan  of  King 
Murat.  A  victim  of  the  last  Revolution  he  was,  in  1823, 
banished  and  poverty  stricken.  At  this  time  he  was  sixty- 
five  years  old,  though  he  looked  eighty.  He  lived  modestly 
enough  with  his  young  wife  at  Gersau — Lucerne — under  the 
English  name  of  Lovelace.  He  also  passed  for  a  certain 
Lamporani,  who  was  at  that  time  a  well-known  publisher  of 
Milan.  When  in  the  presence  of  Rodolphe  the  prince 
resumed  his  true  self  he  said :  "  I  know  how  to  make  up.  I 
was  an  actor  during  the  Empire  with  Bourrienne,  Mme. 
Murat,  Mme.  d'Abrante"s,  and  any  number  of  others." — • 
Character  in  a  novel  "  L'Ambitieux  par  Amour,"  published  by 
Albert  Savarus,  in  the  "Revue  de  1'Est,"  in  1834.  Under 
this  fictitious  name  the  author  related  his  own  history: 
Rodolphe  was  himself,  and  the  Prince  and  Princesse 
Gadolphini  were  the  Due  and  Duchesse  d'Argaiolo.  [Albert 
Savarus.] 

Gandolphini  (Princesse),  nte  Francesca  Colonna,  a  Roman 
of  illustrious  origin,  fourth  child  of  the  Prince  and  Princess 


176  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Colonna.  While  very  young  she  married  Prince  Gandolphini, 
one  of  the  richest  landed  proprietors  of  Sicily.  Under  the 
name  of  Miss  Lovelace,  she  met  Rocfolphe  in  Switzerland  and 
he  fell  in  love  with  her. — Heroine  of  a  novel  entitled  "  L'Am- 
bitieux  par  Amour,"  by  Albert  Savarus.  [Albert  Savarus.] 

Ganivet,  bourgeois  of  Issoudun.  In  1822,  in  a  conversation 
where  Maxence  Gilet  was  discussed,  Commandant  Potel 
threatened  to  make  Ganivet  "swallow  his  tongue  without 
sauce  "  if  he  continued  to  slander  the  lover  of  Flore  Brazier. 
[A  Bachelor's  Establishment.] 

Ganivet  (Mademoiselle),  a  woman  of  Issoudun  "as  ugly  as 
the  seven  capital  sins."  Nevertheless  she  succeeded  in  win- 
ning a  certain  Borniche-He*reau  who  in  1778  left  her  an  income 
of  a  thousand  crowns.  [A  Bachelor's  Establishment.] 

Gannerac,  in  transfer  business  at  Angouleme.  In  1821-22 
he  was  involved  in  the  affair  of  the  notes  endorsed  by  Rubem- 
pre  in  imitation  of  the  signature  of  his  brother-in-law  Sechard. 
[Lost  Illusion^.] 

Garangeot,  in  1845  conducted  the  orchestra  in  a  theatre  run 
by  Felix  Gaudissart,  succeeding  Sylvain  Pons  to  the  baton. 
Cousin  of  Heloi'se  Brisetout,  who  obtained  the  place  for  him. 
[Cousin  Pons.] 

Garceland,  mayor  of  Provins  during  the  Restoration. 
Son-in-law  of  Gue"pin.  Indirectly  protected  Pierrette  Lor- 
rain  from  the  Liberals  of  the  village  led  by  Maitre  Vinet,  who 
acted  for  Rogron.  [Pierrette.] 

Garcenault  (De),  first  president  of  the  Court  of  Besangon  in 
1834.  He  got  the  chapter  of  the  cathedral  to  secure  Albert 
•Savarus  as  counsel  in  a  lawsuit  between  the  chapter  and  the 
city.  Savarus  won  the  suit.  [Albert  Savarus.] 

Garnery,  one  of  two  special  detectives  in  May,  1830,  author- 
ized by  the  attorney-general,  De  Granville,  to  seize  certain 
letters  written  to  Lucien  de  Rubempre"  by  Mme.  de  Serizy,  the 
Duchesse  de  Maufrigneuse  and  Mile.  Clotilde  de  Grandlieu. 
[Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Gasnier,  peasant  living  near  Grenoble;  born  about  1789. 
Married  and  the  father  of  several  children  whom  he  loved 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  177 

dearly.  Inconsolable  at  the  loss  of  the  eldest.  Doctor 
Benassis,  mayor  of  the  commune,  mentioned  this  parental 
affection  as  a  rare  instance  among  tillers  of  the  soil.  [The 
Country  Doctor.] 

Gasselin,  a  Breton  born  in  1794;  servant  of  the  Gunnies  of 
Guerande,  in  1836,  having  been  in  their  employ  since  he  was 
fifteen.  A  short,  stout  fellow  with  black  hair,  furrowed  face; 
silent  and  slow.  He  took  care  of  the  garden  and  stables.  In 
1832  in  the  foolish  venture  of  Duchesse  de  Berry,  in  which 
Gasselin  took  part  with  the  Baron  du  Gue"nic  and  his  son 
Calyste,  the  faithful  servant  received  a  sabre  cut  on  the 
shoulder,  while  shielding  the  young  man.  This  action  seemed 
so  natural  to  the  family  that  Gasselin  received  small  thanks. 
[Beatrix.] 

Gaston  (Louis),  elder  natural  son  of  Lady  Brandon,  born  in 
1805.  Left  an  orphan  in  the  early  years  of  the  Restoration, 
he  was,  though  still  a  child,  like  a  father  to  his  younger 
brother  Marie  Gaston,  whom  he  placed  in  college  at  Tours; 
after  which  he  himself  shipped  as  cabin-boy  on  a  man-of-war. 
After  being  raised  to  the  rank  of  captain  of  an  American  ship 
and  becoming  wealthy  in  India,  he  died  at  Calcutta,  during 
the  first  part  of  the  reign  of  Louis  Philippe,  as  a  result  of  the 
failure  of  the  "famous  Halmer,"  and  just  as  he  was  starting 
back  to  France,  married  and  happy.  [La  Grenadiere.  Let- 
ters of  Two  Brides.] 

Gaston  (Marie),  second  natural  son  of  Lady  Brandon;  born 
in  1810.  Educated  at  the  college  of  Tours,  which  he  quitted 
in  1827.  Poet;  prote'ge'  of  Daniel  d'Arthez,  who  often  gave 
him  food  and  shelter.  In  1831  he  met  Louise  de  Chaulieu, 
the  widow  of  Macumer,  at  the  home  of  Mme.  d'Espard.  He 
married  her  in  October,  1833,  though  she  was  older  than  he, 
and  he  was  encumbered  with  debts  amounting  to  30,000  francs. 
The  couple  living  quietly  at  Ville-d'Avray,  were  happy  until  a 
clay  when  the  jealous  Louise  conceived  unjustifiable  suspicions 
concerning  the  fidelity  of  her  husband ;  on  which  account  she 
died  after  they  had  been  married  two  years.  During  these  two 
years  Gaston  wrote  at  least  four  plays.  One  of  them  written  in 


178  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

collaboration  with  his  wife  was  presented  with  the  greatest 
success  under  the  names  of-  Nathan  and  "others."  [La 
Grenadiere.  Letters  of  Two  Brides.]  In  his  early  youth 
Gaston  had  published,  at  the  expense  of  his  friend  Dorlange,  a 
volume  of  poetry,  "Les  Perce-neige,"  the  entire  edition  of 
which  found  its  way,  at  three  sous  the  volume,  to  a  second- 
hand book-shop,  whence,  one  fine  day,  it  inundated  the 
quays  from  Pont  Royal  to  Pont  Marie.  [The  Member  for 
Arcis.] 

Gaston  (Madame  Louis),  an  Englishwoman  of  cold,  distant 
manners;  wife  of  Louis  Gaston;  probably  married  him  in 
India  where  he  died  as  a  result  of  unfortunate  business 
deals.  As  a  widow  she  came  to  France  with  two  children, 
where  without  resource  she  became  a  charge  to  her  brother- 
in-law  who  visited  and  aided  her  secretly.  She  lived  in 
Paris  on  rue  de  la  Ville-Eve"que.  The  visits  made  by  Marie 
Gaston  were  spoken  of  to  his  wife  who  became  jealous,  not 
knowing  their  object.  Mme.  Louis  Gaston  was  thus  in- 
nocently the  cause  of  Mme.  Marie  Gaston's  death.  [Letters 
of  Two  Brides.] 

Gaston  (Madame  Marie),  born  Armande-Louise-Marie  de 
Chaulieu,  in  1805.  At  first  destined  to  take  the  veil ;  educated 
at  the  Carmellite  convent  of  Blois  with  Rene"e  de  Maucombe 
who  became  Mme  de  1'Estorade.  She  remained  constant 
in  her  relations  with  this  faithful  friend — at  least  by  letter — 
who  was  a  prudent  and  wise  adviser.  In  1825  Louise  married 
her  professor  in  Spanish,  the  Baron  de  Macumer,  whom  she 
lost  in  1829.  In  1833  she  married  the  poet  Marie  Gaston. 
Both  marriages  were  sterile.  In  the  first  she  was  adored 
and  believed  that  she  loved;  in  the  second  she  was  loved  as 
much  as  she  loved,  but  her  insane  jealousy,  and  her  horseback 
rides  from  Ville-d'Avray  to  Verdier's  were  her  undoing, 
and  she  died  in  .1835  of  consumption,  contracted  purposely 
through  despair  at  the  thought  that  she  had  been  deceived. 
After  leaving  the  convent  she  had  lived  successively  at  the 
following  places:  on  Faubourg  Saint-Germain,  Paris,  where 
she  saw  M.  de  Bonald;  atChantepleur,  an  estate  in  Burgundy; 
at  La  Crampade,  in  Provence,  with  Mme.  de  1'Estorade; 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  179 

in  Italy;   at  Ville-d'Avray,  where  she  sleeps  her  last  sleep 
in  a  park  of  her  own  planning.     [Letters  of  Two  Brides.] 

Gatienne,  servant  of  Mmc.  and  Mile.  Bontems,  at  Bayeux, 
in  1805.  [A  Second  Home.] 

Gaubert,  one  of  the  most  illustrious  generals  of  the  Republic; 
first  husband  of  a  Mile,  de  Ronquerolles  whom  he  left  a 
widow  at  the  age  of  twenty,  making  her  his  heir.  She 
married  again  in  1806,  choosing  the  Comte  de  Serizy.  [A 
Start  in  Life.] 

Gaubertin  (Frangois),  born  about  1770;  son  of  the  ex- 
sheriff  of  Soulanges,  Burgundy,  before  the  Revolution. 
About  1791,  after  five  years'  clerkship  to  the  steward  of  Mile. 
Laguerre  at  Aigues,  he  succeeded  to  the « stewardship.  His 
father  having  become  public  prosecutor  in  the  department, 
time  of  the  Republic,  he  was  made  mayor  of  Blangy.  In 
1796  he  married  the  "citizeness"  Isaure  Mouchon,  by  whom 
he  had  three  children:  a  son,  Claude,  and  two  daughters, 
Jenny — Mme.  Leclercq — and  EHsa.  He  had  also  a  natural 
son,  Bournier,  whom  he  placed  in  charge  of  a  local  newspaper. 
At  the  death  of  Mile.  Laguerre,  Gaubertin,  after  twenty- 
five  years  of  stewardship,  possessed  600,000  francs.  He 
ended  by  dreaming  of  acquiring  the  estate  at  Aigues;  but 
the  Comte  de  Montcornet  purchased  it,  retained  him  in 
charge,  caught  him  one  day  in  a  theft  and  discharged  him 
summarily.  Gaubertin  received  at  that  time  sundry  lashes 
with  a  whip  of  which  he  said  nothing,  but  for  which  he  revenged 
himself.  The  old  steward  became,  nevertheless,  a  person 
of  importance.  In  1820  he  was  mayor  of  Ville-aux-Fayes, 
and  supplied  one-third  of  the  Paris  wood.  Being  general 
agent  of  this  rural  industry,  he  managed  the  forests,  lumber 
and  guards.  Gaubertin  was  related  throughout  a  whole 
district,  like  a  "boa-constrictor  twisted  around  a  gigantic 
tree" ;  the  church,  the  magistracy,  the  municipality,  the  gov- 
ernment— all  did  his  bidding.  Even  the  peasantry  served  his 
interests  indirectly.  .  When  the  general,  disgusted  by  the 
numberless  vexations  of  his  estate,  wished  to  sell  the  property 
at  Aigues,  Gaubertin  bought  the  forests,  while  his  partners, 


180  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Rigou  and  Soudry,  acquired  the  vineyards  and  other  grounds 
[The  Peasantry.] 

Gaubertin  (Madame),  born  Isaure  Mouchon  in  1778. 
Daughter  of  a  member  of  the  Convention  and  friend  of  Gau- 
bertin senior.  Wife  of  Frangois  Gaubertin.  An  affected 
creature  of  Ville-aux-Fayes  who  played  the  great  lady  mightily. 
[The  Peasantry.] 

Gaubertin  (Claude),  son  of  Frangois  Gaubertin,  godson 
of  Mile.  Laguerre,  at  whose  expense  he  was  educated  at 
Paris.  The  busiest  attorney  at  Ville-aux-Fayes  in  1823. 
After  five  years'  practice  he  spoke  of  selling  his  office.  He 
probably  became  judge.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Gaubertin  (Jenny),  elder  daughter  of  Frangois  Gaubertin. 
(See  Leclercq,  Madame.) 

Gaubertin  (Elisa  or  Elise),  second  daughter  of  Frangois 
Gaubertin.  Loved,  courted  and  longed  for  since  1819 
by  the  sub-prefect  of  Ville-aux-Fayes,  M.  des  Lupeaulx — 
the  nephew.  M.  Lupin,  notary  at  Soulanges,  sought  on  his 
part  the  young  girl's  hand  for  his  only  son  Amaury.  [The 
Peasantry.] 

Gaubertin- Vallat  (Mademoiselle),  old  maid,  sister  of  Mme. 
Sibilet,  wife  of  the  clerk  of  the  court  at  Ville-aux-Fayes, 
in  1823.  She  ran  the  town's  stamp  office.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Gaucher  was  in  1803  a  boy  working  for  Michu.  [The 
Gondreville  Mystery.] 

Gaudet,  second  clerk  in  Desroches'  law  office  in  1824. 
[A  Start  in  Life.] 

Gaudin,  chief  of  squadron  in  the  mounted  grenadiers  of 
the  Imperial  Guard;  made  baron  of  the  Empire,  with  the 
estate  of  Wistchnau.  Made  prisoner  by  Cossacks  at  the 
passage  of  the  Be're'sina,  he  escaped,  going  to  India  where 
he  was  lost  sight  of.  However  he  returned  to  France  about 
1830,  in  bad  health,  but  a  multi-millionaire.  [The  Magic 
Skin.] 

Gaudin  (Madame),  wife  of  foregoing,  managed  the  Hotel 
Saint-Quentin,  rue  des  Cordiers,  Paris,  during  the  Resto- 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  181 

ration.  Among  her  guests  was  Raphael  de  Valentin. 
Her  husband's  return  in  1830  made  her  wealthy  and  a  baroness. 
[The  Magic  Skin.] 

Gaudin  (Pauline),  daughter  of  the  foregoing.  Was  acquainted 
with,  loved,  and  modestly  aided  Raphael  de  Valentin,  a  poor 
lodger  at  Hotel  Saint-Quentin.  After  the  return  of  her 
father  she  lived  with  her  parents  on  riie  Saint-Lazare.  For 
a  long  time  her  whereabouts  were  unknown  to  Raphael 
who  had  quitted  the  hotel  abruptly;  then  he  met  her  again 
one  evening  at  the  Italiens.  They  fell  into  each  other's 
arms,  declaring  their  mutual  love.  Raphael  who  also  had 
become  rich  resolved  to  espouse  Pauline;  but  frightened  by 
the  shrinkage  of  the  "magic  skin"  he  fled  precipitately 
and  returned  to  Paris.  Pauline  hastened  after  him,  only 
to  behold  him  die  upon  her  breast  in  a  transport  of  furious, 
impotent  love.  [The  Magic  Skin.] 

Gaudissart  (Jean-Frangois),  father  of  Felix  Gaudissart. 
[Cesar  Birotteau.] 

Gaudissart  (Felix),  native  of  Normandy,  born  about  1792, 
a  "great"  commercial  traveler  making  a  specialty  of  the 
hat  trade.  Known  to  the  Finots,  having  been  in  the  employ 
of  the  father  of  Andoche.  Also  handled  all  the  "articles 
of  Paris."  In  1816  he  was  arrested  on  the  denunciation 
of  Peyrade — P£re  Canquoelle.  He  had  imprudently  con- 
versed in  the  David  cafe"  with  a  retired  officer  concerning  a 
conspiracy  against  the  Bourbons  that  was  about  to  break 
out.  Thus  the  conspiracy  was  thwarted  and  two  men  were 
sent  to  the  scaffold.  Gaudissart  being  released  by  Judge 
Popinot  was  ever  after  grateful  to  the  magistrate  and  devoted 
to  the  interests  of  his  nephew.  When  he  became  minister, 
Anselme  Popinot  obtained  for  Gaudissart  license  for  a  large 
theatre  on  the  boulevard,  which  in  1834  aimed  to  supply 
the  demand  for  popular  opera.  This  theatre  employed 
Sylvain  Pons,  Schmucke,  Schwab,  Garangeot  and  He"lolse 
Brisetout,  Felix's  mistress.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's 
Life.  Cousin  Pons.]  "Gaudissart  the  Great,"  then  a 
young  man,  attended  the  Birotteau  ball.  About  that  time 
he  probably  lived  on  rue  dcs  Deux-Ecus,  Paris  Ce"sar 


182  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Birotteau.]  During  the  Restoration,  a  "pretended  florist's 
agent "  sent  by  Judge  Popinot  to  Comte  Octave  de  Bauvan, 
he  bought  at  exorbitant  prices  the  artificial  flowers  i^ade 
by  Honorine.  [Honorine.j  At  Vouvray  in  1831  this  man, 
so  accustomed  to  fool  others,  was  himself  mystified  in  rather 
an  amusing  manner  by  a  retired  dyer,  a  sort  of  "country 
Figaro "  named  Vernier.  A  bloodless  duel  resulted.  After 
the  episode,  Gaudissart  boasted  that  the  affair  had  been  to 
his  advantage.  He  was  "in  this  SaimVSimonian  period", 
the  lover  of  Jenny  Courand.  [Gaudissart  the  Great.] 

Gaudron  (Abbe),  an  Auvergnat;  vicar  and  then  curate  of 
the  church  of  Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis,  rue  Saint-Antoine, 
Paris,  during  the  Restoration  and  the  Government  of  July.  A 
peasant  filled  with  faith,  square  below  and  above,  a  "  sacerdotal 
ox"  utterly  ignorant  of  the  world  and  of  literature.  Being 
confessor  of  Isidore  Baudoyer  he  endeavored  in  1824  to 
further  the  promotion  of  that  incapable  chief  of  bureau 
in  the  Department  of  Finance.  In  the  same  year  he  was 
present  at  a  dinner  at  the  Comte  de  Bauvan's  when  were 
discussed  questions  relating  to  woman.  [The  Government 
Clerks.  Honorine.]  In  1826  Abb£  Gaudron  confessed  Mme. 
Clapart  and  led  her  into  devout  paths;  the  former  Aspasia  of 
the  Directory  had  not  confessed  for  forty  years.  In  Febru- 
ary, 1830,  the  priest  obtained  the  Dauphiness'  protection  for 
Oscar  Husson,  son  of  Mme.  Clapart  by  her  first  husband, 
and  that  young  man  was  promoted  to  a  sub-lieutenancy  in  a 
regiment  where  he  had  been  serving  as  subaltern.  [A  Start 
in  Life.] 

Gault,  warden  of  the  Conciergerie  in  May,  1830,  when 
Jacques  Collin  and  Rubempre  were  imprisoned  there.  He 
was  then  aged.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Gay,  boot-maker  in  Paris,  rue  de  la  MichodiSre,  in  1821, 
who  furnished  the  boots  for  Rubempre^  which  aroused  Mati- 
fat's  suspicion.  [A  Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.] 

Gazonal  (Sylvestre-Palafox-Castel),  one  of  the  most  skillful 
weavers  in  the  Eastern  Pyrenees ;  commandant  of  the  National 
Guard,  September,  1795.  On  a  visit  to  Paris  in  1845  for  the 


KEPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  183 

settlement  of  an  important  lawsuit  he  sought  out  his  cousin, 
L<§on  de  Lora,  the  landscape  artist,  who  in  one  day,  with 
Bixiou  the  caricaturist,  showed  him  the  under  side  of  the  city, 
opening  up  to  him  a  whole  gallery  full  of  "  unconscious  humor- 
ists "—dancers,  actresses,  police-agents,  etc.  Thanks  to  his 
two  cicerones,  he  won  his  lawsuit  and  returned  home.  [The 
Unconscious  Humorists.] 

Gendrin,  caricaturist,  tenant  of  M.  Molineux,  Cour  Batave, 
in  1818.     According  to  his  landlord,  the  artist  was  a  pro-' 
foundly   immoral   man   who   drew    caricatures   against   the 
government,  brought  bad  women  home  with  him  and  made 
the  hall  uninhabitable.     [Cesar  Birotteau.] 

Gendrin,  brother-in-law  of  Gaubertin  the  steward  of  Aigues. 
He  also  had  married  a  daughter  of  Mouchon.  Formerly  an 
attorney,  then  for  a  long  time  a  judge  of  the  Court  of  First 
Instance  at  Ville-aux-Fayes,  he  at  last  became  president  of 
the  court,  through  the  influence  of  Comte  de  Soulanges,  under 
the  Restoration.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Gendrin,  court  counselor  of  a  departmental  seat  in  Bur- 
gundy, and  a  distant  relative  of  President  Gendrin.  [The 
Peasantry.] 

Gendrin.  only  son  of  President  Gendrin;  recorder  of  mortr- 
gages  in  that  sub-prefecture  in  1823.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Gendrin-Wattebled  (or  Vatebled),  born  about  1733.  Gene- 
ral supervisor  of  streams  and  forests  at  Soulanges,  Burgundy, 
from  the  reign  of  Louis  XV.  Was  still  in  office  in  1823.  A 
nonagenarian  he  spoke,  in  his  lucid  moments,  of  the  juris- 
diction of  the  Marble  Table.  He  reigned  over  Soulanges 
before  Mme.  Soudry's  advent.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Genestas  (Pierre- Joseph),  cavalry  officer,  born  in  1779.  At 
first  a  regimental  lad,  then  a  soldier.  Sub-lieutenant  in  1802; 
officer  of  the  Legion  of  Honor  after  the  battle  of  Moskowa. 
chief  of  squadron  in  1829.  In  1814  he  married  the  widow  of 
his  friend  Renard,  a  subaltern.  She  died  soon  after,  leaving 
a  child  that  was  legally  recognized  by  Genestas,  who  entrusted 
him,  then  a  young  man,  to  the  care  of  Dr.  Benassis.  In  Decem- 


184  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

ber,  1829,  Genestas  was  promoted  to  be  a  lieutenant- colonel  in 
a  regiment  quartered  at  Poitiers.     [The  Country  Doctor.] 

Genestas  (Madame  Judith),  Polish  Jewess,  born  in  1795. 
Married  in  1812  after  the  Sarmatian  custom  to  her  lover 
Renard,  a  French  quartermaster,  who  was  killed  in  1813. 
Judith  gave  him  one  son,  Adrien,  and  survived  the  father  one 
year.  In  extremis  she  married  Genestas  a  former  lover,  who 
adopted  Adrien.  [The  Country  Doctor.] 

Genestas  (Adrien),  adopted  son  of  Commandant  Genestas, 
born  in  1813  to  Judith  the  Polish  Jewess  and  Renard  who 
was  killed  before  the  birth  of  his  son.  Adrien  was  a  living 
picture  of  his  mother — olive  complexion,  beautiful  black  eyes 
of  a  spirituelle  sadness,  and  a  head  of  hair  too  heavy  for  his 
frail  body.  When  sixteen  he  seemed  but  twelve.  He  had 
fallen  into  bad  habits,  but  after  living  with  Dr.  Benassis  for 
eight  months,  he  was  cured  and  became  robust.  [The 
Country  Doctor.] 

Genevifeve,  an  idiotic  peasant  girl,  ugly  and  comparatively 
rich.  Friend  and  companion  of  the  Comtesse  de  Vandieres, 
then  insane  and  an  inmate  of  the  asylum  of  Bons-Hommes, 
near  Isle-Adam,  during  the  Restoration.  Jilted  by  a  mason, 
Dallot,  who  had  promised  to  marry  her,  Genevieve  lost  what 
little  sense  love  had  aroused  in  her.  [Farewell.] 

Genovese,  tenor  at  the  Fenice  theatre,  Venice,  in  1820. 
Born  at  Bergamo  in  1797.  Pupil  of  Veluti.  Having  long 
loved  La  Tinti,  he  sang  outrageously  in  her  presence,  so  long 
as  she  resisted  his  advances,  but  regained  all  his  powers  after 
she  yielded  to  him.  [Massimilla  Doni.]  In  the  winter  of 
1823-24,  at  the  home  of  Prince  Gandolphini,  in  Geneva,  Gen- 
ovese sang  with  his  mistress,  an  exiled  Italian  prince,  and 
Princess  Gandolphini,  the  famous  quartette,  "  Mi  manca  la 
voce."  [Albert  Savarus.] 

Gentil,  old  valet  in  service  of  Mme.  de  Bargeton,  during  the 
Restoration.  During  the  summer  of  1821,  with  Albertine 
and  Lucien  de  Rubempre1,  he  accompanied  his  mistress  to 
Paris.  [A  Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.] 

Gentillet  sold  in  1835  an  old  diligence  to  Albert  Savarus 


REPERTORY  OP  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  185 

when  the  latter  was  leaving  Besancon  after  the  visit  on  the 
part  of  Prince  Soderini.     [Albert  Savarus.] 

Gentillet  (Madame),  maternal  grandmother  of  Felix  Grandet. 
She  died  in  1806  leaving  considerable  property.  In 
Grandet's  "drawing  room  "  at  Saumur  was  a  pastel  of  Mme. 
Gentillet,  representing  her  as  a  shepherdess.  [Eugenie 
Grandet.] 

Georges,  confidential  valet  of  Baron  de  Nucingen,  at  Paris, 
time  of  Charles  X.  Knew  of  his  aged  master's  love  affairs  and 
aided  or  thwarted  him  at  will.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's 
Life.] 

Ge"rard  (Franyois-Pascal-Simon,  Baron),  celebrated  painter 
— 1770-1837 — procured  for  Joseph  Bridau  in  1818  two  copies 
of  Louis  XVIII. 's  portrait  which  were  worth  to  the  beginner, 
then  very  poor,  a  thousand  francs,  a  tidy  sum  for  the  Bridau 
family.  [A  Bachelor's  Establishment.]  The  Parisian  salon 
of  Gerard,  much  sought  after,  had  a  rival  at  Chausse"e-d'Antm 
in  that  of  Mile,  de  Touches.  [Beatrix.] 

Gdrard,  adjutant-general  of  the  Seventy-second  demi- 
brigade,  commanded  by  Hulot.  A  careful  education  had 
developed  a  superior  intellect  in  Gerard.  He  was  a  staunch 
Republican.  Killed  by  the  Chouan,  Pille-Miche,  at  Vivetiere, 
December,  1799.  [The  Chouans.] 

Gerard  (Cre"goire),  born  in  1802,  probably  in  Limousin. 
Protestant  of  somewhat  uncouth  exterior,  son  of  a  journey- 
man carpenter  who  died  when  rather  young;  godson  of  F. 
Grossetete.  From  the  age  of  twelve  the  banker  had  encour- 
aged him  in  the  study  of  the  exact  sciences  for  which  he  had 
natural  aptitude.  Studied  at  Ecole  Polytechnique  from 
nineteen  to  twenty-one ;  then  entered  as  a  pupil  of  engineering 
in  the  National  School  of  Roads  and  Bridges,  from  which  he 
emerged  in  1826  and  stood  the  examinations  for  ordinary 
engineer  two  years  later.  He  was  cool-headed  and  warm- 
hearted. He  became  disgusted  with  his  profession  when  he 
ascertained  its  many  limitations,  and  he  plunged  into  the 
July  (1830)  Revolution.  He  was  probably  on  the  point  of 
adopting  the  Saint-Simonian  doctrine,  when  M.  Grossetete 


186  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

prevailed  upon  him  to  take  charge  of  some  important  works 
on  the  estate  of  Mme.  Pierre  Graslin  in  Haute- Vienne.  Ge"r- 
ard  wrought  wonders  aided  by  Fresquin  and  other  capable 
men.  He  became  mayor  of  Monte*gnac  in  1838.  Mme. 
Graslin  died  about  1844.  Gerard  followed  out  her  final 
wishes,  and  lived  in  her  chateau,  assuming  guardianship  of 
Francis  Graslin.  Three  months  later,  again  furthering  the 
desires  of  the  deceased,  G4rard  married  a  native  girl,  Denise 
Tascheron,  the  sister  of  a  man  who  had  been  executed  in  1829. 
[The  Country  Parson.] 

Gerard  (Madame  Gre"goire),  wife  of  foregoing,  born  Denise 
Tascheron,  of  Montegnac,  Limousin ;  youngest  child  of  a 
rather  large  family.  She  lavished  her  sisterly  affection  on  her 
brother,  the  condemned  Tascheron,  visiting  him  in  prison  and 
softening  his  savage  nature.  With  the  aid  of  another  brother, 
Louis-Marie,  she  made  away  with  certain  compromising  clues  of 
her  eldest  brother's  crime,  and  restored  the  stolen  money, 
afterwards  she  emigrated  to  America,  where  she  became 
wealthy.  Becoming  homesick  she  returned  to  Montegnac, 
fifteen  years  later,  where  she  recognized  Francis  Graslin,  her 
brother's  natural  son,  and  became  a  second  mother  to  him 
when  she  married  the  engineer,  Gerard.  This  marriage  of  a 
Protestant  with  a  Catholic  took  place  in  1844.  "  In  grace, 
modesty,  piety  and  beauty,  Mme.  Gerard  resembled  the 
heroine  of  'Edinburgh  Prison/  "  [The  Country  Parson.] 

Gerard  (Madame),  widow,  poor  but  honest,  mother  of  several 
grown-up  daughters;  kept  a  furnished  hotel  on  rue  Louis-le- 
Grand,  Paris,  about  the  end  of  the  Restoration.  Being 
under  obligations  to  Suzanne  du  Va-Noble — Mme.  Theodore 
Gaillard — she  sheltered  her  when  the  courtesan  was  driven 
away  from  a  fine  apartment  on  rue  Saint-Georges,  following 
the  ruin  and  flight  of  her  lover,  Jacques  Falleix,  the  stock- 
broker. Mme.  Gerard  was  not  related  to  the  other  Ge"rards 
mentioned  above.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Giardini,  Neapolitan  cook  somewhat  aged.  He  and  his 
wife  ran  a  restaurant  in  rue  Froidmanteau,  Paris,  in  1830-31. 
He  had  established,  so  he  said,  three  restaurants  in  Italy :  at 
Naples,  Parma  and  Rome.  In  the  first  years  of  Louis  Phil- 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  187 

ippe's  reign,  his  peculiar  cookery  was  the  fare  of  Paolo  Gam- 
bara.  In  1837  this  crank  on  the  subject  of  special  dishes  had 
fallen  to  the  calling  of  broken  food  huckster  on  rue  Froid- 
manteau.  [Gambara.] 

Giboulard  (Gatienne),  a  very  pretty  daughter  of  a  wealthy 
carpenter  of  Auxerre;  vainly  desired,  about  1823,  by  Sarcus 
for  wife,  but  his  father,  Sarcus  the  Rich,  would  not  consent. 
Later  the  social  set  of  Mme.  Soudry,  the  leading  one  of  a 
neighboring  village,  dreamed  for  a  moment  of  avenging 
themselves  on  the  people  of  Aigues  by  winning  over  Gatienne 
Giboulard.  She  could  have  embroiled  M.  and  Mme.  Mont- 
cornet,  and  perhaps  even  compromised  Abb6  Brossette. 
[The  Peasantry.] 

Gigelmi,  Italian  orchestra  conductor,  living  in  Paris  with 
the  Gambaras.  After  the  Revolution  of  1830,  he  dined  at 
Giardini's  on  rue  Froidmanteau.  [Gambara.] 

Gigonnet.     (See  Bidault.) 

Giguet  (Colonel),  native  probably  of  Arcis-sur-Aube,  where 
he  lived  after  retirement.  One  of  Mme.  Marion's  brothers. 
One  of  the  most  highly  esteemed  officers  of  the  Grand  Army. 
Had  a  fine  sense  of  honor;  was  for  eleven  years  merely  captain 
of  artillery;  chief  of  battalion  in  1813;  major  in  1814.  On 
account  of  devotion  to  Napoleon  he  refused  to  serve  the 
Bourbons  after  the  first  abdication;  and  he  gave  such  proofs 
of  his  fidelity  in  1815,  that  he  would  have  been  exiled  had 
it  not  been  for  the  Comte  de  Gondreville,  who  obtained  for 
him  retirement  on  half-pay  with  the  rank  of  colonel.  About 
1806  he  married  one  of  the  daughters  of  a  wealthy  Hamburg 
banker,  who  gave  him  three  children  and  died  in  1814.  Be- 
tween 1818  and  1825  Giguet  lost  the  two  younger  children,  a  son 
named  Simon  alone  surviving.  A  Bonapartist  and  Liberal, 
the  colonel  was,  during  the  Restoration,  president  of  the  com- 
mittee at  Arcis,  where  he  came  in  touch  with  GreVin,  Beau- 
visage  and  Varlot,  notables  of  the  same  stamp.  He  aban- 
doned active  politics  after  his  ideas  triumphed,  and,  during 
the  reign  of  Louis  Philippe,  he  became  a  noted  horticulturist, 
the  creator  of  the  famous  Giguet  rose.  Nevertheless  the 
colonel  continued  to  be  the  god  of  his  sister's  very  influential 


188  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

salon  where  he  appeared  at  the  time  of  the  legislative  elections 
of  1839.  In  the  first  part  of  May  of  that  year  the  little  old 
man,  wonderfully  preserved,  presided  over  an  electoral  con- 
vention at  Frappart's,  the  candidates  in  the  field  being  his 
own  son,  Simon  Giguet,  Phileas  Beauvisage,  and  Sallenauve- 
Dorlange.  [The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Giguet  (Colonel),  brother  of  the  preceding  and  of  Mme, 
Marion;  was  brigadier  of  gendarmes  at  Arcis-sur-Aube  in 
1803 ;  promoted  to  a  lieutenancy  in  1806.  As  brigadier  Giguet 
was  one  of  the  most  experienced  men  in  the  service.  The 
commandant  of  Troyes  mentioned  him  especially  to  the  two 
Parisian  detectives,  Peyrade  and  Corentin,  entrusted  with 
watching  the  actions  of  the  Simeuses  and  the  Hauteserres 
which  resulted  in  the  ruin  of  these  young  Royalists  on  account 
of  the  pretended  seizure  of  Gondreville.  However,  an  adroit 
manoeuvre  on  the  part  of  Francois  Michu  at  first  prevented 
Brigadier  Giguet  from  seizing  these  conspirators  whom  he  had 
tracked  to  earth.  After  his  promotion  to  lieutenant  he  suc- 
ceeded in  arresting  them.  He  finally  became  colonel  of  the 
gendarmes  of  Troyes,  whither  Mme.  Marion,  then  Mile. 
Giguet,  went  with  him.  He  died  before  his  brother  and  sister, 
and  made  her  his  heir.  [The  Gondreville  Mystery.  The 
Member  for  Arcis.] 

Giguet  (Simon),  born  during  the  first  Empire,  the  oldest 
and  only  surviving  child  of  Colonel  Giguet  of  the  artillery.  In 
1814  he  lost  his  mother,  the  daughter  of  a  rich  Hamburg 
banker,  and  in  1826  his  maternal  grandfather  who  left  him 
an  income  of  two  thousand  francs,  the  German  having  favored 
others  of  the  large  family.  He  did  not  hope  for  any  further 
inheritance  save  that  of  his  father's  sister,  Mme.  Marion, 
which  had  been  augmented  by  the  legacy  of  Colonel  Giguet 
of  the  gendarmes.  Thus  it  was  that,  after  studying  law  with 
the  subprefect  Antonin  Goulard,  Simon  Giguet,  deprived  of  a 
fortune  which  at  first  seemed  assured  to  him,  became  a  simple 
attorney  in  the  little  town  of  Arcis,  where  attorneys  are  of 
little  service.  His  aunt's  and  his  father's  position  fired  him 
with  ambition  for  a  political  career.  Giguet  ogled  at  the 
same  time  for  the  hand  and  dowry  of  Ce*cile  Beauvisage.  Of 


REPERTORY  OF  TliE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  189 

mediocre  ability ;  upheld  the  Left  Centre,  but  failed  of  election 
in  May,  1839,  when  he  presented  himself  as  candidate  for 
Arcis-sur-Aube.  [The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Gilet  (Maxence),  born  in  1789.     He  passed  at  Issoudun  for 
the    natural    son    of    Lousteau,    the    sub-delegate.     Others 
thought  him  the  son  of  Dr.  Rouget,  a  friend  and  rival  of 
Lousteau.     In  short  "  fortunately  for  the  child  both  claimed 
him";  though  he  belonged  to  neither.     His  true  father  was 
found  to  be  a  "  charming  officer  of  dragoons  in  the  garrison 
at  Bourges."     His  mother,  the  wife  of  a  poor  drunken  cobbler 
of  Issoudun,  had  the  marvelous  beauty  of   a  Transteverin. 
Her  husband  was  aware  of  his  wife's  actions  and  profited  by 
them :  through  interested  motives,  Lousteau  and  Rouget  were 
allowed  to  believe  whatever  they  wished  about  the  child's 
paternity,  for  which  reason  both  contributed  to  the  education 
of  Maxence,  usually  known  as  Max.     In  1806,  at  the  age  of 
seventeen,  Max  enlisted  in  a  regiment  going  to  Spain.     In 
1809  he  was  left  for  dead  in  Portugal  in  an  English  battery; 
taken  by  the  English  and  conveyed  to  the  Spanish  prison- 
hulks  at  Cabrera.     There  he  remained  from  1810  till  1814. 
When  he  returned  to  Issoudun  his  father  and  bis  mother  had 
both  died  in  the  hospital.     On  the  return  of  Bonaparte,  Max 
served  as  captain  in  the  Imperial  Guard.     During  the  second 
Restoration  he  returned  to  Issoudun  and  became  leader  of  the 
"  Knights  of  Idlesse  "  which  were  addicted  to  nocturnal  esca- 
pades more  or  less  agreeable  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  town. 
"  Max  played  at  Issoudun  a  part  almost  identical  with  that  of 
Smith  in  'The  Fair  Maid  of  Perth';  he  was  the  champion  of 
Bonapartism  and  opposition.     They  relied  upon  him,  as  the 
citizens  of  Perth  had  relied  upon  Smith  on  great  occasions." 
A  possible  Caesar  Borgia  on    more  extensive  ground,  Gilet 
lived  very   comfortably,    although  without    a    personal    in- 
come.    And  that  is  why  Max  with  certain  inherited  qualities 
and  defects  rashly  went  to  live  with  his  supposed  natural 
brother,  Jean-Jacques  Rouget,  a  rich  and  witless  old  bachelor 
who  was  under  the  thumb  of  a  superb  servant-mistress,  Flore 
Brazier,  known  as  La  Rabouilleuse.     After  1816  Gilet  lorded 
it  over  the  household;  the  handsome  chap  had  won  the  heart 


190  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

of  Mile.  Brazier.  Surrounded  by  a  sort  of  staff,  Maxence  con- 
tested  the  important  inheritance  of  Rouget,  maintaining  his 
ground  with  marvelous  skill  against  the  two  lawful  heirs, 
Agathe  and  Joseph  Bridau;  and  he  would  have  appropriated 
it  but  for  the  intervention  of  a  third  heir,  Philippe  Bridau. 
Max  was  killed  in  a  duel  by  Philippe  in  the  early  part  of 
December,  1822.  [A  Bachelor's  Establishment.] 

Gilll,  once  printer  to  the  Emperor;  owner  of  script  let- 
ters which  Jerome-Nicolas  Se"chard  made  use  of  in  1819, 
claiming  for  them  that  they  were  the  ancestors  of  the  Eng- 
lish type  of  Didot.  [Lost  Illusions.] 

Gina,  character  in  "L'Ambitieux  par  Amour,"  autobio- 
graphical novel  by  Albert  Savarus;  a  sort  of  "ferocious" 
Sormano.  Represented  as  a  young  Sicilian  girl,  fourteen 
years  old,  in  the  services  of  the  Gandolphinis,  political  refugees 
at  Gersau,  Switzerland,  in  1823.  So  devoted  as  to  pretend 
dumbness  on  occasion,  and  to  wound  more  or  less  seriously 
the  hero  of  the  romance,  Rodolphe,  who  had  secretly  entered 
the  Gandolphini  home.  [Albert  Savarus.] 

Ginetta  (La),  young  Corsican  girl.  Very  small  and  slender, 
but  no  less  clever.  Mistress  of  Theodore  Calvi,  and  an 
accomplice  in  the  double  crime  committed  by  her  lover, 
towards  the  end  of  the  Restoration,  when  she  was  able  on 
account  of  her  small  size  to  creep  down  an  open  chimney  at 
the  widow  Pigeau's,  and  thus  to  open  the  house  door  for 
Theodore  who  robbed  and  murdered  the  two  inmates,  the 
widow  and  the  servant.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Girard,  banker  and  discounter  at  Paris  during  the  Restora- 
tion; perhaps  also  somewhat  of  a  pawnbroker;  an  acquaint- 
ance of  Esther  Gobseck' s.  Like  Palma,  Werbrust  and 
Gigonnet,  he  held  a  number  of  notes  signed  by  Maxime  de 
Trailles;  and  Gobseck  who  knew  it  used  them  against  the 
count,  then  the  lover  of  Mme.  de  Restaud,  when  Trailles  went 
to  the  usurer  in  rue  des  Gres  and  besought  assistance  in  vain. 
[Gobseck.] 

Girard  (Mother),  who  ran  a  little  restaurant  at  Paris  in  rue 
de  Tournon,  prior  to  1838,  had  a  successor  with  whom  Code- 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  191 

froid  promised  to  board  when  he  was  inspecting  the  left  bank 
of  the  Seine,  and  trying  to  aid  the  Bourlac-Mergis.  [The 
Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Girardet,  attorney  at  Besancon,  between  1830  and  1840. 
A  talkative  fellow  and  adherent  of  Albert  Savarus,  he  fol- 
lowed, probably  in  the  latter's  interest,  the  beginning  of  the 
Watteville  suit.  When  Savarus  left  Besancon  suddenly, 
Girardet  tried  to  straighten  out  his  colleague's  affairs,  and 
advanced  him  five  thousand  francs.  [Albert  Savarus.] 

Giraud  (Le"on),  was  at  Paris  in  1821  member  of  the  Ce"nacle 
of  rue  des  Quatre-Vents,  presided  over  by  Daniel  d'Arthez. 
He  represented  the  philosophical  element.  His  "  doctrines  " 
predicted  the  end  of  Christianity  and  of  the  family.  In  1821 
he  was  also  in  charge  of  a  "grave  and  dignified"  opposition 
journal.  He  became  the  head  of  a  moral  and  political  school, 
whose  "sincerity  atoned  for  its  errors."  [A  Distinguished 
Provincial  at  Paris.]  About  the  same  time  Giraud  frequented 
the  home  of  the  mother  of  his  friend  Joseph  Bridau,  and  was 
going  there  at  the  time  when  the  painter's  elder  brother,  the 
Bonapartist  Philippe,  got  into  trouble.  [A  Bachelor's  Estab- 
lishment.] The  Revolution  of  July  opened  the  political 
career  of  Le"on  Giraud  who  became  master  of  requests  in  1832, 
and  afterwards  councilor  of  state.  In  1845  Giraud  was  a 
member  of  the  Chamber,  sitting  in  the  Left  Centre.  [The 
Secrets  of  a  Princess.  The  Unconscious  Humorists.] 

Girel,  of  Troyes.  According  to  Michu,  Girel,  a  Royalist 
like  himself,  during  the  first  Revolution,  played  the  Jacobin 
in  the  interest  of  his  fortune.  From  1803  to  •  1806,  at  any 
rate,  he  was  in  correspondence  with  the  Strasbourg  house  of 
Breintmayer,  which  dealt  with  the  Simeuse  twins  when  they 
were  tracked  by  Bonaparte's  police.  [The  Gondreville  Mys- 
tery.] 

Girodet  (Anne-Louis),  celebrated  painter,  born  at  Montargis, 
in  1767;  died  at  Paris  in  1824.  Under  the  Empire  he  was 
on  friendly  terms  with  his  colleague,  Theodore  cle  Sommer- 
vicux.  One  day  in  the  latter's  studio  he  greatly  admired  a 
portrait  of  Augustine  Guillaume  and  an  interior,  which  he 


192  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

advised  him  but  in  vain  not  to  exhibit  at  the  Salon,  thinking 
the  two  works  too  true  to  nature  to  be  appreciated  by  the  pub- 
lic. [At  the  Sign  of  the  Cat  and  Racket.] 

Giroud  (Abbe"),  confessor  of  Rosalie  de  Watte ville  at 
Besangon  between  1830  and  1840.  [Albert  Savarus.] 

Giroudeau,  born  about  1774.  Uncle  of  Andoche  Finot; 
began  as  simple  soldier  in  the  army  of  Sambre  and  Meuse ;  five 
years  master-at-arms  in  the  First  Hussars — army  of  Italy; 
charged  at  Eylau  with  Colonel  Chabert.  He  passed  into  the 
dragoons  of  the  Imperial  Guard,  where  he  was  captain  in  1815. 
The  Restoration  interrupted  his  military  career.  Finot, 
manager  of  various  Parisian  papers  and  reviews,  put  him  in 
charge  of  the  cash  and  accounts  of  a  little  journal  devoted  to 
dramatic  news,  which  he  ran  from  1821  to  1822.  Giroudeau 
was  also  the  editor,  and  his  duty  it  was  to  wage  the  warfare; 
beyond  that  he  lived  a  gay  life.  Although  on  the  wrong  side 
of  forty  and  afflicted  with  catarrh  he  had  for  mistress  Floren- 
tine Cabirolle  of  the  Gaite*.  He  went  with  the  high- 
livers — among  others  with  his  former  mess-mate  Philippe 
Bridau,  at  whose  wedding  with  Flore  Brazier  he  was  present 
in  1824.  In  November,  1825,  Frederic  Marest  gave  a  grand 
breakfast  to  Desroches'  clerks  at  the  Rocher  de  Cancale,  to 
which  Giroudeau  was  invited.  All  spent  the  evening  with 
Florentine  Cabirolle  who  entertained  them  royally  but 
involuntarily  got  Oscar  Husson  into  trouble.  Ex-Captain 
Giroudeau  bore  firearms  during  the  "three  glorious  days," 
re-entered  the  service  after  the  accession  of  citizen  royalty 
and  soon  became  colonel  then  general,  1834-35.  At  this  time 
he  was  enabled  to  satisfy  a  legitimate  resentment  against  his 
former  friend,  Bridau,  and  block  his  advancement.  [A  Dis- 
tinguished Provincial  at  Paris.  A  Start  in  Life.  A  Bach- 
elor's Establishment.] 

Givry,  one  of  several  names  of  the  second  son  of  the  Due  de 
Chaulieu,  who  became  by  his  marriage  with  Madeleine  de 
Mortsauf  a  Lenoncourt-Givry-Chaulieu.  [Letters  of  Two 
Brides.  The  Lily  of  the  Valley.  Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's 
life.] 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  193 

Gobain  (Madame  Marie),  formerly  cook  to  a  bishop;  lived 
during  the  Restoration  in  Paris  on  rue  Saint-Maur,  Popinot 
quarter,  under  very  peculiar  circumstances.  She  was  in  the 
service  of  Octave  de  Bauvan.  Was  the  maid  and  house- 
keeper of  Comtes  e  Honorine  when  the  latter  left  home  and 
became  a  maker  of  artificial  flowers.  Mme.  Gobain  had  been 
secretly  engaged  by  M.  de  Bauvan,  who  through  her  was 
enabled  to  keep  watch  over  his  wife.  Gobain  displayed  the 
greatest  loyalty.  At  one  time  the  comtesse  took  the  ser- 
vant's name.  [Honorine.] 

Gobenheim,  brother-in-law  of  Francois  and  Adolphe  Keller, 
whose  name  he  added  to  his  own.  About  1819  in  Paris  he  was 
at  first  made  receiver  in  the  Ce"sar  Birotteau  bankruptcy,  but 
was  later  replaced  by  Camusot.  [Ce'sar  Birotteau.]  Under 
Louis  Philippe,  Gobenheim,  as  broker  for  the  Paris  prosecut- 
ing office,  invested  the  very  considerable  savings  of  Mme. 
Fabien  du  Ronceret.  [Beatrix.] 

Gobenheim,  nephew  of  Gobenheim-Keller  of  Paris;  young 
banker  of  Havre  in  1829;  visited  the  Mignons,  but  not  as  a 
suitor  for  the  heiress'  hand.  [Modeste  Mignon.] 

Gobet  (Madame),  in  1829  at  Havre  made  shoes  for  Mme.  and 
Mile.  Mignon.  Was  scolded  by  the  latter  for  lack  of  style. 
[Modeste  Mignon.] 

Gobseck  (Jean-Esther  Van),  usurer,  born  in  1740  at  Ant- 
werp of  a  Jewess  and  a  Dutchman.  Began  as  a  cabin-boy. 
Was  only  ten  years  of  age  when  his  mother  sent  him  off  to  the 
Dutch  possessions  in  India.  There  and  in  America  he  met 
distinguished  people,  also  several  corsairs;  traveled  all  over 
the  world  and  tried  many  trades.  The  passion  for  money 
took  entire  hold  of  him.  Finally  he  came  to  Paris  which 
became  the  centre  of  his  operations,  and  established  himself 
on  rue  des  Gr£s.  There  Gobseck,  like  a  spider  in  his  w<>!> 
crushed  the  pride  of  Maxime  de  Trailles  and  brought  tears  to 
the  eyes  of  Mme.de  Restaud  and  Jean-Joachim  Goriot — 1819. 
About  this  same  time  Ferdinand  du  Tillct  sought  out  the 
money-lender  to  make  some  deals  with  him,  and  spoke  of  him 
as  "Gobseck  the  Great,  master  of  Palma,  Gigonnet,  Werbrust, 
Keller  and  Nucingen."  Gobseck  went  every  evening  to  the 


194  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Themis  cafe1  to  play  dominoes  with  his  friend  Bidault-Gigon- 
net.  In  December,  1824,  he  was  found  there  by  Elisabeth 
Baudoyer,  whom  he  promised  to  aid;  indeed,  supported  by 
Mitral,  he  was  able  to  influence  Lupeaulx  to  put  in  Isidore 
Baudoyer  as  chief  of  division  succeeding  La  Billardiere.  In 
1830,  Gobseck,  then  an  octogenarian,  died  in  his  wretched  hole 
on  rue  des  Ore's  though  he  was  enormously  wealthy.  Der- 
ville  received  his  last  wishes.  He  had  obtained  a  wife  for 
the  lawyer  and  entrusted  him  with  several  confidences. 
Fifteen  years  after  the  Dutchman's  death,  he  was  spoken  of 
on  the  boulevard  as  the  "Last  of  the  Romans" — among  the 
old-fashioned  money-lenders  like  Gigonnet,  Chaboisseau,  and 
Samanon,  against  whom  Lora  and  Bixiou  set  the  modern 
Vauvinet.  [Gobseck.  Father  Goriot.  C6sar  Birotteau.  The 
Government  Clerks.  The  Unconscious  Humorists.] 

Gobseck  (Sarah  Van),  called  "La  Belle  Hollandaise."  A 
peculiarity  of  this  family — as  well  as  the  Maranas — that  the 
female  side  always  kept  the  family  name.  Thus  Sarah 
Van  Gobseck  was  the  grand-niece  of  Jean-Esther  Van  Gob- 
seck. This  prostitute,  mother  of  Esther,  who  was  also  a 
courtesan,  was  a  typical  daughter  of  Paris.  She  caused  the 
bankruptcy  of  Roguin,  Birotteau's  attorney,  and  was  herself 
ruined  by  Maxime  de  Trailles  whom  she  adored  and  main- 
tained when  he  was  a  page  to  Napoleon.  She  died  in  a  house 
on  Palais-Royal,  the  victim  of  a  love-mad  captain,  December, 
1818.  The  affair  created  a  stir.  Juan  and  Francis  Diard  had 
something  to  say  about  it.  Esther's  name  lived  after  her. 
The  Paris  of  the  boulevards  from  1824  to  1839  often  mentioned 
her  prodigal  and  stormy  career.  [Gobseck.  Cesar  Birotteau. 
The  Maranas.  Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.  The  Mem- 
ber for  Arcis.] 

Gobseck  (Esther  Van),  born  in  1805  of  Jewish  origin; 
daughter  of  the  preceding  and  great-grand-niece  of  Jean.  For 
a  long  time  in  Paris  she  followed  her  mother's  calling,  and 
having  begun  it  early  in  life  she  knew  its  varied  phases. 
Was  nick-named  "La  Torpille."  Was  for  some  time  one  of 
the  "rats"  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  Music,  and  numbered 
among  her  protectors,  Lupeaulx.  In  1823  her  reduced 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  19* 

circumstances  almost  forced  her  to  leave  Paris  for  Issoudun, 
where,  for  a  machiavellian  purpose,  Philippe  Bridau  would 
have  made  her  the  mistress  of  Jean-Jacques  Rouget.     The 
affair  did  not  materialize.     She  went  to  Mme.  Meynardie's 
house  where  she  remained  till  about  the  end  of  1823.     One 
evening,  while  passing,  the  Porte-Saint-Martin  theatre,  she 
chanced  to  meet  Lucien  de  Rubempre,  and  they  loved  each 
other  at  first  sight.     Their  passion  led  into  many  vicissitudes. 
The  poet  and  the  ex-prostitute  were  rash  enough  to  attend  an 
Opera  ball  together  in  the  winter  of  1824.     Unmasked  and 
insulted  Esther  fled  to  rue  de  Langlade,  where  she  lived  in 
dire   poverty.      The    dangerous,    powerful   and   mysterious 
protector  of  Rubempre',  Jacques  Collin,  followed  her  there, 
lectured    her   and   shaped    her   future    life,   making   her   a 
Catholic,  educating  her  carefully  and  finally  installing  her  with 
Lucien  on  rue  Taitbout,  under  the  surveillance  of  Jacque- 
line Collin,  Paccard  and  Prudence  Servien.     She  could  go  out 
only  at  night.     Nevertheless,  the  Baron  de  Nucingen  dis- 
covered her  and  fell  madly  in  love  with  her.     Jacques  Collin 
profited  by  the  episode;  Esther  received  the  banker's  atten- 
tions, to  the  enrichment  of  Lucien.      In  1830  she  owned  a 
house  on  rue   Saint-Georges  which  had  belonged  previously 
to  several  celebrated  courtesans;    there  she  received  Mme. 
du  Val-Noble,  Tullia  and  Florentine — two  dancers,  Fanny 
Beaupre  and  Florine — two  actresses.     Her  new  position  re- 
sulted in  police  intervention  on  the  part  of  Louchard,  Con- 
tenson,  Peyrade    and  Corentin.     On  May  13,  1830,  unable 
longer  to  endure  Nucingen,  La  Torpille  swallowed  a  Javanese 
poison.     She  died  without  knowing  that  she  had  fallen  heir  to 
seven    millions    left    by    her    great-grand-uncle.     [Gobseck. 
The  Firm  of  Nucingen.     A  Bachelor's  Establishment.    Scenes 
from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Godain,  born  in  1796,  in  Burgundy,  near  Soulanges,  Blangy 
and  Ville-aux-Fayes ;  nephew  of  one  of  the  masons  who  built 
Mme.  Soudry's  house.  A  shiftless  farm  laborer,  exempt  from 
military  duty  on  account  of  smallness  of  stature;  was  at  first 
the  lover,  then  the  husband,  of  Catherine  Tonsard,  whom  he 
married  about  1823.  [The  Peasantry.] 


196  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Godain  (Madame  Catherine),  the  eldest  of  the  legiti- 
mate daughters  of  Tonsard,  landlord  of  the  Grand-I-Vert, 
situated  between  Conches  and  Ville-aux-Fayes  in  Burgundy. 
Of  coarse  beauty  and  by  nature  depraved;  a  hanger-on  at 
the  Tivoli-Socquard,  and  a  devoted  sister  to  Nicolas  Tonsard 
for  whom  she  tried  to  obtain  Genevieve  Niseron.  Courted  by 
Charles,  valet  at  Aigues.  Feared  by  Amaury  Lupin.  Mar- 
ried Godain  one  of  her  lovers,  giving  a  dowry  of  a  thousand 
francs  cunningly  obtained  from  Mme.  Montcornet.  [The 
Peasantry.] 

Godard  (Joseph),  born  in  1798,  probably  at  Paris;  related 
slightly  to  the  Baudoyers  through  Mitral.  Stunted  and 
puny;  fifer  in  the  National  Guard;  "crank"  collector  of 
curios;  a  virtuous  bachelor  living  with  his  sister,  a  florist  on 
rue  Richelieu.  Between  1824  and  1825  a  possible  assistant 
in  the  Department  of  Finance  in  the  bureau  managed  by 
Isidore  Baudoyer,  whose  son-in-law  he  dreamed  of  becoming. 
An  easy  mark  for  Bixiou's  practical  jokes.  With  Dutocq  he 
was  an  unwavering  adherent  of  the  Baudoyers  and  their 
relatives  the  Saillards.  [The  Government  Clerks.  The 
Middle  Classes.] 

Godard  (Mademoiselle),  sister  of  the  foregoing,  and  lived  on 
rue  Richelieu,  Paris,  where  in  1824  she  ran  a  florist's  shop. 
Mile.  Godard  employed  Zelie  Lorain  who  became  later  the 
wife  of  Minard.  She  received  him  and  Dutocq.  [The 
Government  Clerks.] 

Godard  (Manon),  serving- woman  of  Mme.  de  la  Chanterie; 
arrested  in  1809,  between  Alencon  and  Mortagne,  implicated 
in  the  Chauffeurs  trial  which  ended  in  the  capital  punishment 
of  Mme.  des  Tours-Minieres,  daughter  of  Mme.  de  la  Chanterie. 
Manon  Godard  was  sentenced  by  default  to  twenty-two  years 
imprisonment,  and  gave  herself  up  in  order  not  to  abandon  her 
mistress.  A  long  time  after  the  baroness  was  set  free,  time 
of  Louis  Philippe,  Manon  was  still  living  with  her,  on  rue 
Chanoinesse,  in  the  house  which  sheltered  Alain,  Montauran 
and  Godefroid.  [The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Goddet,  retired  surgeon-major  of  the  Third  regiment  of  the 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMED1E  HUMAINE  197 

line;  the  leading  physician  of  Issoudun  in  1823.  His  son 
was  one  of  the  "Knights  of  Idlesse."  Goddet  junior  pre- 
tended to  pay  court  to  Mme.  Fichet,  in  order  to  reach  her 
daughter  who  had  the  best  dowry  in  Issoudun.  [A  Bach- 
elor's Establishment.] 

Godefroid,  known  only  by  his  given  name;  born  about  1806, 
probably  at  Paris;  son  of  a  wealthy  merchant;  educated  at  the 
Liautard  Institution;  naturally  feeble,  morally  and  physi- 
cally; tried  his  hand  at  and  made  a  failure  of:  law,  govern- 
mental work,  letters,  pleasure,  journalism,  politics  and  mar- 
riage. At  the  close  of  1836  he  found  himself  poor  and  for- 
saken; thereupon  he  tried  to  pay  his  debts  and  live  economi- 
cally. He  left  Chaussee-d'Antin  and  took  up  his  abode  on 
me  Chanoinesse,  where  he  became  one  of  Mme.  de  la  Chan- 
teries'  boarders,  known  as  the  "Brotherhood  of  the  Consola- 
tion." The  recommendation  of  the  Monegods,  bankers,  led  to 
his  admission.  Abbe  de  V£ze,  Montauran,  Tresnes,  Alain,  and 
above  all  the  baroness  initiated  him,  coached  him,  and 
entrusted  to  him  various  charitable  missions.  Among  others, 
about  the  middle  of  the  reign  of  Louis  Philippe,  he  took 
charge  of  and  relieved  the  frightful  poverty  of  the  Bourlacs 
and  the  Mergis,  the  head  of  which  as  an  imperial  judge  in  1809 
had  sentenced  Mme.  de  la  Chanterie  and  her  daughter.  After 
he  succeeded  with  this  generous  undertaking,  Godefroid  was 
admitted  to  the  Brotherhood.  [The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Godenars  (Abbe"  de),  born  about  1795;  one  of  the  vicars- 
general  of  the  archbishop  of  Besanc,  on.  between  1830  and  1840. 
From  1835  on  he  tried  to  get  a  bishopric.  One  evening  he  was 
present  at  the  aristocratic  salon  of  the  Wattevilles,  at  the 
time  of  the  sudden  flight  of  Albert  Savarus,  caused  by  their 
young  daughter.  [Albert  Savarus.] 

Godeschal  (Franc, ois-Claude-Marie),  born  about  1804.  In 
1818,  at  Paris,  he  was  third  clerk  in  the  law  office  of  Derville, 
rue  Vivienne,  when  the  unfortunate  Chabert  appeared  upon 
the  scene.  [Colonel  Chabert.]  In  1820,  then  an  orphan  and 
poor,  he  and  his  sister,  the  dancer  Mariettc,  to  whom  he  waa 
devoted,  lived  on  an  eighth  floor  on  rue  Vielle-du-Temple.  1  lo 


198  REPERTOKY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

had  already  given  evidence  of  a  practical  temperament,  inde- 
pendent and  self-seeking,  but  upright  and  capable  of  generous 
outbursts.  [A  Bachelor's  Establishment.]  In  1822,  having 
risen  to  second  clerk,  he  left  Maitre  Derville  to  become  head- 
clerk  in  Desroches'  office,  who  was  greatly  pleased  with  him. 
Godeschal  even  unolertook  to  reform  Oscar  Husson.  [A 
Start  in  Life.]  Six  years  later,  while  still  Desroches'  head- 
clerk,  he  drew  up  a  petition  wherein  Mme.  d'Espard  prayed  a 
guardian  for  her  husband. '  [The  Commission  in  Lunacy.] 
Under  Louis  Philippe  he  became  one  of  the  advocates  of  Paris 
and  paid  half  his  fees — 1840 — proposing  to  pay  the  other  half 
with  the  dowry  of  Celeste  Colleville,  whose  hand  was  refused 
him,  despite  the  recommendation  of  Cardot  the  notary.  Was 
engaged  for  Peyrade,  in  the  purchase  of  a  house  near  the 
Madeleine.  [The  Middle  Classes.]  About  1845  Godeschal 
was  still  practicing,  and  numbered  among  his  clients  the 
Camusots  de  Marville.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Godeschal  (Marie),  born  about  1804.  She  maintained, 
almost  all  her  life,  the  nearest  and  most  tender  relations  with 
her  brother  Godeschal  the  notary.  Without  relatives  or 
means,  she  kept  house  with  him  in  1820,  on  the  eighth  floor 
of  a  house  on  rue  Vielle-du-Temple,  Paris.  Ambition  and 
love  for  her  brother  caused  her  to  become  a  dancer.  She 
had  studied  her  profession  from  her  tenth  year.  The 
famous  Vestris  instructed  her  and  predicted  great  things  for 
her.  Under  the  name  of  Mariette,  she  was  engaged  at  the 
Porte-Saint-Martin  and  the  Royal  Academy  of  Music.  Her 
success  displeased  the  famous  Begrand.  In  January,  1821, 
her  angelic  beauty,  maintained  despite  her  profession,  opened 
to  her  the  doors  of  the  OpeYa.  Then  she  had  lovers.  The  aristo- 
cratic and  elegant  Maufrigneuse  protected  her  for  several  years. 
Mariette  also  favored  Philippe  Bridau  and  was  the  innocent 
cause  of  a  theft  committed  by  him  in  order  to  enable  him  to 
contend  with  Maufrigneuse.  Four  months  later  she  went  to 
London,  where  she  won  the  rich  members  of  the  House  of 
Lords,  and  returned  as  premiere  to  the  Academy  of  Music. 
She  was  intimate  with  Florentine  Cabirolle,  who  often  received 
in  the  Marais.  There  it  was  that  Mariette  kept  Oscar  Husson 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  199 

out  of  serious  trouble.  Mariette  attended  many  festivities. 
And  at  the  close  of  the  reign  of  Louis  Philippe,  she  was  still  a 
leading  figure  in  the  Ope'ra.  [A  Bachelor's  Establishment. 
A  Start  in  Life.  Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.  Cousin 
Pons.] 

Godin,  under  Louis  Philippe,  a  Parisian  bourgeois  engaged 
in  a  lively  dispute  with  a  friend  of  La  Palfe>ine's.  [A  Prince 
of  Bohemia.] 

Godin  (La),  peasant  woman  of  Conches,  Burgundy,  about 
1823,  whose  cow  Vermichel  threatened  to  seize  for  the  Comte 
de  Montcornet.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Godivet,  recorder  of  registry  of  Arcis-sur-Aube  in  1839. 
Through  the  scheming  of  Pigouit  he  was  chosen  as  one  of  the 
two  agents  for  an  electoral  meeting  called  by  Simon  Giguet, 
one  of  the  candidates,  and  presided  over  by  Phile'as  Beau- 
visage.  [The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Godollo  (Comtesse  Torna  de),  probably  a  Hungarian; 
police  spy  reporting  to  Corcntin.  Was  ordered  to  prevent 
the  marriage  of  Th<§odose  de  la  Peyrade  and  Celeste  Colleville. 
To  accomplish  this  she  went  to  live  in  the  Thuilliers'  house, 
Paris,  in  1840,  cultivated  them  and  finally  ruled  them.  She 
sometimes  assumed  the  name  of  Mme.  Komorn.  Her  wit  and 
beauty  exercised  a  passing  effect  upon  Peyrade.  [The 
Middle  Classes.] 

Goguelat,  infantryman  of  the  first  Empire,  entered  the 
Guard  in  1812;  was  decorated  by  Napoleon  on  the  battlefield 
of  Valontina;  returned  during  the  Restoration  to  the  village 
of  Isere,  of  which  Benassis  was  mayor,  and  became  postman. 
[The  Country  Doctor.] 

Gohier,  goldsmith  to  the  King  of  France  in  1824;  supplied 
Elisabeth  Baudoyer  with  the  monstrance  with  which  she 
decorated  the  church  of  Saint  Paul,  in  order  to  bring  about 
Isidore  Baudoyer's  promotion  in  office.  [The  Government 
Clerks.] 

Gomez,  captain  of  the  "Saint  Ferdinand,"  a  Spanish  brig 
which  in  1833  conveyed  the  newly-enriched  Marquis  d'Aiglo- 
mont  from  America  to  France.  Gomez  was  boarded  by  a 


200  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Columbian  corsair  whose  captain,  the  Parisian,  ordered  him 
cast  overboard.     [A  Woman  of  Thirty.] 

Gondrand  (Abbe),  confessor,  under  the  Restoration,  at  Paris, 
of  the  Duchesse  Antoinette  de  Langeais,  whose  excellent 
dinners  and  petty  sins  he  dealt  with  at  his  ease  in  her  salon 
where  Montriveau  often  found  him.  [The  Thirteen.] 

Gondreville  (Malin,  his  real  name;  more  frequently  known 
as  the  Comte  de),  born  in  1763,  probably  at  Arcis-sur-Aube. 
Short  and  stout;  grandson  of  a  mason  employed  by  Marquis 
de  Simeuse  in  the  building  of  the  Gondreville  chateau;  only 
son  of  the  owner  of  a  house  at  Arcis  where  dwelt  his  friend 
GreVin  in  1839.  On  the  recommendation  of  Danton,  he 
entered  the  office  of  the  attorney  at  the  chatelet,  Paris,  in  1787. 
Head  clerk  for  Maitre  Bordin  in  the  same  city,  the  same  year. 
Returned  to  the  country  two  years  later  to  become  a  lawyer  at 
Troyes.  Became  an  obscure  and  cowardly  member  of  the 
Convention.  Acquired  the  friendship  of  Talleyrand  and 
Fouche",  in  June,  1800,  under  singular  and  opportune  circum- 
stances. Successively  and  rapidly  became  tribune,  coun- 
cilor of  state,  count  of  the  Empire — created  Comte  de  Gondre- 
ville— and  finally  senator.  As  councilor  of  state,  Gondre- 
ville devoted  his  attention  to  the  preparation  of  the  code. 
He  cut  a  dash  at  Paris.  He  had  purchased  one  of  the  finest 
mansions  in  Faubourg  Saint-Germain  and  married  the  only 
daughter  of  Sibuelle,  a  wealthy  contractor  of  "  shady  "  char- 
acter whom  Gondreville  made  co-receiver  of  Aube,with  Marion. 
The  marriage  was  celebrated  during  the  Directory  or  the 
Consulate.  Three  children  were  the  result  of  this  union: 
Charles  de  Gondreville,  Marechale  de  Carigliano,  Mme. 
Frangois  Keller.  In  his.  own  interest,  Malin  attached  himself 
to  Bonaparte.  Later,  in  the  presence  of  the  Emperor  and  of 
Dubois,  the  prefect  of  police,  Gondreville  selfishly  simulated 
a  false  generosity  and  asked  that  the  Hauteserres  and 
Simeuses  be  striken  from  the  list  of  the  proscribed.  After- 
wards they  were  falsely  accused  of  kidnapping  him.  As 
senator  in  1809,  Malin  gave  a  grand  ball  at  Paris,  when  he 
vainly  awaited  the  Emperor's  appearance,  and  when  Mme. 
de  Lansac  reconciled  the  Soulanges  family.  Louis  XVIII. 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  201 

made  him  peer  of  France.  His  wide  experience  and  owner- 
ship of  many  secrets  aided  Gondreville,  whose  counsels 
hindered  Decazes  and  helped  Villele.  Charles  X.  disliked  him 
because  he  remained  too  intimate  with  Talleyrand.  Under 
Louis  Philippe  this  bond  was  relaxed.  The  July  monarchy 
heaped  honors  upon  him  by  making  him  peer  once  more. 
One  evening  in  1833  he  met  at  the  home  of  the  Princesse  de 
Cadignan,  Henri  de  Marsay,  the  prime  minister,  who  had  an 
inexhaustible  fund  of  political  stories,  new  to  all  the  company 
save  Gondreville.  He  was  much  engrossed  with  the  elections 
of  1839,  and  gave  his  influence  to  his  grandson,  Charles 
Keller,  for  Arcis.  He  concerned  himself  little  with  the  can- 
didates, who  were  finally  elected;  Dorlange-Sallenauve, 
Phileas  Beauvisage,  Trailles  and  Giguet.  [The  Gondreville 
Mystery.  A  Start  in  Life.  Domestic  Peace.  The  Member 
for  Arcis.] 

Gondreville  (Comtesse  Malin  de),  born  Sibuelle;  wife  of 
foregoing;  person  whose  complete  insignificance  was  mani- 
fest at  the  great  ball  given  in  Paris  by  the  count  in  1809. 
[Domestic  Peace.] 

Gondreville  (Charles  de),  son  of  the  preceding,  and  sub- 
lieutenant of  dragoons  in  1818.  Young  and  wealthy,  he 
died  in  the  Spanish  campaign  of  1823.  His  death  caused 
great  sorrow  to  his  mistress,  Mme.  Colleville.  [The  Middle 
Classes.] 

Gondrin,  born  in  1774,  in  the  department  of  Iserc.  Con- 
scripted in  1792  and  put  in  the  artillery.  Was  in  the  Italian 
and  Egyptian  campaigns  under  Bonaparte,  as  a  private, 
and  returned  east  after  the  Peace  of  Amiens.  Enrolled, 
during  the  Empire,  in  the  pontoon  corps  of  the  Guard,  he 
marched  through  Germany  and  Russia;  was  in  the  battle 
at  Beresina  aiding  to  build  the  bridge  by  which  the  remnant 
of  the  army  escaped ;  writh  forty-one  comrades,  received  the 
praise  of  General  Eble  who  singled  him  out  particularly. 
Returned  to  Wilna,  as  the  only  survivor  of  the  corps  after 
the  death  of  Eble  and  in  the  beginning  of  the  Restoration. 
Unable  to  read  or  write,  deaf  and  decrepit,  Gondrin  for- 


202  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

lornly  left  Paris  which  had  treated  him  inhospitably,  and 
returned  to  the  village  .in  Dauphine,  where  the  mayor,  Dr. 
Benassis,  gave  him  work  as  a  ditcher  and  continued  to  aid 
him  in  1829.  [The  Country  Doctor.] 

Gondrin  (Abbe),  young  Parisian  priest  about  the  middle 
of  the  reign  of  Louis  Philippe.  Exquisite  and  eloquent. 
Knew  the  Thuilliers.  [The  Middle  Classes.] 

Gondureau,  assumed  name  of  Bibi-Lupin. 

Gonore  (La),  widow  of  Moses  the  Jew,  chief  of  the  south- 
ern rouleurs,  in  May,  -1830;  mistress  of  Dannepont  the  thief 
and  assassin;  ran  a  house  of  ill-repute  on  rue  Sainte-Barbe 
for  Mme.  Nourrisson.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Gordes  (Mademoiselle  de),  at  the  head  of  an  aristocratic 
salon  of  Alengon,  about  1816,  while  her  father,  the  aged 
Marquis  de  Gordes,  was  still  living  with  her.  [Jealousies 
of  a  Country  Town.] 

Gorenflot,  mason  of  Vendome,  who  walled  up  the  closet 
concealing  Mme.  de  Merret's  lover,  the  Spaniard  Bagos  de 
Fere'dia.  [La  Grande  Breteche.] 

Gorenflot,  probably  posed  for  Quasimodo  of  Hugo's 
"  Notre-Dame."  Decrepit,  misshapen,  deaf,  diminutive,  he 
lived  in  Paris  about  1839,  and  was  organ-blower  and  bell- 
ringer  in  the  church  of  Saint-Louis  en  Pile.  He  also  acted 
as  messenger  in  the  confidential  financial  correspondence 
between  Bricheteau  and  Dorlange-Sallenauve.  [The  Mem- 
ber for  Arcis.] 

Goriot,1  (Jean- Joachim),  born  about  1750;  started  as  a 
porter  in  the  grain  market.  During  the  first  Revolution, 
although  he  had  received  no  education,  but  having  a  trad- 
er's instinct,  he  began  the  manufacture  of  vermicelli  and 
made  a  fortune  out  of  it.  Thrift  and  fortune  favored  him 
under  the  Terror.  He  passed  for  a  bold  citizen  and  fierce 
patriot.  Prosperity  enabled  him  to  marry  from  choice  the 
only  daughter  of  a  wealthy  farmer  of  Brie,  who  died  young 

i  Two  Parisian  theatres  and  five  authors  have  depicted  Goriot's  life  on  the  stage; 
March  6,  1835,  at  the  Vaudeville,  Ancelot  and  Paul  Dnpont;  the  same  year,  the 
month  following,  at  the  Varietes,  The'aulon,  Alexis  de  Comberousse  and  Jaime  Pere. 
Also  the  Eceuf  Oras  of  a  carnival  in  a  succeeding  year  bore  the  name  of  Goriot. 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMED1E  HUMA1NE  203 

and  adored.  Upon  their  two  children,  Anastasie  and  Del- 
phine,  he  lavished  all  the  tenderness  of  which  their  mother 
had  been  the  recipient,  spoiling  them  with  fine  things.  Go- 
riot's  griefs  date  from  the  day  he  set  each  up  in  housekeeping 
in  magnificent  fashion  on  Chaussee-d'Antin.  Far  from 
being  grateful  for  his  pecuniary  sacrifices,  his  sons-in-law, 
Restaud  and  Nucingen,  and  his  daughters  themselves,  were 
ashamed  of  his  bourgeois  exterior.  In  1813  he  had  retired 
saddened  and  impoverished  to  the  Vauquer  boarding-house 
on  rue  Neuve-Sainte-Genevieve.  The  quarrels  of  his  daugh- 
ters and  the  greedy  demands  for  money  increased  and  in  1819 
followed  him  thither.  Almost  all  the  guests  of  the  house 
and  especially  Mme.  Vauquer  herself — whose  ambitious  de- 
signs upon  him  had  come  to  naught — united  in  persecuting 
Goriot,  now  well-nigh  poverty-stricken.  He  found  an  agree- 
able respite  when  he  acted  as  a  go-between  for  the  illicit 
love  affair  of  Mme.  de  Nucingen  and  Rastignac,  his  fellow- 
lodger.  The  financial  distress  of  Mme.  de  Restaud,  Trailles' 
victim,  gave  Goriot  the  finishing  blow.  He  was  compelled 
to  give  up  the  final  and  most  precious  bit  of  his  silver  plate, 
and  beg  the  assistance  of  Gobseck  the  usurer.  He  was 
crushed.  A  serious  attack  of  apoplexy  carried  him  off. 
He  died  on  rue  Neuve-Sainte-Genevieve.  Rastignac  watched 
over  him,  and  Bianchon,  then  an  interne,  attended  him. 
Only  two  men,  Christophe,  Mme.  Vauquer's  servant,  and 
Rastignac,  followed  the  remains  to  Saint-Etienne  du  Mont 
and  to  Pere-Lachaise.  The  empty  carriages  of  his  daughters 
followed  as  far  as  the  cemetery.  [Father  Goriot.] 

Goritza  (Princesse),  a  charming  Hungarian,  celebrated  for 
her  beauty,  towards  the  end  of  Louis  XV.'s  reign,  and  to 
whom  the  youthful  Chevalier  de  Valois  became  so  attached 
that  he  came  near  fighting  on  her  account  with  M.  de  Lauzun ; 
nor  could  he  ever  speak  of  her  without  emotion.  From  1816 
to  1830,  the  Alengon  aristocracy  were  given  glimpses  of  the 
princess's  portrait,  which  adorned  the  chevalier's  gold  snuff- 
box. [Jealousies  of  a  Country  Town.] 

Gorju  (Madame),  wife  of  the  mayor  of  Sancerre,  in  1836, 


204  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

and  mother  of  a  daughter  "  whose  figure  threatened  to  change 
with  her  first  child,"  and  who  sometimes  came  with  her 
to  the  receptions  of  Mme.  de  la  Baudraye,  the  ''Muse  of 
the  Department."  One  evening,  in  the  fall  of  1836,  she 
heard  Lousteau  reading  ironically  fragments  of  "Olympia." 
[The  Muse  of  the  Department.] 

Gothard,  bora  in  1788;  lived  about  1803  in  Arcis-sur- 
Aube,  where  his  courage  and  address  obtained  for  him  the 
place  of  groom  to  Laurence  de  Cinq-Cygne.  Devoted  servant 
of  the  countess;  he  was  one  of  the  principals  acquitted  in 
the  trial  which  ended  with  the  execution  of  Michu.  [The 
Gondreville  Mystery.]  Gothard  never  left  the  service  of 
the  Cinq-Cygne  family.  Thirty-six  years  later  he  was  their 
steward.  With  his  brother-in-law,  Poupard,  the  Arcis 
tavern-keeper,  he  electioneered  for  his  masters.  [The  Mem- 
ber for  Arcis.] 

Goujet  (Abbe),  cure"  of  Cinq-Cygne,  Aube,  about  1792, 
discovered  for  the  son  of  Beauvisage  the  farmer,  who  were 
still  good  Catholics,  the  Greek  name  of  Phileas,  one  of  the 
few  saints  not  abolished  by  the  new  regime.  [The  Member 
for  Arcis.]  Former  abbe"  of  the  Minimes,  and  a  friend  of 
Hauteserre.  Was  the  tutor  of  Adrien  and  Robert  Haute- 
serre;  enjoyed  a  game  of  boston  with  their  parents — 1803. 
His  political  prudence  sometimes  led  him  to  censure  the 
audacity  of  their  kinswoman,  Mile,  de  Cinq-Cygne.  Never- 
theless, he  held  his  own  with  the  persecutor  of  the  house, 
Corentin  the  police-agent;  and  attended  Michu  when  that 
victim  of  a  remarkable  trial,  known  as  "the  abduction  of 
Gondreville,"  went  to  the  scaffold.  During  the  Restoration 
he  became  Bishop  of  Troyes.  [The  Gondreville  Mystery.] 

Goujet  (Mademoiselle),  sister  of  the  foregoing;  good- 
natured  old  maid,  ugly  and  parsimonious,  who  lived  with 
her  brother.  Almost  every  evening  she  played  boston  at 
the  Hauteserres  and  was  terrified  by  Corentin's  visits.  [The 
Gondreville  Mystery.] 

Goulard,  mayor  of  Cinq-Cygne,  Aube,  in  1803.  Tall, 
stout  and  miserly;  married  a  wealthy  tradeswoman  of  Troyes, 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  205 

whose  property,  augmented  by  all  the  lands  of  the  rich  abbey 
of  Valdes-Preux,  adjoined  Cinq-Cygne.  Goulard  lived  in  the 
old  abbey,  which  was  very  near  the  chateau  of  Cinq-Cygne. 
Despite  his  revolutionary  proclivities,  he  closed  his  eyes 
to  the  actions  of  the  Hauteserres  and  Simeuses  who  were 
Royalist  plotters.  [The  Gondreville  Mystery.] 

Goulard  (Antonin),  native  of  Arcis,  like  Simon  Giguet. 
Born  about  1807;  son  of  the  former  huntsman  of  the  Simeuse 
family,  enriched  by  the  purchase  of  public  lands.  (See 
preceding  biography.)  Early  left  motherless,  he  came  to' 
Arcis  to  live  with  his  father,  who  abandoned  the  abbey  of 
Valpreux.  Went  to  the  Imperial  lyceum,  where  he  had 
Simon  Giguet  for  school-mate,  whom  he  afterwards  met  again 
on  the  benches  of  the  Law  school  at  Paris.  Obtained, 
through  Gondreville,  the  Cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honor. 
The  royal  government  of  1830  opened  up  for  him  a  career 
in  the  public  service.  In  1839  he  became  sub-prefect  for 
Arcis-sur-Aube,  during  the  electoral  period.  The  delegate, 
Trailles,  satisfied  Antonin's  rancor  against  Giguet:  his  of- 
ficial recommendations  caused  the  latter's  defeat.  Both 
the  would-be  prefect  and  the  sub-prefect  vainly  sought 
the  hand  of  Cecile  Beauvisage.  Goulard  cultivated  the 
society  of  officialdom:  Marest,  Vinet,  Martener,  Michu. 
[The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Gounod,  nephew  of  Vatel,  keeper  of  the  Montcornet  estate 
at  Aigues,  Burgundy.  About  1823  he  probably  became 
assistant  to  the  head-keeper,  Michaud.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Goupil  (Jean-Sebastien-Marie),  born  in  1802;  a  sort  of 
humpless  hunchback;  son  of  a  well-to-do  farmer.  After 
running  through  with  his  inheritance,  in  Paris,  he  became 
head-clerk  of  the  notary  Cremiere-Dionis,  of  Nemours— 
1829.  On  account  of  Francois  Minoret-Levrault,  he  an- 
noyed in  many  ways,  even  anonymously,  Ursule  Mirouet, 
after  the  death  of  Dr.  Minoret.  Afterwards  he  repented 
his  actions,  repaid  their  instigator,  and  succeeded  the  notary, 
Cremiere-Dionis.  Thanks  to  his  wit,  he  brcatm-  honorable, 
straightforward  and  completely  transformed.  Once  estab- 


206  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

lished,  Goupil  married  Mile.  Massin,  eldest  daughter  of 
Massin-Levrault  junior,  clerk  to  the  justice  of  the  peace 
at  Nemours.  She  was  homely,  had  a  dowry  of  80,000  francs, 
and  gave  him  rickety,  dropsical  children.  Goupil  took 
part  in  the  "three  glorious  days"  and  had  obtained  a  July 
decoration.  He  was  very  proud  of  the  ribbon.  [Ursule 
Mirouet.] 

Gouraud  (General,  Baron),  born  in  1782,  probably  at 
Provins.  Under  the  Empire  he  commanded  the  Second 
"regiment  of  hussars,  which  gave  him  his  rank.  The  Resto- 
ration caused  his  impoverished  years  at  Provins.  He  mixed 
in  politics  and  the  opposition  there,  sought  the  hand  and 
above  all  the  dowry  of  Sylvie  Rogron,  persecuted  the  ap- 
parent heiress  of  the  old  maid,  Mile.  Pierrette  Lorrain — 
1827 — and,  seconded  by  Vinet  the  attorney,  reaped  in  July, 
1830,  the  fruits  of  his  cunning  liberalism.  Thanks  to  Vinet, 
the  ambitious  parvenu,  Gouraud  married,  in  spite  of  his 
gray  hair  and  stout  frame,  a  girl  of  twenty-five,  Mile.  Matifat, 
of  the  well-known  drug-firm  of  rue  des  Lombards,  who 
brought  with  her  fifty  thousand  crowns.  Titles,  offices 
and  emoluments  now  flowed  in  rapidly.  He  resumed  the 
service,  became  general,  commanded  a  division  near  the 
capital  and  obtained  a  peerage.  His  conduct  during  the 
ministry  of  Casimir  Perier  was  thus  rewarded.  Further- 
more he  received  the  grand  ribbon  of  the  Legion  of  Honor, 
after  having  stormed  the  barricades  of  Saint-Merri,  and 
was  "delighted  to  thrash  the  bourgeois  who  had  been  an 
eye-sore  to  him "  for  fifteen  years.  [Pierrette.]  About 
1845  he  had  stock  in  Gaudissart's  theatre.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Gourdon  the  elder,  husband  of  the  only  daughter  of  the 
old  head-keeper  of  streams  and  forests,  Gendrin-Wattebled ; 
was  in  1823  physician  at  Soulanges  and  attended  Michaud. 
Nevertheless  he  went  among  the  best  people  of  Soulanges, 
headed  by  Mme.  Soudry,  who  regarded  him  in  the  light 
of  an  unknown  and  neglected  savant,  when  he  was  but  a 
parrot  of  Buffon  and  Cuvier,  a  simple  collector  and  taxi- 
dermist. [The  Peasantry.] 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  207 

Gourdon  the  younger,  brother  of  the  preceding;  wrote  the 
poem  of  "  La  Bilboqueide  "  published  by  Bournier.  Married 
the  niece  and  only  heiress  of  Abbe  Tupin,  cure  of  Soulanges, 
where  he  himself  had  been  in  1823  clerk  for  Sarcus.  He  was 
wealthier  than  the  justice.  Mme.  Soudry  and  her  set  gave 
admiring  welcome  to  the  poet,  preferring  him  to  Lamartine, 
with  whose  works  they  slowly  became  acquainted.  [The 
Peasantry.] 

Goussard  (Laurent)  was  a  member  of^  the  revolutionary 
municipality  of  Arcis-sur-Aube.  Particular  friend  of  Danton, 
he  made  use  of  the  tribune's  influence  to  save  the  head  of 
the  ex-superior  of  the  Ursulines  at  Arcis,  Mother  Marie 
des  Anges,  whose  gratitude  for  his  generous  and  skillful 
action  caused  substantial  enrichment  to  this  purchaser  of 
the  grounds  of  the  convent,  which  was  sold  as  "  public  land." 
Thus  it  was  that  forty  years  afterwards  this  adroit  Liberal 
owned  several  mills  on  the  river  Aube,  and  was  still  at  the 
head  of  the  advanced  Left  in  that  district.  The  various 
candidates  for  deputy  in  the  spring  of  1839,  Keller,  Giguet, 
Beauvisage,  Dorlange-Sallenauve,  and  the  government  agent, 
Trailles,  treated  Goussard  with  the  consideration  he  deserved. 
[The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Grades  had  in  his  hands  notes  of  Vergniaud  the  herder. 
By  means  of  funds  from  Derville  the  lawyer,  Grados  was 
paid  in  1818  by  Colonel  Chabert.  [Colonel  Chabert,] 

Graff  (Johann),  brother  of  a  tailor  established  in  Paris 
under  Louis  Philippe.  Came  himself  to  Paris  after  having 
been  head-waiter  in  the  hotel  of  Gecle'on  Brunner  at  Frank- 
fort; and  ran  the  Hotel  du  Rhin  in  rue  du  Mail  where  Frederic 
Brunner  and  Wilhelm  Schwab  alighted  penniless  in  1835. 
The  landlord  obtained  small  positions  for  the  two  young 
men;  for  the  former  with  Keller;  for  the  latter  with  his 
brother  the  tailor.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Graff  (Wolfgang),  brother  of  the  foregoing,  and  rich  tailor 
of  Paris,  at  whose  shop  in  1838  Lisbeth  Fischer  fitted  out 
Wenceslas  Steinbock.  On  his  brother's  recommendation, 
he  employed  Wilhelm  Schwab,  and,  six  years  later,  took  him 


208  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

into  the  family  by  giving  him  Emilie  Graff  in  marriage. 
[Cousin  Betty.     Cousin  Pons.] 

Grancey  (Abb£  de),  born  in  1764.  Took  orders  because  of 
a  disappointment  in  love;  became  priest  in  1786,  and  cur6 
in  1788.  A .  distinguished  prelate  who  refused  three  bish- 
oprics in  order  not  to  leave  Besangon.  In  1834  he  became 
vicar-general  of  that  diocese.  The  abbe  had  a  handsome 
head.  He  gave  free  vent  to  cutting  speeches.  Was  ac- 
quainted with  Albert  Savarus  whom  he  liked  and  aided. 
A  frequenter  of  th£  Watteville  salon  he  found  out  and  re- 
buked Rosalie,  the  singular  and  determined  enemy  of  the 
advocate.  He  also  intervened  between  Madame  and  Made- 
moiselle de  Watteville.  He  died  at  the  end  of  the  winter  of 
1836-37.  [Albert  Savarus.] 

Grancour  (Abbe  de),  one  of  the  vicars-general  of  the  bish- 
opric of  Limoges,  about  the  end  of  the  Restoration;  and  the 
physical  antithesis  of  the  other  vicar,  the  attenuated  and 
moody  Abbe"  Dutheil  whose  lofty  and  independent  liberal 
'doctrines  he,  with  cowardly  caution,  secretly  shared.  Gran- 
cour frequented  the  Graslin  salon  and  doubtless  knew  of  the 
Tascheron  tragedy.  [The  Country  Parson.] 

Grandemain  was  in  1822  at  Paris  clerk  for  Desroches. 
[A  Start  in  Life.] 

Grandet  (Felix),  of  Saumur,  born  between  1745  and  1749. 
Well-to-do  master-cooper,  passably  educated.  In  the  first 
years  of  the  Republic  he  married  the  daughter  of  a  rich 
lumber  merchant,  by  whom  he  had  in  1796  one  child,  Eugenie. 
With  their  united  capital,  he  bought  at  a  bargain  the  best 
vineyards  about  Saumur,  in  addition  to  an  old  abbey  and 
several  farms.  Under  the  Consulate  he  became  successively 
member  of  the  district  government  and  mayor  of  Saumur. 
But  the  Empire,  which  supposed  him  to  be  a  Jacobin,  re- 
tired him  from  the  latter  office,  although  he  was  the  town's 
largest  tax-payer.  Under  the  Restoration  the  despotism 
of  his  extraordinary  avarice  disturbed  the  peace  of  his  family. 
His  younger  brother,  Guillaume,  failed  and  killed  himself, 
leaving  in  Felix's  hands  the  settlement  of  his  affairs,  and 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  209 

sending  to  him  his  son  Charles,  who  had  hastened  to  Saumur, 
not  knowing  his  father's  ruin.  Eugenie  loved  her  cousin 
and  combated  her  father's  niggardliness,  which  looked 
after  his  own  interests  to  the  neglect  of  his  brother.  The 
struggle  between  Eugenie  and  her  father  broke  Mme.  Gran- 
det's  heart.  The  phases  of  the  terrible  duel  were  violent 
and  numerous.  Felix  Grandet's  passion  resorted  to  stratagem 
and  stubborn  force.  Death  alone  could  settle  with  this 
domestic  tyrant.  In  1827,  an  octogenarian  and  worth 
seventeen  millions,  he  was  carried  off  by  a  stroke  of  paralysis. 
[Eugenie  Grandet.] 

Grandet  (Madame  Felix),  wife  of  preceding;  born  about 
1770;  daughter  of  a  rich  lumber  merchant,  M.  de  la  Gaudi- 
niere;  married  in  the  beginning  of  the  Republic,  and  gave 
birth  to  one  child,  Eugenie,  in  1796.  In  1806  she  added  con- 
siderably to  the  combined  wealth  of  the  family  through 
two  large  inheritances — from  her  mother  and  M.  de  la 
Bertelliere,  her  maternal  grandfather.  A  devout,  shrink- 
ing, insignificant  creature,  bowed  beneath  the  domestic 
yoke,  Mme.  Grandet  never  left  Saumur,  where  she  died  in 
October,  1822,  of  lung  trouble,  aggravated  by  grief  at  her 
daughter's  rebellion  and  her  husband's  severity.  [Eugenie 
Grandet.] 

Grandet  (Victor- Ange-Guillaume),  younger  brother  of  Fe"lix 
Grandet;  became  rich  at  Paris  in  wine-dealing.  In  1815 
before  the  battle  of  Waterloo,  Fre'de'ric  de  Nucingen  bought  of 
him  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  bottles  of  champagne 
at  thirty  sous,  and  sold  them  at  six  francs;  the  allies  drank 
them  during  the  invasion — 1817-19.  [The  Firm  of  Nucingen.] 
The  beginning  of  the  Restoration  favored  Guillaume.  He 
was  the  husband  of  a  charming  woman,  the  natural  daughter 
of  a  great  lord,  who  died  young  after  giving  him  a  child. 
Was  colonel  of  the  National  Guard,  judge  of  the  Court  of 
Commerce,  governor  of  one  of  the  arrondissements  of  Paris 
and  deputy.  Saumur  accused  him  of  aspiring  still  higher 
and  wishing  to  become  the  father-in-law  of  a  petty  duchess 
of  the  imperial  court.  The  bankruptcy  of  Maitre  Roguin 
was  the  partial  cause  of  the  ruin  of  Guillaume,  who  blew  out 


210  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

his  brains  to  avoid  disgrace,  in  November,  1819.  In  his  last 
requests,  Guillaume  implored  his  elder  brother  to  care  for 
Charles  whom  the  suicide  had  rendered  doubly  an  orphan. 
[Eugenie  Grandet.] 

Grandet  (Charles),  only  lawful  child  of  the  foregoing; 
nephew  of  Felix  Grandet;  born  in  1797.  He  led  at  first  the 
gay  life  of  a  young  gallant,  and  maintained  relations  with 
a  certain  Annette,  a  married  woman  of  good  society.  The 
tragic  death  of  his  father  in  November,  1819,  astounded  him 
and  led  him  to  Saumur.  He  thought  himself  in  love  with 
his  cousin  Eugenie  to  whom  he  swore  fidelity.  Shortly 
thereafter  he  left  for  India,  where  he  took  the  name  of  Carl 
Sepherd  to  es«ape  the  consequences  of  treasonable  actions. 
He  returned  to  France  in  1827  enormously  wealthy,  de- 
barked at  Bordeaux  in  June  of  that  year,  accompanying 
the  Aubrions  whose  daughter  Mathilde  he  married,  and 
allowed  Eugenie  Grandet  to  complete  the  settlement  with 
the  creditors  of  his  father.  [Eugenie  Grandet.]  By  his 
marriage  he  became  Comte  d'Aubrion.  [The  Firm  of  Nu- 
cingen.] 

Grandet  (Eugenie).1     (See  Bonfons,  Eugenie  Cruchot  de.) 

Grandlieu  (Comtesse  de),  related  to  the  Herouvilles; 
lived  in  the  first  part  of  the  seventeenth  century;  probable 
ancestress  of  the  Grandlieus,  well  known  in  France  two 
centuries  later.  [The  Hated  Son.] 

Grandlieu  (Mademoiselle),  under  the  first  Empire  married 
an  imperial  chamberlain,  perhaps  also  the  prefect  of  One, 
and  was  received,  alone,  in  Alencon  among  the  exclusive 
and  aristocratic  set  lorded  over  by  the  Esgrignons.  [Jealous- 
ies of  a  Country  Town.] 

Grandlieu  (Due  Ferdinand  de),  born  about  1773;  may 
have  descended  from  the  Comtesse  de  Grandlieu  who  lived 
early  in  the  seventeenth  century,  and  consequently  con- 
nected with  the  old  and  worthy  nobility  of  the  Duchy  of 
Brittany  whose  device  was  "Caveo  non  timeo."  At  the  end 

1  The  incidents  of  her  life  have  been  dramatized  by  Bayard  for  the  Gymnase- 
Dramatique,  under  the  title  of  "The  Miser's  Daughter." 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  211 

of  the  eighteenth  and  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  centuries, 
Ferdinand  de  Grandlieu  was  the  head  of  the  elder  branch, 
wealthy  and  ducal,  of  the  house  of  Grandlieu.  Under  the 
Consulate  and  the  Empire  his  high  and  assured  rank  en- 
abled him  to  intercede  with  Talleyrand  in  behalf  of  M. 
d'Hauteserre  and  M.  de  Simeuse,  compromised  in  the  fictitious 
abduction  of  Malin  de  Gondreville.  Grandlieu  by  his  marriage 
with  an  Ajuda  of  the  elder  branch,  connected  with  the 
Barganzas  and  of  Portuguese  descent,  had  several  daughters, 
the  eldest  of  whom  assumed  the  veil  in  1822.  His  other 
daughters  were  Clotilde-Fre'de'rique,  born  in  1802;  Josephine 
the  third;  Sabine  born  in  1809;  Marie- Athenals,  born  about 
1820.  An  uncle  by  marriage  of  Mme.  de  Langeais,  he  had 
at  Paris,  in  Faubourg  Sain1>Germam,  a  hotel  where,  during 
the  reign  of  Louis  XVIII.,  the  Princesse  de  Blamont-Chauvry, 
the  Vidame  de  Pamiers  and  the  Due  de  Navarreins  assembled 
to  consider  a  startling  escapade  of  Antoinette  de  Langeais. 
At  least  ten  years  later  Grandlieu  availed  himself  of  his  in- 
timate friend  Henri  de  Chaulieu  and  also  of  Corentin — Saint- 
Denis — in  order  to  stay  the  suit  against  Lucien  de  Rubempre" 
which  was  about  to  compromise  his  daughter  Clotilde-Fr6- 
de"rique.  [The  Gondreville  Mystery.  The  Thirteen.  A 
Bachelor's  Establishment.  Modeste  Mignon.  Scenes  from 
a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Grandlieu  (Duchesse  Ferdinand  de),  of  Portuguese  descent, 
born  Ajuda  and  of  the  elder  branch  of  that  house  connected 
with  the  Braganzas.  Wife  of  Ferdinand  de  Grandlieu, 
and  mother  of  several  daughters.  Of  sedentary  habits, 
proud,  pious,  good-hearted  and  beautiful,  she  wielded  hi 
Paris  during  the  Restoration  a  sort  of  supremacy  over  the 
Faubourg  Saint-Germain.  The  second  and  the  next  to  the 
youngest  of  her  children  gave  her  much  anxiety.  Combating 
the  hostility  of  those  about  her  she  welcomed  Rubempre1,  the 
suitor  of  her  daughter  Clotilde-Fre'de'rique — 1829-30.  The 
unfortunate  results  of  the  marriage  of  her  other  daughter 
Sabine,  Baronne  Calyste  du  Guenic,  occupied  Mme.  de 
Grandlieu's  attention  in  1837,  and  she  succeeded  in  recon- 
ciling the  young  couple,  with  the  assistance  of  Abb6  Brossette, 


212  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Maxime  de  Trailles,  and  La  Palferine.  Her  religious  scruples 
had  made  her  halt  a  moment;  but  they  fell  like  her  political 
fidelity,  and,  with  Mmes.  d'Espard,  de  Listomere  and  des 
Touches,  she  tacitly  recognized  the  bourgeois  royalty,  a  few 
years  after  a  new  reign  began,  and  re-opened  the  doors  of 
her  salon.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.  Beatrix.  A 
Daughter  of  Eve.] 

Grandlieu  (Mademoiselle  de),  eldest  daughter  of  the  Due 
and  Duchesse  de  Grandlieu,  took  the  veil  in  1822.  [A 
Bachelor's  Establishment.  Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Grandlieu  (Clotilde-Frederique  de),  born  in  1802;  second 
daughter  of  the  Due  and  Duchesse  de  Grandlieu;  a  long, 
flat  creature,  the  caricature  of  her  mother.  She  had  no 
consent  save  that  of  her  mother  when  she  fell  in  love  with 
and  wished  to  marry  the  ambitious  Lucien  de  Rubempre 
in  the  spring  of  1830.  She  saw  him  for  the  last  time  on  the 
road  to  Italy  in  the  forest  of  Fontainebleu  near  Bouron 
and  under  very  painful  circumstances  the  young  man  was 
arrested  before  her  very  eyes.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's 
Life.] 

Grandlieu  (Josephine  de).  (See  Ajuda-Pinto,  Marquise 
Miguel  <T.) 

Grandlieu  (Sabine  de).     (See  Gue"nic,  Baronne  Calyste  du.) 

Grandlieu  (Marie- Athe'nais  de).  (See  Grandlieu,  Vicomtesse 
Juste  de.) 

Grandlieu  (Vicomtesse  de),  sister  of  Comte  de  Born;  de- 
scended more  directly  than  the  duke  from  the  countess 
of  the  seventeenth  century.  From  1813,  the  time  of  her 
husband's  death,  the  head  of  the  younger  Grandlieu  house 
whose  device  was  "Grands  faits,  grand  lieu."  Mother  of 
Camille  and  of  Juste  de  Grandlieu,  and  the  mother-in- 
law  of  Ernest  de  Restaud.  Returned  to  France  with  Louis 
XVIII.  At  first  she  lived  on  royal  bounty,  but  afterwards 
regained  a  considerable  portion  of  her  property  through 
the  efforts  of  Maitre  Derville,  about  the  beginning  of  the 
Restoration.  She  was  very  grateful  to  the  lawyer,  who 
also  took  her  part  against  the  Legion  of  Honor,  was  ad- 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  213 

mitted  to  her  confidential  circle  and  told  her  the  secrets  of 
the  Restaud  household,  one  evening  in  the  winter  of  1830 
when  Ernest  de  Restaud,  son  of  the  Comtesse  Anastasie, 
was  paying  court  to  Camille  whom  he  finally  married.  [Scenes 
from  a  Courtesan's  Life.  Colonel  Chabert.  Gobseck.] 

Grandlieu  (Camille  de).  (See  Restaud,  Comtesse  Er- 
nest de.) 

Grandlieu  (Vicomte  Juste  de),  son  of  Vicomtesse  de  Grand- 
lieu;  brother  of  Comtesse  Ernest  de  Restaud;  cousin  and  after- 
wards husband  of  Marie-Athena'is  de  Grandlieu,  combining  by 
this  marriage  the  fortunes  of  the  two  houses  of  Grandlieu 
and  obtaining  the  title  of  duke.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's 
Life.  Gobseck.] 

Grandlieu  (Vicomtesse  Juste  de),  born  about  1820, 
Marie- Athe"nais  de  Grandlieu;  last  daughter  of  Due  and 
Duchesse  de  Grandlieu;  married  to  her  cousin,  the  Vicomte 
Juste  de  Grandlieu.  She  received  at  Paris  in  the  first  days 
of  the  July  government,  a  young  married  woman  like  her- 
self, Mme.  F61ix  de  Vandenesse,  then  in  the  midst  of  a  flir- 
tation with  Raoul  Nathan.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's 
Life.  Gobseck.  A  Daughter  of  Eve.] 

Granet,  deputy-mayor  of  the  second  arrondissement  of 
Paris,  in  1818,  under  La  Billardiere.  With  his  homely  wife 
he  was  invited  to  the  Birotteau  ball.  [CSsar  Birotteau.] 

Granet,  one  of  the  leading  men  of  Besangon,  under  Louis 
Philippe.  In  gratitude  for  a  favor  done  him  by  Albert 
Savarus  he  nominated  the  latter  for  deputy.  [Albert 
Savarus.J 

Granson  (Madame),  poor  widow  of  a  lieutenant^colonel 
of  artillery  killed  at  J6na,  by  whom  she  had  a  son,  Athanase. 
From  1816  she  lived  at  No.  8  rue  du  Bercail  in  Alencon, 
where  the  benevolence  of  a  distant  relative,  Mme.  du  Bous- 
quier,  put  in  her  charge  the  treasury  of  a  maternal  society 
against  infanticide,  and  brought  her  into  contact,  under 
peculiar  circumstances,  with  the  woman  who  afterwards 
became  Mme.  Theodore  Gaillard.  [Jealousies  of  a  Country 
Town.] 


214  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDTE  HUMAINE 

Granson  (Athanase),  son  of  the  preceding;  born  in  1793; 
subordinate  in  the  mayor's  office  at  Alengon  in  charge  of 
registry.  A  sort  of  poet,  liberal  in  politics  and  filled  with 
ambition;  weary  of  poverty  and  overflowing  with  grandiose 
sentiments.  In  1816  he  loved,  with  a  passion  that  his  common- 
sense  combated,  Mme.  du  Bousquier,  then  Mile.  Cormon, 
his  senior  by  more  than  seventeen  years.  In  1816  the  mar- 
riage dreaded  by  him  took  place.  He  could  not  brook  the 
blow  and  drowned  himself  in  the  Sarthe.  He  was  mourned 
only  by  his  mother  and  Suzanne  du  Val-Noble.  [Jealousies 
of  a  Country  Town.]  Nevertheless,  eight  years  after  it  was 
said  of  him:  "The  Athanase  Gransons  must  die,  withered 
up,  like  the  grains  which  fall  on  barren  rock."  [The  Govern- 
ment Clerks.] 

Granville  (Comte  de)  had  a  defective  civil  status,  the  or- 
thography of  the  name  varying  frequently  through  the  in- 
sertion of  the  letter  "d"  between  the  "n"  and  "v."  In  1805  at 
an  advanced  age  he  lived  at  Bayeux,  where  he  was  probably 
born.  His  father  was  a  president  of  the  Norman  Parliament. 
At  Bayeux  the  Comte  married  his  son  to  the  wealthy 
Angelique  Bontems.  [A  Second  Home.] 

Granville  (Vicomte  de),  son  of  Comte  de  Granville,  and 
comte  upon  his  father's  death;  born  about  1779;  a  magistrate 
through  family  tradition.  Under  the  guidance  of  Cam- 
bac6res  he  passed  through  all  the  administrative  and  judicial 
grades.  He  studied  with  Maitre  Bordin,  defended  Michu 
in  the  trial  resulting  from  the  "Gondreville  Mystery,"  and 
learned  officially  and  officiously  of  one  of  its  results  a  short 
time  after  his  marriage  with  a  young  girl  of  Bayeux,  a  rich 
heiress  and  the  acquirer  of  extensive  public  lands.  Paris 
was  generally  the  theatre  for  the  brilliant  career  of  Maitre 
Granville  who,  during  the  Empire,  left  the  Augustin  quai 
where  he  had  lived  to  take  up  his  abode  with  his  wife  on 
the  ground-floor  of  a  mansion  in  the  Marais,  between  rue 
Vielle-du-Temple  and  rue  Neuve-Saint-Frangois.  He  became 
successively  advocate-general  at  the  court  of  the  Seine, 
and  president  of  one  of  its  chambers.  At  this  time  a  domestic 
drama  was  being  enacted  in  his  life.  Hampered  in  his  open 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  215 

and  broad-minded  nature  by  the  bigotry  of  Mme.  de  Gian- 
ville,  he  sought  domestic  happiness  outside  his  home,  though 
he  already  had  a  family  of  four  children.  He  had  met 
Caroline  Crochard  on  rue  du  Tourniquet-Saint-Jean.  He 
installed  her  on  rue  Taitbout  and  found  in  this  relation,  though 
it  was  of  brief  duration,  the  happiness  vainly  sought  in  his 
proper  home.  Granville  screened  this  fleeting  joy  und6r 
the  name  of  Roger.  A  daughter  Eugenie,  and  a  son  Charles, 
were  born  of  this  adulterous  union  which  was  ended  by  the 
desertion  of  Mile.  Crochard  and  the  misconduct  of  Charles. 
Until  the  death  of  Mme.  Crochard,  the  mother  of  Caroline, 
Granville  was  able  to  keep  up  appearances  before  his  wife. 
Thus  it  happened  that  he  accompanied  her  to  the  country, 
Seine-et-Oise,  when  he  assisted  M.  d'Albon  and  M.  de  Sucy. 
The  remainder  of  Granville's  life,  after  his  wife  and  his 
mistress  left  him,  was  passed  in  comparative  solitude  in 
the  society  of  intimate  friends  like  Octave  de  Bauvan  and 
Se"rizy.  Hard  work  and  honors  partially  consoled  him. 
His  request  as  attorney-general  caused  the  reinstatement 
of  C<§sar  Birotteau,  one  of  the  tenants  at  No.  397  rue  Saint- 
Honore.  He  and  his  wife  had  been  invited  to  the  famous 
ball  given  by  Birotteau  more  than  three  years  previously. 
As  attorney-general  of  the  Court  of  Cassation,  Granville 
secretly  protected  Rubempre  during  the  poet's  famous 
trial,  thus  drawing  upon  himself  the  powerful  affection  of 
Jacques  Collin,  counterbalanced  by  the  enmity  of  Am61ie 
Camusot.  The  Revolution  of  July  upheld  Granville's  high 
rank.  He  was  peer  of  France  under  the  new  regime,  owning 
and  occupying  a  small  mansion  on  rue  Saint-Lazare,  or 
traveling  in  Italy.  At  this  time  he  was  one  of  Dr.  Bianchon's 
patients.  [The  Gondreville  Mystery.  A  Second  Home. 
Farewell.  Ce"sar  Birotteau.  Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's 
Life.  A  Daughter  of  Eve.  Cousin  Pons.] 

Granville  (Comtesse  Ang&ique  de),  wife  of  preceding,  and 
daughter  of  Bontems,  a  farmer  and  sort  of  Jacobin  whom 
the  Revolution  enriched  through  the  purchase  of  evacuated 
property  at  low  prices.  She  was  born  at  Bayeux  in  1787, 
and  received  from  her  mother  a  very  bigoted  education. 


216  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

At  the  beginning  of  the  Empire  she  married  the  son  of  one 
of  the  neighbors  of  the  family,  then  Vicomte  and  later  Comte 
de  Granville;  and,  under  the  influence  of  Abbe  Fontanon, 
she  maintained  at  Paris  the  manners  and  customs  of  an 
extreme  devotee.  She  thus  evoked  the  infidelity  of  her 
husband  who  had  begun  by  simply  neglecting  her.  Of  her 
four  children  she  retained  charge  of  the  education  of  her 
two  daughters.  She  broke  off  entirely  from  her  husband 
when  she  discovered  the  existence  of  her  rival,  Mile,  de  Belle- 
feuille — Caroline  Crochard — and  returned  to  Bayeux  to  end 
her  days,  remaining  to  the  last  the  austere,  stingy  sanctified 
creature  who  had  formerly  been  scandalized  by  the  openness 
of  the  affair  of  Montriveau  and  Mme.  de  Langeais.  She  died 
in  1822.  [A  -Second  Home.  The  Thirteen.  A  Daughter  of 
Eve.] 

Granville  (Vicomte  de),  elder  son  of  the  preceding.  Was 
reared  by  his  father.  In  1828  he  was  deputy-attorney  at 
Limoges,  where  he  afterwards  became  advocate-general. 
He  fell  in  love  with  Ve'ronique  Graslin,  but  incurred  her 
secret  disfavor  by  his  proceedings  against  the  assassin 
Tascheron.  The  vicomte  had  a  career  almost  identical 
with  that  of  his  father.  In  1833  he  was  made  first  president 
at  Orleans,  and  in  1844  attorney-general.  Later  near 
Limoges  he  came  suddenly  upon  a  scene  which  moved  him 
deeply:  the  public  confession  of  Veronique  Graslin.  The 
vicomte  had  unknowingly  been  the  executioner  of  the  chate- 
laine of  Montegnac.  [A  Second  Home.  A  Daughter  of 
Eve.  The  Country  Parson.] 

Granville  (Baron  Eugene  de),  younger  brother  of  the  fore- 
going. King's  attorney  at  Paris  from  May,  1830.  Three 
years  later  he  still  held  this  office,  when  he  informed  his 
father  of  the  arrest  of  a  thief  named  Charles  Crochard,  who 
was  the  count's  natural  son.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's 
Life.  A  Second  Home.] 

Granville  (Marie- Angeliquede).  (See  Vandenesse,  Comtesse 
Felix  de.) 

Granville  (Marie-Eugenie  de).  (See  Tillet,  Madame  Fer- 
dinand du.) 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  217 

Graslin  (Pierre),  born  in  1775.  An  Auvergnat,  com- 
patriot and  friend  of  Sauviat,  whose  daughter  Ve"ronique 
he  married  in  1822.  He  began  as  bank-clerk  with  Grosstete 
&  Ferret,  a  first-class  firm  of  the  town.  A  man  of  business 
and  a  hard  worker  he  became  successor  to  his  employers. 
His  fortune,  increased  by  lucky  speculations  with  Bre'zac, 
enabled  him  to  buy  one  of  the  finest  places  in  the  chief  city 
of  Haute- Vienne.  But  he  was  not,  able  to  win  his  wife's 
heart.  His  physical  unattractiveness,  added  to  by  his 
carelessness  and  grinding  avarice,  were  complicated  by  a 
domestic  tyranny  which  soon  showed  itself.  Thus  it  was 
that  he  was  only  the  legal  father  of  a  son  named  Francis, 
but  he  was  ignorant  of  this  fact,  for,  in  the  capacity  of  juror 
in  the  Court  of  Assizes  dealing  with  the  fate  of  Tascheron, 
the  real  father  of  the  child,  he  urged  but  in  vain  the  ac- 
quittal of  the  prisoner.  Two  years  after  the  boy's  birth 
and  the  execution  of  the  mother's  lover,  in  April,  1831, 
Pierre  Graslin  died  of  weakness  and  grief.  The  July  Revo- 
lution suddenly  breaking  forth  had  shaken  his  financial 
standing,  which  was  regained  only  with  an  effort.  It  was 
at  the  time  when  he  had  bought  Monte"gnac  from  the  Navar- 
reins.  [The  Country  Parson.] 

Graslin  (Madame  Pierre),  wife  of  preceding;  born  Veronique 
Sauviat,  at  Limoges  in  May,  1802 ;  beautiful  in  spite  of  traces 
of  small-pox;  had  had  the  spoiled  though  simple  childhood 
of  an  only  daughter.  When  twenty  she  married  Pierre 
Graslin.  Soon  after  marriage  her  ingenuous  nature,  romantic 
and  refined,  suffered  in  secret  from  the  harsh  tyranny  of 
the  man  whose  name  she  bore.  V6ronique,  however,  held 
aloof  from  the  gallants  who  frequented  her  salon,  especially 
the  Vicomte  de  Granville.  She  had  become  the  secret 
mistress  of  J.-F.  Tascheron,  a  porcelain  worker.  She  was 
on  the  point  of  eloping  with  him  when  a  crime  committed 
by  him  was  discovered.  Mme.  Graslin  suffered  the  most 
poignant  anguish,  giving  birth  to  thfr  child  of  the  condemned 
man  at  the  very  moment  when  the  father  was  led  to  execution. 
She  inflicted  upon  herself  the  bitterest  flagellations.  She 
could  devote  herself  more  freely  to  penance  after  her  hus- 


218 

band's  death,  which  occurred  two  years  later.  She  left 
Limoges  for  Montegnac,  where  she  made  herself  truly  famous 
by  charitable  works  on  a  huge  scale.  The  sudden  return 
of  the  sister  of  her  lover  dealt  her  the  final  blow.  Still 
she  had  energy  enough  to  bring  about  the  union  of  Denise 
Tascheron  and  Gre"goire  Ge"rard,  gave  her  son  into  their 
keeping,  left  important  bequests  destined  to  keep  alive 
her  memory,  and  died  during  the  summer  of  1844  after 
confessing  in  public  in  the  presence  of  Bianchon,  Dutheil, 
Granville,  Mme.  Sauviat  and  Bonnet  who  were  all  seized 
with  admiration  and  tenderness  for  her.  [The  Country  Parson.] 

Graslin  (Francis),  born  at  Limoges  in  August,  1829.  Only 
child  of  Veronique  Graslin,  legal  son  of  Pierre  Graslin,  but 
natural  son  of  J.-F.  Tascheron.  He  lost  his  legal  father 
two  years  after  his  birth,  and  his  mother  thirteen  years 
later.  His  tutor  M.  Ruffin,  his  maternal  grandmother 
Mme.  Sauviat,  and  above  all  the  Gregoire  Ge"rards  watched 
over  his  boyhood  at  Montegnac.  [The  Country  Parson.] 

Grasset,  bailiff  and  successor  of  Louchard.  On  the  demand 
of  Lisbeth  Fischer  and  by  Rivet's  advice,  in  1838,  he  ar- 
rested W.  Steinbock  in  Paris  and  took  him  to  Clichy  prison. 
[Cousin  Betty.] 

Grassins  (Des),  ex-quartermaster  of  the  Guard,  seriously 
Wounded  at  Austerlitz,  pensioned  and  decorated.  Time  of 
Louis  XVIII.  he  became  the  richest  banker  in  Saumur, 
which  he  left  for  Paris  where  he  located  with  the  purpose 
of  settling  the  unfortunate  affairs  of  the  suicide,  Guillaume 
Grandet  and  where  he  was  later  made  a  deputy.  Although 
the  father  of  a  family  he  conceived  a  passion  for  Florine,  a 
pretty  actress  of  the  Theatre  du  Madame,1  to  the  havoc  of 
his  fortune.  [Eugenie  Grandet.] 

Grassins  (Madame  des),  born  about  1780;  wife  of  fore- 
going, giving  him  two  children;  spent  most  of  her  life  at 
Saumur.  Her  husband's  position  and  sundry  physical 
charms  which  she  was  able  to  preserve  till  nearly  her  for- 
tieth year  enabled  her  to  shine  somewhat  in  society.  With 

1  The  name  of  this  theatre  was  changed,  in  1830,  to  Gymnase-Dramatique. 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  219 

the  Cruchots  she  often  visited  the  Grandets,  and,  like  the 
family  of  the  President  de  Bonfons,  she  dreamed  of  mating 
Eugenie  with  her  son  Adolphe.  The  dissipated  life  of  her 
husband  at  Paris  and  the  combination  of  the  Cruchots  upset 
her  plans.  Nor  was  she  able  to  do  much  for  her  daughter. 
However,  deprived  of  much  of  her  property  and  making 
the  best  of  things,  Mme.  des  Grassins  continued  unaided 
the  management  of  the  bank  at  Saumur.  [Eugenie  Grandet.] 

Grassins  (Adolphe  des),  born  in  1797,  son  of  M.  and  Mme. 
des  Grassins ;  studied  law  at  Paris  where  he  lived  in  a  lavish 
way.  A  caller  at  the  Nucingens  where  he  met  Charles 
Grandet.  Returned  to  Saumur  in  1819  and  vainly  courted 
Eugenie  Grandet.  Finally  he  returned  to  Paris  and  re- 
joined his  father  whose  wild  life  he  imitated.  [Eugenie 
Grandet.] 

Grassou  (Pierre),  born  at  Foug&res,  Brittany,  in  1795. 
Son  of  a  Vendean  peasant  and  militant  Royalist.  Removing 
at  an  early  age  to  Paris  he  began  as  clerk  to  a  paint-dealer 
who  was  from  Mayenne  and  a  distant  relative  of  the  Or- 
gemonts.  A  mistaken  idea  led  him  toward  art.  His  Breton 
stubbornness  led  him  successively  to  the  studios  of  Servin, 
Schinner  and  Sommervieux.  He  afterwards  studied,  but 
fruitlessly,  the  works  of  Granet  and  Drolling;  then  he  com- 
pleted his  art  studies  with  Duval-Lecamus.  Grassou 
profited  nothing  by  his  work  with  these  masters,  nor  did 
his  acquaintance  with  Lora  or  Joseph  Bridau  assist  him. 
Though  he  could  understand  and  admire  he  lacked  the 
creative  faculty  and  the  skill  in  execution.  For  this  reason 
Grassou,  usually  called  Fougeres  by  his  comrades,  obtained 
their  warm  support  and  succeeded  in  getting  admission, 
into  the  Salon  of  1829,  for  his  "Toilet  of  a  Condemned 
Chouan,"  a  very  mediocre  painting  palpably  along  the  lines 
of  Gerard  Dow.  The  work  obtained  for  him  from  Charles 
X.  the  cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honor.  At  last  his  canvasses 
found  purchasers.  Elie  Magus  gave  him  an  order  for  pictures 
after  the  Flemish  school,  which  he  sold  to  Vervelle  as  works 
of  Dow  or  Te"niers.  At  that  time  Grassou  lived  at  No.  2 
rue  de  Navarin.  He  became  the  son-in-law  of  Vervelle, 


220  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

in  1832,  marrying  Virginie  Vervelle,  the  heiress  of  the  family, 
who  brought  him  a  dowry  of  one  hundred  thousand  francs, 
as  well  as  country  and  city  property.  His  determined 
mediocrity  opened  the  doors  of  the  Academy  to  him  and 
made  him  an  officer  in  the  Legion  of  Honor  in  1839,  and 
major  of  a  battalion  in  the  National  Guard  after  the  riots 
of  May  12.  He  was  adored  by  the  middle  classes,  becoming 
their  accredited  artist.  Painted  portraits  of  all  the  members 
of  the  Crevel  and  Thuillier  families,  and  also  of  the  director 
of  the  theatre  who  preceded  Gaudissart.  Left  many  frightful 
and  ridiculous  daubs,  one  of  which  found  its  way  into 
Topinard's  humble  home.  [Pierre  Grassou.  A  Bachelor's 
Establishment.  Cousin  Betty.  The  Middle  Classes.  Cousin 
Pons.] 

Grassou  (Madame  Pierre),  born  Virginie  Vervelle;  red- 
haired  and  homely;  sole  heiress  of  wealthy  dealers  in  cork, 
on  rue  Boucherat.  Wife  of  the  preceding  whom  she  married 
in  Paris  in  1832.  There  is  a  portrait  of  her  painted  in  this 
same  year  before  her  marriage,  which  at  first  was  a  colorless 
study  by  Grassou,  but  was  dexterously  retouched  by  Joseph 
Bridau.  [Pierre  Grassou.] 

Gravelot  brothers,  lumber-merchants  of  Paris,  who  pur- 
chased in  1823  the  forests  of  Aigues,  the  Burgundy  estate 
of  General  de  Montcornet.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Gravier,  paymaster-general  of  the  army  during  the  first 
Empire,  and  interested  at  that  time  in  large  Spanish  affairs 
with  certain  commanding  officers.  "Upon  the  return  of  the 
Bourbons  he  purchased  at  twenty  thousand  francs  of  La 
Baudraye  the  office  of  tax-receiver  for  Sancerres,  which 
office  he  still  held  about  1836.  With  the  Abbe"  Duret  and 
others  he  frequented  the  home  of  Mme.  Dinah  de  la  Baudraye. 
He  was  little,  fat  and  common.  His  court  made  little  way 
with  the  baroness,  despite  his  talent  and  his  worldly-wise 
ways  of  a  bachelor.  He  sang  ballads,  told  stories,  and  dis- 
played pseudo-rare  autographs.  [The  Muse  of  the  Depart- 
ment.] 

Gravier,    of   Grenoble;   head   of    a   family;   father-in-law 


REPEETORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  221 

of  a  notary;  chief  of  division  of  the  prefecture  of  Isere  in 
1829.  Knew  Genestas  and  recommended  to  him  Dr.  Benas- 
sis,  the  mayor  of  the  village  of  which  he  himself  was  one  of 
the  benefactors,  as  the  one  to  attend  Adrien  GenestasrRenard. 
[The  Country  Doctor.] 

Grenier,  known  as  Fleur-de-Genet;  deserter  from  the  Sixty- 
ninth  demi-brigade ;  chauffeur  executed  in  1809.  [The  Seamy 
Side  of  History.] 

Grenouville,  proprietor  of  a  large  and  splendid  notion 
store  in  Boulevard  des  Italiens,  Paris,  about  1840;  a  customer 
of  the  Bijous,  embroiderers  also  in  business  at  Paris.  At 
this  time  an  ardent  admirer  of  Mile.  Olympe  Bijou,  former 
mistress  of  Baron  Hulot  and  Idamore  Chardin.  He  married 
her  and  gave  an  income  to  her  parents.  [Cousin  Betty.] 

Grenouville  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding;  born  Olympe 
Bijou,  about  1824.  In  the  middle  of  the  reign  of  Louis 
Philippe  she  lived  in  Paris  near  La  Courtille,  in  rue  Saint- 
Maur-du-Temple.  Was  a  pretty  but  poor  embroiderer 
surrounded  by  a  numerous  and  poverty-stricken  family 
when  Jose"pha  Mirah  obtained  for  her  old  Baron  Hulot  and 
a  shop.  Having  abandoned  Hulot  for  Idamore  Chardin, 
who  left  her,  Olympe  married  Grenouville  and  became 
a  well-known  tradeswoman.  [Cousin  Betty.] 

Grenville  (Arthur-Ormond,  Lord),  wealthy  Englishman; 
was  being  treated  at  Montpellier  for  lung  trouble  when  the 
rupture  of  the  treaty  of  peace  of  Amiens  confined  him  to 
Tours.  About  1814  he  fell  in  love  with  the  Marquise  Victor 
d'Aiglemont,  whom  he  afterwards  met  elsewhere.  Posing 
as  a  physician  he  attended  her  in  an  illness  and  succeeded  in 
curing  her.  He  visited  her  also  in  Paris,  finally  dying  to 
save  her  honor,  after  suffering  his  fingers  to  be  crushed  in 
a  door— 1823.  [A  Woman  of  Thirty.] 

Gre"vin  of  Arcis,  Aube,  began  life  in  the  same  way  as  his 
compatriot  and  intimate  friend,  Malin  de  Gondreville.  In 
1787,  he  was  second  clerk  to  Maitre  Bordin,  attorney  of 
the  Chatelct,  Paris.  Returned  to  Champagne  at  the  out- 
break of  the  Revolution.  There  he  received  the  successive 


222  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

protection  of  Danton,  Bonaparte  and  Gondreville.  By  vir- 
tue of  them  he  became  an  oracle  to  the  Liberals,  was  enabled 
to  marry  Mile.  Varlet,  the  only  daughter  of  the  best  physician 
of  the  city,  to  purchase  a  notary's  practice,  and  to  become 
wealthy.  A  level-headed  man,  Grevin  often  advised  Gondre- 
ville, and  he  directed  the  mysterious  and  fictitious  abduction 
— 1803  and  the  years  following.  Of  his  union  with  Mile. 
Varlet,  who  died  rather  young,  one  daughter  was  born, 
SeVerine,  who  became  Mme.  Phileas  Beauvisage.  In  his  old 
age  he  devoted  a  great  deal  of  attention  to  his  children  and 
their  brilliant  future,  especially  during  the  election  of  May, 
1839.  [A  Start  in  Life!  The  Gondreville  Mystery.  The 
Member  for  Arcis.] 

Grdvin  (Madame),  wife  of  foregoing;  born  Varlet;  daughter 
of  the  best  doctor  of  Arcis-sur-Aube ;  sister  of  another  Varlet, 
a  doctor  in  the  same  town;  mother  of  Mme.  Severine  Phileas 
Beauvisage.  With  Mme.  Marion  she  was  more  or  less  im- 
plicated in  the  Gondreville  mystery.  She  died  rather  young. 
[The  Gondreville  Mystery.] 

Gr€vin,  corsair,  who  served  under  Admiral  de  Simeuse 
in  the  Indies.  In  1816,  paralyzed  and  deaf,  he  lived  with 
his  granddaughter,  Mme.  Lardot,  a  laundress  of  Alengon, 
who  employed  Cesarine  and  Suzanne  and  was  patronized 
by  the  Chevalier  de  Valois.  [Jealousies  of  a  Country  Town.] 

Gribeaucourt  (Mademoiselle  de),  old  maid  of  Saumur 
and  friend  of  the  Cruchots  during  the  Restoration.  [Eugenie 
Grandet.] 

Griffith  (Miss),  born  in  1787;  Scotch  woman,  daughter  of 
a  minister  in  straitened  circumstances;  under  the  Restora- 
tion she  was  governess  of  Louise  de  Chaulieu,  whose  love  she 
won  by  reason  of  her  kindliness  and  penetration.  [Letters 
of  Two  Brides.] 

Grignault  (Sophie).     (See  Nathan,  Mme.  Raoul.) 

Grimbert,  held,  in  1819,  at  Ruffec,  Charente,  the  office  of 
the  Royal  Couriers.  At  that  time  he  received  from  Miles. 
Laure  and  Agathe  de  Rastignac,  a  considerable  sum  of  money 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDTE  HUMAINE  223 

addressed  to  their  brother  Eugene,  at  the  Pension  Vauquer, 
Paris.     [Father  Goriot.] 

Grimont,  born  about  1786;  a  priest  of  some  capability; 
cur6  of  Gue"rande,  Brittany.  In  1836,  a  constant  visitor 
at  the  Guenics,  he  exerted  a  tardily  acquired  influence  over 
Felicite*  des  Touches,  whose  disappointments  in  love  he 
fathomed  and  whom  he  determined  to  turn  towards  a  re- 
ligious life.  Her  conversion  gave  Grimont  the  vicar-general- 
ship of  the  diocese  of  'Nantes.  [Beatrix.] 

Grimpel,  physician  at  Paris  in  the  Pantheon  quarter, 
time  of  Louis  XVIII.  Among  his  patients  was  Mme. 
Vauquer,  who  sent  for  him  to  attend  Vautrin  when  the  latter 
was  overcome  by  a  narcotic  treacherously  administered 
by  Mile.  Michonneau.  [Father  Goriot.] 

Grindot,  French  architect  in  the  first  half  of  the  nine- 
teenth century;  won  the  Roman  prize  in  1814.  His  talent, 
which  met  the  approval  of  the  Academy,  was  heartily  recog- 
nized by  the  masses  of  Paris.  About,  the  end  of  1818  Ce"sar 
Birotteau  gave  him  earte-b^anche  in  the  remodeling  of  his 
apartments  on  rue  Saint-Honore,  and  invited  him  to  his 
ball.  Matifat,  between  the  years  1821  and  1822,  com- 
missioned him  to  ornament  the  suite  of  Mme.  Raoul  Nathan 
on  rue  de  Bondy.  The  Comte  de  Se>izy  employed  him 
likewise  in  1822  in  the  restoration  of  his  chdteau  of  Presles 
near  Beaumont-sur-Oise.  About  1829  Grindot  embellished 
a  little  house  on  rue  Saint-Georges  where  successively  dwelt 
Suzanne  Gaillard  and  Esther  van  Gobseck.  Time  of  Louis 
Philippe,  Arthur  de  Rochefide,  and  M.  and  Mme.  Fabien 
du  Ronceret  gave  him  contracts.  His  decline  and  that  of 
the  monarchy  coincided.  He  was  no  longer  in  vogue  during 
the  July  government.  On  motion  of  Chaffaroux  he  received 
twenty-five  thousand  francs  for  the  decoration  of  four  rooms 
of  Thuillier's.  Lastly  Crevel,  an  imitator  and  grinder,  utilized 
Grindot  on  rue  des  Saussaies,  rue  du  Dauphin  and  rue  Barbet- 
de-Jouy  for  his  official  and  secret  habitations.  [Ce'sar 
Birotteau.  Lost  Illusions.  A  Distinguished  Provincial  at 
Paris.  A  Start  in  Life.  Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life. 
Beatrix.  The  Middle  Classes.  Cousin  Betty .j 


224  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Groison,  non-commissioned  officer  of  cavalry  in  the  Im- 
perial Guard;  later,  during  the  Restoration,  estate-keeper 
of  Blangy,  where  he  succeeded  Vaudoyer  at  a  salary  of  three 
hundred  francs.  Montcornet,  mayor  of  that  commune, 
arranged  a  marriage  between  the  old  soldier  and  the  orphan 
daughter  of  one  of  his  farmers  who  brought  him  three  acres 
of  vineyards.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Gros  (Antoine-Jean),  celebrated  painter  born  in  Paris 
in  1771,  drowned  himself  June,  1835'.  Was  the  teacher  of 
Joseph  Bridau  and,  despite  his  parsimonious  habits,  supplied 
materials — about  1818 — to  the  future  painter  of  "  The  Vene- 
tian Senator  and  the  Courtesan  "  enabling  him  to  obtain  five 
thousand  francs  from  a  double  government  position.  [A 
Bachelor's  Establishment.] 

Groslier,  police  commissioner  of  Arcis-sur-Aube  at  the 
beginning  of  the  electoral  campaign  of  1839.  [The  Member 
for  Arcis.] 

Grosmort,  small  boy  of  Alengon  in  1816.  Left  the  town 
in  that  year  and  went  to  Pre"baudet,  an  estate  of  Mme.  du 
Bousquier,  to  tell  her  of  Troisville's  arrival.  [Jealousies  of  a 
Country  Town.] 

Gross-Narp  (Comte  de),  son-in-law,  no  doubt  fictitious, 
of  a  very  great  lady,  invented  and  represented  by  Jacqueline 
Collin  to  serve  the  menaced  interests  of  Jacques  Collin  in 
Paris  about  the  end  of  the  Restoration.  [Scenes  from  a 
Courtesan's  Life.] 

Grosstete  (F.),  director,  with  Perret,  of  a  Limoges  banking- 
house,  during  the  Empire  and  Restoration.  His  clerk 
and  successor  was  Pierre  Graslin.  Retired  from  business, 
a  married  man,  wealthy,  devoted  to  horticulture,  he  spent 
much  of  his  time  in  the  fields  in  the  outskirts  of  Limoges. 
Endowed  with  a  superior  intellect,  he  seemed  to  understand 
Ve"ronique  Graslin,  whose  society  he  sought  and  whose  secrets 
he  tried  to  fathom.  He  introduced  his  godson,  Gre"goire 
Gerard,  to  her.  [The  Country  Parson.] 

Grosstete  (Madame  F.),  wife  of  preceding;  a  person  of 
some  importance  in  Limoges,  time  of  the  Restoration.  [The 
Country  Parson.ij 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  225 

Grosstete,  younger  brother  of  F.  Grosstete.  Receiver- 
general  at  Bourges  during  the  Restoration.  He  had  a  large 
fortune  which  enabled  his  daughter  Anna  to  wed  a  Fontaine 
about  1823.  [The  Country  Parson.  The  Muse  of  the  De- 
partment.] 

Grozier  (Abbe")  was  chosen,  in  the  early  part  of  the  Restora- 
tion, to  arbitrate  the  dispute  of  two  proof-readers — one  of 
whom  was  Saint-Simon — over  Chinese  paper.  He  proved 
that  the  Chinese  make  their  paper  from  bamboo.  [Lost 
Illusions.]  He  was  librarian  of  the  Arsenal  at  Paris.  Was 
tutor  of  the  Marquis  d'Espard.  Was  learned  in  the  history 
and  manners  of  China.  Taught  this  knowledge  to  his  pupil. 
[The  Commission  in  Lunacy.]1 

Gruget  (Madame  Etienne),  born  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  About  1820,  lace-maker  at  No.  12  rue 
des  Enfants-Rouges,  Paris,  where  she  concealed  and  cared 
for  Gratien  Bourignard,  the  lover  of  her  daughter  Ida,  who 
drowned  herself.  Bourignard  was  the  father  of  Mme. 
Jules  Desmarets.  [The  Thirteen.]  Becoming  a  nurse  about 
the  end  of  1824,  Mme.  Gruget  attended  the  division-chief, 
La  Billardicjre,  in  his  final  sickness.  [The  Government  Clerks.] 
In  1828  she  followed  the  same  profession  for  ten  sous  a  day, 
including  board.  At  that  time  she  attended  the  last  illness 
of  Comtesse  Flore  Philippe  de  Brambourg,  on  rue  Chausse'e- 
d'Antin,  before  the  invalid  was  removed  to  the  Dubois  hos- 
pital. [A  Bachelor's  Establishment.] 

Gruget  (Ida),  daughter  of  the  preceding.  About  1820 
was  a  corset-fitter  at  No.  14  rue  de  la  Corderie-du-Temple, 
Paris ;  employed  by  Mme.  Meynardie.  She  was  also  the  mis- 
tress of  Gatien  Bourignard.  Passionately  jealous,  she  rashly 
made  a  scene  in  the  home  of  Jules  Desmarets,  her  lover's 
son-in-law.  Then  she  drowned  herself,  in  a  fit  of  despair, 
and  was  buried  in  a  little  cemetery  of  a  village  of  Seine- 
et-Oise.  [The  Thirteen.] 

Gua  Saint-Cyr  (Madame  du),  in  spite  of  the  improbability 

1  Abb<5  Grozier.  or  Crozier  (Jean  Baptiste-Gabriel-Alexandre) .  born  March  17. 
1743,  at  Saint-Omcr,  died  December  8,  1823,  at  Paris;  collaborator  of  the  "Literary 
Year"  with  Freron  and  Geoffrey,  and  author  of  a  "General  History  of  Chin*"— 
Paris  1777-1784, 12  vote. 


226  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMA1NE 

aroused  on  account  of  her  age,  passed  for  a  time,  in  1799, 
as  the  mother  of  Alphonse  de  Montauran.  She  had  been 
married  and  was  then  a  widow;  Gua  was  not  her  true 
name.  She  was  the  last  mistress  of  Charette  and,  being 
still  young,  took  his  place  with  the  youthful  Alphonse  de 
Montauran.  She  displayed  a  savage  jealousy  for  Mile. 
de  Verneuil.  One  of  the  first  Vendean  sallies  of  1799,  planned 
by  Mme.  du  Gua,  was  unsuccessful  and  absurd.  The  old 
"mare  of  Charette"  caused  the  coach  between  Mayenne 
and  Fougeres  to  be  waylaid;  but  the  money  stolen  was  that 
which  was  being  sent  her  by  her  mother.  [The  Chouans.] 

Gua  Saint-Cyr  (Du),  name  assumed  in  Brittany,  in  1799, 
by  Alphonse  de  Montauran,  the  Chouan  leader.  [The 
Chouans.] 

Gua  Saint-Cyr  (Monsieur  and  Madame  du),  son  and  mother; 
rightful  bearers  of  the  name  were  murdered,  with  the  courier, 
in  November  by  the  Chouans.  [The  Chouans.] 

Gudin  (Abbe"),  born  about  1759;  was  one  of  the  Chouan 
leaders  in  1799.  He  was  a  formidable  fellow,  one  of  the 
'Jesuits  stubborn  enough,  perhaps  devoted  enough,  to  oppose 
upon  French  soil  the  proscriptive  edict  of  1793.  This  fire- 
brand of  Western  conflict  fell,  slain  by  the  Blues,  almost 
under  the  eyes  of  his  patriot  nephew,  the  sub-lieutenant, 
Gudin.  [The  Chouans.] 

Gudin,  nephew  of  the  preceding,  and  nevertheless  a  patriot 
conscript  from  Foug&res,  Brittany,  during  the  campaign  of 
1799;  successively  corporal  and  sub-lieutenant.  The  former 
grade  was  obtained  through  Hulot.  Was  the  superior  of 
Beau-Pied.  Gudin  was  killed  near  Fougeres  by  Marie 
de  Verneuil,  who  had  assumed  the  attire  of  her  husband, 
Alphonse  de  Montauran.  [The  Chouans.] 

Gu€n€e  (Madame).     (See  Galardon,  Madame.) 

Gu6nic  (Gaudebert-Calyste-Charles,  Baron  du),  born  in 
1763.  Head  of  a  Breton  house  of  very  ancient  founding, 
he  justified  throughout  his  long  life  the  device  upon  his 
coat-of-arms,  which  read:  "Fac!"  Without  hope  of  reward 
he  constantly  defended,  in  Vendee  and  Brittany,  his  God 


REPERTORY  OP  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  221 

and  his  king  by  service  as  private  soldier  and  captain,  with 
Charette,  Cathelineau,  La  Rochejacquelein,  Elbe"e,  Bonchamp 
and  the  Prince  of  Loudon.  Was  one  of  the  commanders 
of  the  campaign  of  1799  when  he  bore  the  name  of  "  L'lntimeY' 
and  was,  with  Bauvan,  a  witness  to  the  marriage  in  extremis 
of  Alphonse  de  Montauran  and  Marie  de  Verneuil.  Three 
years  later  he  went  to  Ireland,  where  he  married  Miss  Fanny 
O'Brien,  of  a  noble  family  of  that  country.  Events  of  1814 
permitted  his  return  to  Guerande,  Loire-Infe'rieure,  where 
his  house,  though  impoverished,  wielded  great  influence. 
In  recognition,  of  his  unfaltering  devotion  to  the  Royalist 
cause,  M.  du  Gue"nic  received  only  the  Cross  of  Saint-Louis. 
Incapable  of  protesting,  he  intrepidly  defended  his  town 
against  the  battalions  of  General  Travot,  in  the  following 
year.  The  final  Chouan  insurrection,  that  of  1832,  called 
him  to  arms  once  again.  Accompanied  by  Calyste,  his  only 
son,  and  a  servant,  Gasselin,  he  returned  to  Guerande, 
lived  there  for  some  years,  despite  his  numerous  wounds, 
and  died  suddenly,  at  the  age  of  seventy-four,  in  1837.  [The 
Chouans.  Beatrix.] 

Gu&iic  (Baronne  du),  wife  of  the  preceding;  native  of 
Ireland;  born  Fanny  O'Brien,  about  1793,  of  aristocratic 
lineage.  Poor  and  surrounded  by  wealthy  relatives,  beautiful 
and  distinguished,  she  married,  in  1813,  Baron  du  Gue"nic, 
following  him  the  succeeding  year  to  Gue"rande  and  devoting 
her  life  and  youth  to  him.  She  bore  one  son,  Calyste,  to 
whom  she  was  more  like  an  elder  sister.  She  watched  closely 
the  two  mistresses  of  the  young  man,  and  finally  understood 
Felicite"  des  Touches;  but  she  always  was  in  a  tremor  on 
account  of  Beatrix  de  Rochefide,  even  after  the  marriage 
of  Calyste,  which  took  place  in  the  year  of  the  baron's  death. 
[Beatrix.] 

Gu6nic  (Gaudebert-Calyste-Louis  du),  probably  born  in 
1815,  at  Gu6randc,  Loire-Infe'rieure ;  only  son  of  the  foregoing, 
by  whom  he  was  adored,  and  to  whose  dual  influence  he 
was  subject.  He  was  the  physical  and  moral  replica  of 
his  mother.  His  father  wished  to  make  him  a  gentleman 
of  the  old  school.  In  1832  he  fought  for  the  heir  of  the 


22&  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Bourbons.  He  had  other  aspirations  which  he  was  able 
to  satisfy  at  the  home  of  an  illustrious  chatelaine  of  the 
vicinity,  Mile.  Felicite*  des  Touches.  The  chevalier  was 
much  enamored  of  the  celebrated  authoress,  who  had  great 
influence  over  him,  did  not  accept  him  and  -turned  him  over 
to  Mme.  de  Rochefide.  Beatrix  played  with  the  heir  of 
the  house  of  Gue"nic  the  same  ill-starred  comedy  carried 
through  by  Antoinette  de  Langeais  with  regard  to  Mon- 
triveau.  Calyste  married  Mile.  Sabine  de  Grandlieu,  and 
took  the  title  of  baron  after  his  father's  death.  He  lived 
in  Paris  on  Faubourg  Saint-Germain,  and  t  between  1838 
and  1840  was  acquainted  with  Georges  de  Maufrigneuse, 
Savinien  de  Portenduere,  the  Rhe'tores,  the  Lenoncourt- 
Chaulieus  and  Mme.  de  Rochefide — whose  lover  he  finally 
became.  The  intervention  of  the  Duchesse  de  Grandlieu 
put  an  end  to  this  love  affair.  [Beatrix.] 

Gu&iic  (Madame  Calyste  du),  born  Sabine  de  Grandlieu; 
wife  of  the  preceding,  whom  she  married  about  1837.  Nearly 
three  years  later  she  was  in  danger  of  dying  upon  hearing, 
at  her  confinement,  that  she  had  a  fortunate  rival  in  the 
person  of  Beatrix  de  Rochefide.  [Beatrix.] 

Gu€nic  (Zephirine  du),  born  in  1756  at  Guerande;  lived 
almost  all  her  life  with  her  younger  brother,  the  Baron  du 
Guenic,  whose  ideas,  principles  and  opinions  she  shared. 
She  dreamed  of  a  rehabilitation  of  her  impoverished  house, 
and  pushed  her  economy  to  the  point  of  refusing  to  undergo 
an  operation  for  cataract.  For  a  long  time  she  wished  that 
Mile.  Charlotte  de  Kergarouet  might  become  her  niece  by 
marriage.  [Beatrix.] 

Gu6pin,  of  Provins,  located  in  Paris.  He  had  at  the 
"Trois  Quenouilles"  one  of  the  largest  draper's  shops  on 
rue  Saint-Denis.  His  head-clerk  was  his  compatriot,  Jerome- 
Denis  Rogron.  In  1815,  he  turned  over  his  business  to  his 
grandson  and  returned  to  Provins,  where  his  family  formed 
a  clan.  Later  Rogron  retired  also  and  rejoined  him  there. 
[Pierrette.] 

Guerbet,  wealthy  farmer  in  the  country  near  Ville-aux- 
Fayes;  married,  in  the  last  of  the  eighteenth  or  first  of  the 


REPERTORY  OP  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  229 

nineteenth  century,  the  only  daughter  of  Mouchon  junior, 
then  postmaster  of  Conches,  Burgundy.  After  the  death 
of  his  father-in-law,  about  1817,  he  succeeded  to  the  office. 
[The  Peasantry.] 

Guerbet,  brother  of  the  foregoing,  and  related  to  the 
Gaubertins  and  Gendrins.  Rich  tax-collector  of  Soulanges, 
Burgundy.  Stout,  dumpy  fellow  with  a  butter  face,  wig, 
earrings,  and  immense  collars;  given  to  pomology;  was  the 
wit  of  the  village  and  one  of  the  lions  of  Mme.  Soudry's 
salon.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Guerbet,  circuit  judge  of  Ville-aux-Fayes,  Burgundy, 
in  1823.  Like  his  uncle,  the  postmaster,  and  his  father,  the 
tax-collector,  he  was  entirely  devoted  to  Gaubertin.  [The 
Peasantry.] 

Guillaume,  in  the  course  of,  or  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  began  as  clerk  to  Chevrel,  draper,  on  rue  Saint- 
Denis,  Paris,  "  at  the  Sign  of  the  Cat  and  Racket " ;  after- 
wards became  his  son-in-law,  succeeded  him,  became  wealthy 
and  retired,  during  the  first  Empire,  after  marrying  off  his 
two  daughters,  Virginie  and  Augustine,  in  the  same  day. 
He  became  member  of  the  Consultation  Committee  for  the 
uniforming  of  the  troops,  changed  his  home,  living  in  a 
house  of  his  own  on  rue  du  Colombier,  was  intimate  with  the 
Ragons  and  the  Birotteaus,  being  invited  with  his  wife 
to  the  ball  given  by  the  latter.  [At  the  Sign  of  the  Cat  and 
Racket.  C4sar  Birotteau.] 

Guillaume  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding;  born  Chevrel; 
cousin  of  Mme.  Roguin;  a  stiff-necked,  middle-class  woman, 
who  was  scandalized  by  the  marriage  of  her  second  daughter, 
Augustine,  with  Theodore  de  Sommervieux.  [At  the  Sign 
of  the  Cat  and  Racket.] 

Guillaume,  servant  of  Marquis  d'Aiglemont  in  1823.  [A 
Woman  of  Thirty.] 

Guinard  (Abb<§),  priest  of  Sancerre  in  1836.  [The  Muse 
of  the  Department.] 

Gyas  (Marquise  de),  lived  at  Bordeaux  during  the  Resto-' 


230  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

ration;  gave  much  thought  to  marrying  off  her  daughter, 
and,  being  intimate  with  Mme.  Evangelista,  felt  hurt  when 
Natalie  Evangelista  married  Paul  de  Manerville  in  1822. 
However,  the  Marquis  de  Gyas  was  one  of  the  witnesses 
at  the  wedding.  [A  Marriage  Settlement.] 


Habert  (Abbe"),  vicar  at  Provins  under  the  Restoration; 
a  stern,  ambitious  prelate,  a  source  of  annoyance  to  Vinet; 
dreamed  of  marrying  his  sister  Celeste  to  Jerome-Denis 
Rogron.  [Pierrette.] 

Habert  (Celeste),  sister  of  the  preceding;  born  about  1797; 
managed  a  girls'  boarding-school  at  Provins,  in  the  closing 
years  of  Charles  X.'s  reign.  Visited  at  the  Rogrons.  Gouraud 
and  Vinet  shunned  her.  [Pierrette.] 

Hadot  (Madame),  who  lived  at  La  Charite,  Nievre,  in 
1836,  was  mistaken  for  Mme.  Barthelemy-Hadot,  the  French 
novelist,  whose  name  was  mentioned  at  Mme.  de  la  Baudraye's, 
near  Sancerre.  [The  Muse  of  the  Department.] 

Halga  (Chevalier  du),  naval  officer  greatly  esteemed 
by  Suffren  and  PortenduSre;  captain  of  Kergarouet's  flag- 
ship; lover  of  that  admiral's  wife,  whom  he  survived.  He 
served  in  the  Indian  and  Russian  waters,  refused  to  take 
up  arms  against  France,  and  returned  with  a  petty  pension 
after  the  emigration.  Knew  Richelieu  intimately.  Re- 
mained in  Paris  the  inseparable  friend  and  adherent  of 
Kergarouet.  Called  near  the  Madeleine  upon  the  Mesdames 
de  Rouville,  other  protegees  of  his  patron.  The  death  of 
Louis  XVIII.  took  Halga  back  to  Gu6rande,  his  native  town, 
where  he  became  mayor  and  was  still  living  in  1836.  He 
was  well  acquainted  with  the  Gunnies  and  made  himself 
ridiculous  by  his  fancied  ailments  as  well  as  by  his  solicitude 
for  his  dog,  Thisbe".  [The  Purse.  Beatrix.] 

Halpersohn  (Moses),  a  refugee  Polish  Jew,  excellent  physi- 
cian, communist,  very  eccentric,  avaricious,  friend  of  Lelewel 
the  insurrectionist.  Time  of  Louis  Philippe  at  Paris  he  at- 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  231 

tended  Vanda  de  Mergi,  given  up  by  several  doctors,  and 
alone  diagnosed  her  complicated  disease.  [The  Seamy 
Side  of  History.] 

Halpertius,  assumed  name  of  Jacques  Collin. 

Hannequin  (Leopold),  Parisian  notary.  The  "Revue 
de  1'Est,"  a  paper  published  at  Besangon,  time  of  Louis 
Philippe,  gave,  in  an  autobiographical  novel  of  its  editor- 
in-chief,  Albert  Savarus,  entitled  "  L'Ambitieux  par  Amour," 
the  story  of  the  boyhood  of  Leopold  Hannequin,  the  author's 
inseparable  friend.  Savarus  told  of  their  joint  travels, 
and  of  the  quiet  preparation  made  by  his  friend  for  a  notary- 
ship during  the  time  known  as  the  Restoration.  During  the 
monarchy  of  the  barricades  Hannequin  remained  the  stead- 
fast friend  of  Savarus,  being  one  of  the  first  to  find  his  hiding- 
place.  At  that  time  the  notary  had  an  office  in  Paris.  He 
married  there  to  advantage,  became  head  of  a  family,  and 
deputy-mayor  of  a  precinct,  and  obtained  the  decoration 
for  a  wound  received  at  the  cloister  of  Saint-Merri.  He 
was  welcomed  and  made  use  of  in  Faubourg  Saint-Germain, 
the  Saint-Georges  quarter  and  the  Marais.  At  the  Grand- 
lieus'  request  he  drew  up  the  marriage  settlement  of  their 
daughter  Sabine  with  Calyste  du  Gue'nic — 1837.  Four 
years  later  he  consulted  with  old  Marshal  Hulot,  <..n  rae  du 
Montparnasse,  regarding  his  will  in  behalf  of  Mile.  Fischer 
and  Mme.  Steinbock.  About  1845,  at  the  request  of  He'loise 
Brisetout,  he  drew  up  Sylvain  Pens'  will.  [Albert  Savarus. 
Beatrix.  Cousin  Betty.  Cousin  Pons.] 

Happe  &  Duncker,  celebrated  bankers  of  Amsterdam,  ama- 
teur art-collectors,  and  snobbish  parvenus,  bought,  in  1813, 
the  fine  gallery  of  Balthazar  Claes,  paying  one  hundred  thou- 
sand ducats  for  it.  [The  Quest  of  the  Absolute.] 

Haudry,  doctor  at  Paris  during  the  first  part  of  the  nine- 
teenth century.  An  old  man  and  an  upholder  of  old  treat- 
ments; having  a  practice  mainly  among  the  middle  class. 
Attended  Cesar  Birotteau,  Jules  Desmarets,  Mme.  Descoi ngs 
and  Vanda  de  Mergi.  His  name  was  still  cited  at  the  cirl 
of  Louis  Philippe's  reign.  [C6sar  Birrotteau.  The  Thirteen. 


232  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

A  Bachelor's  Establishment.     The  Seamy  Side  of  History. 
Cousin  Pons.] 

Haugoult  (Pere),  oratorian  and  regent  of  the  Ved6me 
college,  about  1811.  Stern  and  narrow-minded,  he  did  not 
comprehend  the  budding  genius  of  one  of  his  pupils,  Louis 
Lambert,  but  destroyed  the  "Treatise  on  the  Will,"  written 
by  the  lad.  [Louis  Lambert.] 

Hauteserre  (D'),  born  in  1751;  grandfather  of  Marquis 
de  Cinq-Cygne ;  guardian  of  Laurence  de  Cinq-Cygne ;  father 
of  Robert  and  Adrien  d' Hauteserre.  A  gentleman  of  caution 
he  would  willingly  have  parleyed  with  the  Revolution ;  he 
made  this  evident  after  1803  in  the  Arcis  precinct  where  he 
resided,  and  especially  during  the  succeeding  years  marked 
by  an  affair  which  jeopardized  the  lives  of  some  of  his  family. 
Gondreville,  Peyrade,  Corentin,  Fouche"  and  Napoleon  were 
bugaboos  to  d'Hauteserre.  He  outlived  his  sons.  [The 
Gondreville  Mystery.  The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Hauteserre  (Madame  d'),  wife  of  the  preceding;  born  in 
1763;  mother  of  Robert  and  Adrien;  showed  throughout 
her  wearied,  saddened  frame  the  marks  of  the  old  regime. 
Following  Goujet's  advice  she  countenanced  the  deeds  of 
Mile,  de  Cinq-Cygne,  the  bold,  dashing  counter-revolutionist 
of  Arcis  during  1803  and  succeeding  years.  Mme.  Hauteserre 
survived  her  sons.  [The  Gondreville  Mystery.] 

Hauteserre  (Robert  d'),  elder  son  of  the  foregoing.  Brusque, 
recalling  the  men  of  medieval  times,  despite  his  feeble 
constitution.  A  man  of  honor,  he  followed  the  fortunes 
of  his  brother  Adrien  and  his  kinsmen  the  Simeuses.  Like 
them,  he  emigrated  during  the  first  Revolution,  and  returned 
to  the  neighborhood  of  Arcis  about  1803.  Like  them  again 
he  became  enamored  of  Mile,  de  Cinq-Cygne.  Wrongly 
accused  of  having  abducted  the  senator,  Malin  de  Gondreville, 
and  sentenced  to  ten  years'  hard  labor,  he  obtained  the 
Emperor's  pardon  and  was  made  sub-lieutenant  in  the 
cavalry.  He  died  as  colonel  at  the  storming  of  Moskowa, 
September  7,  1812.  [The  Gondreville  Mystery.] 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  233 

Hauteserre  (Adrien  d').  second  son  of  M.  and  Mme.  d'Haute- 
serre ;  was  of  different  stamp  from  his  older  brother  Robert, 
yet  had  many  things  in  common  with  the  latter's  career. 
He  also  was  influenced  by  honor.  He  also  emigrated  and, 
on  his  return,  fell  under  the  same  sentence.  He  also  ob- 
tained Napoleon's  pardon  and  a  commission  in  the  army, 
taking  Robert's  place  in  the  attack  on  Moskowa;  and  in 
recognition  of  his  severe  wounds  became  brigadier-general 
after  the  battle  of  Dresden,  August  26,  27,  1813.  The  doors 
of  the  Chateau  de  Cinq-Cygne  were  opened  to  admit  the 
mutilated  soldier,  who  married  its  mistress,  Laurence,  though 
his  affection  was  not  requited.  This  marriage  made  Adrien 
Marquis  de  Cinq-Cygne.  During  the  Restoration  he  was 
made  a  peer,  promoted  to  lieutenant-general,  and  obtained 
the  Cross  of  Saint-Louis.  He  died  in  1829,  lamented  by  his 
wife,  his  parents  and  his  children.  [The  Gondreville  Mystery.] 

Hauteserre  (Abbe"  d'),  brother  of  M.  d'Hauteserre ;  some- 
what like  his  young  kinsman  in  disposition;  made  some 
ado  over  his  noble  birth;  thus  it  happened  that  he  was  killed, 
shot  in  the  attack  on  the  Hotel  de  Cinq-Cygne  by  the  people 
of  Troyes,  in  1792.  .[The  Gondreville  Mystery.] 

Hautoy  (Francis  du),  gentleman  of  AngouleTne;  was  consul 
at  Valence.  Lived  in  the  chief  city  of  Charente  between  1821 
and  1824 ;  frequented  the  Bargetons ;  was  on  the  most  intimate 
terms  with  the  Senonches,  and  was  said  to  be  the  father  of 
Fransoise  de  la  Haye,  daughter  of  Mme.  de  Senonches. 
Hautoy  seemed  slightly  superior  to  his  associates.  [Lost 
Illusions.] 

Henri,  police-agent  at  Paris  in  1840,  given  special  as- 
signments by  Corentin,  and  placed  as  servant  successively 
at  the  Thuilliers,  and  with  Ndpomucene  Picot,  with  the 
duty  of  watching  The"odose  de  la  Peyrade.  [The  Middle 
Classes.] 

Herbelot,  notary  of  Arcis-sur-Aube  during  the  electoral 
period  of  spring,  1839:  visited  the  Beauvisages,  Marions 
and  Mollots.  [The  Member  for  ArcisJ 


234  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDJE  HUMAINE 

Herbelot  (Malvina),  born  in  1809;  sister  of  the  preceding, 
whose  curiosity  she  shared,  when  the  Arcis  elections  were 
in  progress.  She  also  called  on  the  Beauvisages  and  the 
Mollots,  and,  despite  her  thirty  years,  sought  the  society 
of  the  young  women  of  these  houses.  [The  Member  for 
Arcis.] 

Herbomez,  of  Mayenne,  nick-named  General  Hardi ;  chauf- 
feur implicated  in  the  Royalist  uprising  in  which  Henriette 
Bryond  took  part,  during  the  first  Empire.  Like  Mme. 
de  la  Chanterie's  daughter,  Herbomez  paid  with  his  head  his 
share  in  the  rebellion.  His  execution  took  place  in  1809. 
[The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Herbomez  (D'),  brother  of  the  foregoing,  but  more  for- 
tunate, he  ended  by  becoming  a  count  and  receiver-general. 
[The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

He're'dia  (Marie).     (See  Soria,  Duchesse  de.) 

Hermann,  a  Nuremberg  merchant  who  commanded  a 
free  company  enlisted  against  the  French,  in  October,  1799. 
Was  arrested  and  thrown  into  a  prison  of  Andernach,  where 
he  had  for  fellow-prisoner,  Prosper  Magnan,  a  young  as- 
sistant surgeon,  native  of  Beauvais,  Oise.  Hermann  thus 
learned  the  terrible  secret  of  an  unjust  detention  followed 
by  an  execution  equally  unjust.  Many  years  after,  in  Paris, 
he  told  the  story  of  the  martyrdom  of  Magnan  in  the  presence 
of  F.  Taillefer,  the  unpunished  author  of  the  dual  crime  which 
had  caused  the  imprisonment  and  death  of  an  innocent 
man.  [The  Red  Inn.] 

He*ron,  notary  of  Issoudun  in  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  who  was  attorney  for  the  Rougets,  father  and  son. 
[A  Bachelor's  Establishment.] 

He"rouville  (Mare'chal  d'),  whose  ancestors'  names  were 
inscribed  in  the  pages  of  French  history,  during  the  sixteenth 
and  seventeenth  centuries,  replete  with  glory  and  dramatic 
mystery;  was  Due  de  Nivron.  He  was  the  last  governor  of 
Normandy,  returned  from  exile  with  Louis  XVIII.  in  1814, 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  235 

and  died  at  an  advanced  age  in  1819.    [The  Hated  Son. 
Modeste  Mignon.] 

He"rouville  (Due  d'),  son  of  the  preceding;  born  in  179G, 
at  Vienna,  Austria,  during  the  emigration,  "  fruit  of  the  matri- 
monial autumn  of  the  last  governor  of  Normandy";  de- 
scendant of  a  Comte  d'Herouville,  a  Norman  free-lance 
who  lived  under  Henri  IV.  and  Louis  XIII.  He  was  Marquis 
de  Saint-Sever,  Due  de  Nivron,  Comte  de  Bayeux,  Vicomte 
d'Essigriy,  grand  equerry  and  peer  of  France,  chevalier  of  the 
Order  of  the  Spur  and  of  the  Golden  Fleece,  and  grandee 
of  Spain.  A  more  modest  origin,  however,  was  ascribed 
to  him  by  some.  The  founder  of  his  house  was  supposed 
to  have  been  an  usher  at  the  court  of  Robert  of  Normandy. 
But  the  coat-of-arms  bore  the  device  "  Herus  Villa  " — House 
of  the  Chief.  At  any  rate,  the  physical  unattractiveness 
and  comparative  lack  of  means  of  D'Herouville,  who  was  a 
kind  of  dwarf,  contrasted  with  his  aristocratic  lineage.  How- 
ever, his  income  allowed  him  to  keep  a  house  on  rue  Saint- 
Thomas  du  Louvre,  Paris,  and  to  keep  on  good  terms  with 
the  Chaulieus.  He  maintained  Fanny  Beaupre",  who  ap- 
parently cost  him  dear;  for,  about  1829,  he  sought  the  hand 
of  the  Mignon  heiress.  During  the  reign  of  Louis  Philippe, 
D'Herouville,  then  a  social  leader,  had  acquaintance  with 
the  Hulots,  was  known  as  a  celebrated  art  amateur,  and 
resided  on  rue  de  Varenne,  in  Faubourg  Saint-Germain. 
Later  he  took  Josepha  Mirah  from  Hulot,  and  installed  her 
in  fine  style  on  rue  Saint-Maur-du-Temple  with  Olympe 
Bijou.  [The  Hated  Son.  Jealousies  of  a  Country  Town. 
Modeste  Mignon  Cousin  Betty.] 

He*rouville  (Mademoiselle  d'),  aunt  of  the  preceding; 
dreamed  of  a  rich  marriage  for  that  stunted  creature,  who 
seemed  a  sort  of  reproduction  of  an  evil  He>ouville  of  past 
ages.  She  desired  Modeste  Mignon  for  him;  but  her  aris- 
tocratic pride  revolted  at  the  thought  of  Mile.  Monegod  or 
Augusta  de  Nucingen.  [Modeste  Mignon.] 

H€rouville  (H61ene  d'),  niece  of  the  preceding;  sister  of 
Due  d'Herouville;  accompanied  her  relatives  to  Havre  in 
1829;  afterwards  knew  the  Mignons.  [Modeste  Mignon.J 


236  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Herrera  (Carlos),  unacknowledged  son  of  the  Due  d'Gssuna; 
canon  of  the  cathedral  of  Toledo,  charged  with  a  political 
mission  to  France  by  Ferdinand  VII.  He  was  drawn  into 
an  ambush  by  Jacques  Collin,  who  killed  him,  stripped  him 
and  then  assumed  his  name  until  about  1830.  [Lost  Il- 
lusions. Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Hiclar,  Parisian  musician,  in  1845,  who  received  from 
Dubourdieu,  a  symbolical  painter,  author  of  a  figure  of 
Harmony,  an  order  to  compose  a  symphony  suitable  of  being 
played  before  the  picture.  [The  Unconscious  Humorists.] 

Hiley,  alias  the  Laborer,  a  chauffeur  and  the  most  cunning 
of  minor  participants  in  the  Royalist  uprising  of  Orne.  Was 
executed  in  1809.  [The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Hippolyte,  young  officer,  aide-de-camp  to  General  Eble" 
in  the  Russian  campaign;  friend  of  Major  Philippe  de  Sucy. 
Killed  in  an  attack  on  the  Russians  near  Studzianka,  No- 
vember 28,  1812.  [Farewell.] 

Hochon,  born  at  Issoudun  about  1738;  was  tax-receiver 
at  Selles,  Berry.  Married  Maximilienne,  the  sister  of  Sub- 
Delegate  Lousteau.  Had  three  children,  one  of  whom  be- 
came Mme.  Borniche.  Hochon's  marriage  and  the  change 
of  the  political  horizon  brought  him  back  to  his  native  town, 
where  he  and  his  family  were  long  known  as  the  Five  Hochons. 
Mile.  Hochon's  marriage  and  the  death  of  her  brothers 
made  the  jest  still  tenable ;  for  M.  Hochon,  despite  a  proverbial 
avarice,  adopted  their  posterity — Frangois  Hochon,  Baruch 
and  Adolphine  Borniche.  Hochon  lived  till  an  advanced 
age.  He  was  still  living  at  the  end  of  the  Restoration,  and 
gave  shrewd  advice  to  the  Bridaus  regarding  the  Rouget 
legacy.  [A  Bachelor's  Establishment.] 

Hochon  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding,  born  Maximilienne 
Lousteau  about  1750;  sister  of  the  sub-delegate;  also  god- 
mother of  Mme.  Bridau,  nee  Rouget.  During  her  whole  life 
she  displayed  a  sweet  and  resigned  sympathy.  The  neglected 
and  timorous  mother  of  a  family,  she  bore  the  matrimonial 
yoke  of  a  second  Fe"lix  Grandet.  [A  Bachelor's  Establish- 
ment. 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  237 

Hochon,  elder  son  of  the  foregoing;  survived  his  brother 
and  sister;  married  at  an  early  age  to  a  wealthy  woman 
by  whom  he  had  one  son;  died  a  year  before  her,  hi  1813, 
slain  at  the  battle  of  Hanau.  [A  Bachelor's  Establishment.] 

Hochon  (Francois),  son  of  the  preceding,  born  in  1798. 
Left  an  orphan  at  sixteen  he  was  adopted  by  his  paternal 
grandparents  and  lived  in  Issoudun  with  his  cousins, 
the  Borniche  children.  He  affiliated  secretly  with  Maxence 
Gilet,  being  one  of  the  "  Knights  of  Idlesse,"  till  his  conduct 
was  discovered.  His  stern  grandfather  sent  the  young  man 
to  Poitiers  where  he  studied  law  and  received  a  yearly  al- 
lowance of  six  hundred  francs.  [A  Bachelor's  Establish- 
ment.] 

Honorine.     (See  Bauvan,  Comtesse  Octave  de.) 

Hopwood  (Lady  Julia),  English;  made  a  journey  to  Spain 
between  1818  and  1819,  and  had  there  for  a  tune  a  chamber- 
maid known  as  Caroline,  who  was  none  other  than  Antoinette 
de  Langeais,  who  had  fled  from  Paris  after  Montriveau  jilted 
her.  [The  Thirteen.] 

Horeau  (Jacques),  alias  the  Stuart,  had  been  lieutenant 
in  the  Sixty-ninth  d^mi-brigade.  Became  one  of  the  associates 
of  Tinteniac,  known  through  his  participation  in  the  Quiberon 
expedition.  Turned  chauffeur  and  compromised  himself 
in  the  Orne  Royalist  uprising.  Was  executed  in  1809.  [The 
Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Hortense  was,  under  Louis  Philippe,  one  of  the  numerous 
mistresses  of  Lord  Dudley.  She  lived  on  rue  Tronchet 
when  Cerizet  employed  Antonia  Chocardelle  to  hoodwink 
Maxime  de  Trailles.  [A  Man  of  Business.  The  Member 
for  Arcis.] 

Hostal  (Maurice  de  1'),  born  in  1802;  living  physical  por- 
trait of  Byron;  nephew  and  like  an  adopted  son  of  Abbe" 
Loraux.  He  became,  at  Marais,  in  rue  Payenne,  the  sec- 
retary and  afterwards  the  confidant  of  Octave  de  Bauvan. 
W.as  acquainted  with  Honorine  de  Bauvan  on  rue  Saint- 
Maur-Popincourt  and  all  but  fell  in  love  with  her.  Turned 


238  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

diplomat,  left  France,  married  the  Italian,  Onorina  Pedrotti, 
and  became  head  of  a  family.  While  consul  to  Genoa,  about 
1836,  he  again  met  Octave  de  Bauvan,  then  a  widower  and 
near  his  end,  who  entrusted  his  son  to  him.  M.  de  1'Hostal 
once  entertained  Claude  Vignon,  Le"on  de  Lora  and  Felicit6 
des  Touches,  to  whom  he  related  the  marital  troubles  of 
the  Bauvans.  [Honorine.] 

Hostal  (Madame  Maurice  de  T),  wife  of  the  preceding,  born 
Onorina  Pedrotti.  A  beautiful  and  unusually  rich  Genoese; 
slightly  jealous  of  the  consul;  perhaps  overheard  the  story 
of  the  Bauvans.  [Honorine.] 

Hulot,  born  in  1766,  served  under  the  first  Republic  and 
Empire.  Took  an  active  part  in  the  wars  and  tragedies 
of  the  time.  Commanded  the  Seventy-second  demi-brigade, 
called  the  Mayengaise,  during  the  Chouan  uprising  of  1799 
Fought  against  Montauran.  His  career  as  private  and  officer 
had  been  so  filled  that  his  thirty-three  years  seemed  an  age. 
He  went  out  a  great  deal.  Rubbed  elbows  with  Montcornet; 
called  on  Mme.  de  la  Baudraye.  He  remained  a  democrat 
during  the  Empire;  nevertheless  Bonaparte  recognized  him. 
Hulot  was  made  colonel  of  the  grenadiers  of  the  Guard, 
Comte  de  Forzheim  and  marshal.  Retired  to  his  splendid 
home  on  rue  du  Montparnasse,  where  he  passed  his  declining 
years  simply,  being  deaf,  remaining  a  friend  of  Cottin  de 
Wissembourg,  and  often  surrounded  by  the  family  of  a 
brother  whose  misconduct  hastened  his  end  in  1841.  Hulot 
was  given  a  superb  funeral.  [The  Chouans.  The  Muse  of 
the  Department.  Cousin  Betty.] 

Hulot  d'Ervy  (Baron  Hector),  born  about  1775;  brother  of 
the  preceding;  took  the  name  of  Hulot  d'Ervy  early  in  life 
in  order  to  make  a  distinction  between  himself  and  his  brother 
to  whom  he  owed  the  brilliant  beginning  of  a  civil  and  military 
career.  Hulot  d'Ervy  became  ordonnance  commissary  during 
the  P»,epublic.  The  Empire  made  him  a  baron.  During 
one  of  these  periods  he  married  Adeline  Fischer,  by  whom 
he  had  two  children.  The  succeeding  governments,  at 
least  that  of  July,  also  favored  Hector  Hulot,  and  he  became 


239 

in  turn  intendant-general,  director  of  the  War  Department, 
councilor  of  state,  and  grand  officer  of  the  Legion  of  Honor! 
His  private  misbehavior  dated  from  these  periods  and  gathered 
force  while  he  lived  at  Paris.  Each  of  his  successive  mistresses 
—Jenny  Cadine,  Jose'pha  Mirah,  Valerie  Marneffe,  Olympe 
Bijou,  Elodie  Chardin,  Atala  Judici,  Agathe  Piquetard— 
precipitated  his  dishonor  and  ruin.  He  hid  under  various 
names,  as  Thoul,  Thorec  and  Vyder,  anagrams  of  Hulot, 
Hector  and  D'Ervy.  Neither  the  persecutions  of  the  money- 
lender Samanon  nor  the  influence  of  his  family  could  reform 
him.  After  his  wife's  death  he  married,  February  1,  184G, 
Agathe  Piquetard,  his  kitchen-girl  and  the  lowest  of  his 
servants.  [Cousin  Betty.] 

Hulot  d'Ervy  (Baronne  Hector),  wife  of  the  preceding; 
born  Adeline  Fischer,  about  1790,  in  the  village  of  Vosges; 
remarkable  for  her  beauty;  was  married  for  mutual  love, 
despite  her  inferior  birth,  and  for  some  time  lived  caressed 
and  adored  by  her  husband  and  venerated  by  her  brother- 
in-law.  At  the  end  of  the  Empire  probably  commenced 
her  sorrows  and  the  faithlessness  of  Hector,  notwithstanding 
the  two  children  born  of  their  union,  Victorin  and  Hortcnsc. 
Had  it  not  been  for  her  maternal  solicitude  the  baroness 
could  have  condoned  the  gradual  degradation  of  her  hus- 
band. The  honor  of  the  name  and  the  future  of  her  daughter 
gave  her  concern.  No  sacrifice  was  too  great  for  her.  She 
vainly  offered  herself  to  Celestin  Crevel,  whom  she  had  for- 
merly scorned,  and  underwent  the  parvenu's  insults;  she 
besought  Jose'pha  Mirah's  aid,  and  rescued  the  baron  from 
Atala  Judici.  The  closing  years  of  her  life  were  not  quite 
so  miserable.  She  devoted  herself  to  charitable  offices, 
and  lived  on  rue  Louis-le-Grand  with  her  married  children 
and  their  reclaimed  father.  The  intervention  of  Victorin, 
and  the  deaths  of  the  Comte  de  Forzheim,  of  Lisbeth  Fischer 
and  of  M.  and  Mme.  Crevel,  induced  comfort  and  security 
that  was  often  menaced.  But  the  conduct  of  Hector  with 
Agathe  Piquetard  broke  the  thread  of  Mme.  Hulot  d'Ervy 's 
life;  for  some  time  she  had  had  a  nervous  trouble.  She 
died  aged  about  fifty-six.  [Cousin  Betty  .§ 


240  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Hulot  (Victorin),  elder  child  of  the  foregoing.  Married 
Mile.  Ce'lestine  Crevel  and  was  father  of  a  family.  Became 
under  Louis  Philippe  one  of  the  leading  attorneys  of  Paris. 
Was  deputy,  counsel  of  the  War  Department,  consulting 
counsel  of  the  police  service  and  counsel  for  the  civil  list. 
His  salary  for  the  various  offices  came  to  eighteen  thousand 
francs.  He  was  seated  at  Palais-Bourbon  when  the  election 
of  Dorlange-Sallenauve  was  contested.  His  connection 
with  the  police  enabled  him  to  save  his  family  from  the  clutches 
of  Mme.  Valerie  Crevel.  In  1834  he  owned  a  house  on  rue 
Louis-le-Grand.  Seven  or  eight  years  later  he  sheltered 
nearly  all  the  Hulots  and  their  near  kindred,  but  he  could 
not  prevent  the  second  marriage  of  his  father.  [The  Member 
for  Arcis.  Cousin  Betty.] 

Hulot  (Madame  Victorin),  wife  of  preceding,  born  Celestine 
Crevel;  married  as  a  result  of  a  meeting  between  her  father 
and  her  father-in-law,  who  were  both  libertines.  She  took 
part  in  the  dissensions  between  the  two  families,  replaced 
Lisbeth  Fischer  in  the  care  of  the  house  on  rue  Louis-le- 
Grand,  and  probably  never  saw  the  second  Mme.  Celestin 
Crevel,  unless  at  the  death-bed  of  the  retired  perfumer. 
[Cousin  Betty.] 

Hulot  (Hortense).     (See  Steinbock,  Comtesse  Wenceslas.) 

Hulot  d'Ervy  (Baronne  Hector),  ne'e  Agathe  Piquetard 
of  Isigny,  where  she  became  the  second  wife  of  Hector  Hulot 
d'Ervy.  Went  to  Paris  as  kitchen-maid  for  Hulot  about 
December,  1845,  and  was  married  to  her  master,  then  a 
widower,  on  February  1,  1846.  [Cousin  Betty.] 

Humann,  celebrated  Parisian  tailor  of  1836  and  suc- 
ceeding years.  At  the  instance  of  the  students  Rabourdin 
and  Juste  he  clothed  the  poverty-stricken  Zephirin  Marcas 
"as  a  politician."  [Z.  Marcas.] 

Husson  (Madame.)     (See  Mme.  Clapart.) 

Husson  (Oscar),  born  about  1804,  son  of  the  preceding 
and  of  M.  Husson — army-contractor;  led  a  checkered  career, 
explained  by  his  origin  and  childhood.  He  scarcely  knew 


REPERTORY  OP  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  241 

his  father,  who  made  and  soon  lost  a  fortune.  The  previous 
fast  life  of  his  mother,  who  afterwards  married  again,  gave 
rise  to  or  upheld  some  more  or  less  influential  connections 
and  made  her,  during  the  first  Empire,  the  titular  femme  de 
chimbre  to  Madame  Mere — Letitia  Bonaparte.  Napoleon's 
fall  marked  the  ruin  of  the  Hussons.  Oscar  and  his  mother — 
now  married  to  M.  Clapart — lived  in  a  modest  apartment 
on  rue  de  la  Cerisaie,  Paris.  Oscar  obtained  a  license  and 
became  clerk  in  Desroches'  law  office  in  Paris,  being  coached 
by  Godeschal.  During  this  time  he  became  acquainted 
with  two  young  men,  his  cousins  the  Marests.  One  of  them 
had  previously  instigated  an  early  escapade  of  Oscar's,  and 
it  was  now  followed  by  one  much  more  serious,  on  rue  de 
Vendome  at  the  house  of  Florentine  Cabirolle,  who  was  then 
maintained  by  Cardot,  Oscar's  wealthy  uncle.  Husson  was 
forced  to  abandon  law  and  enter  military  service.  He  was 
in  the  cavalry  regiment  of  the  Due  de  Maufrigneuse  and  the 
Vicomte  de  Serizy.  The  interest  of  the  dauphiness  and  of 
Abbe  Gaudron  obtained  for  him  promotion  and  a  decoration. 
He  became  in  turn  aide-de-camp  to  La  Fayette,  captain, 
officer  of.  the  Legion  of  Honor  and  lieutenant-colonel.  A 
noteworthy  deed  made  him  famous  on  Algerian  territory 
during  the  affair  of  La  Macta;  Husson  lost  his  left  arm  in  the 
vain  attempt  to  save  Vicomte  de  S6rizy.  Put  on  half-pay, 
he  obtained  the  post  of  collector  for  Beaumont-sur-Oise. 
He  then  married — 1838— Georgette  Pierrotin  and  met  again 
the  accomplices  or  witnesses  of  his  earlier  escapades — one 
of  the  Marests,  the  Moreaus,  etc.  [A  Start  in  Life.] 

Husson  (Madame  Oscar),  wife  of  the  preceding;  born 
Georgette  Pierrotin;  daughter  of  the  proprietor  of  the  stage- 
service  of  Oise.  [A  Start  in  Life.] 

Hyde  de  Neuville  (Jean-Guillaume,  Baron)— 1776-1857— 
belonged  to  the  Martignac  ministry  of  1828;  was,  in  1797, 
one  of  the  most  active  Bourbon  agents.  Kept  civil  war 
aflame  in  the  West,  and  held  a  conference  in  1799  with  First 
Consul  Bonaparte  relative  to  the  restoration  of  Louis  XVIII. 
[The  Chouans.] 


242  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 


Idamore,  nick-name  of  Chardin  junior  while  he  was  claqueur 
in  a  theatre  on  the  Boulevard  du  Temple,  Paris.  [Cousin 
Betty.] 

Isemberg  (Mare'chal,  Due  d'),  probably  belonged  to  the 
Imperial  nobility.  He  lost  at  the  gaming  table,  in  November, 
1809,  in  a  grand  f6te  given  at  Paris  at  Senator  Malin  de 
Gondreville's  home,  while  the  Duchesse  de  Lansac  was  acting 
as  peacemaker'  between  a  youthful  married  couple.  [Do- 
mestic Peace.] 

J 

Jacmin  (Philoxene),  of  Honfleur;  perhaps  cousin  of 
Jean  Butscha;  maid  to  Ele"onore  de  Chaulieu;  in  love  with 
Germain  Bonnet,  valet  of  Melchior  de  Canalis.  [Modeste 
Mignon.] 

Jacome"ty,  head  jailer  of  the  Conciergerie,  at  Paris,  in  May, 
1830,  during  Rubempre's  imprisonment.  [Scenes  from  a 
Courtesan's  Life.] 

Jacquelin,  born  in  Normandy  about  1776;  in  1816  was  em- 
ployed by  Mile.  Cormon,  an  old  maid  of  Alengon.  He  married 
when  she  espoused  M.  du  Bousquier.  After  the  double 
marriage  Jacquelin  remained  for  some  time  in  the  service 
of  the  niece  of  the  Abb6  de  Sponde.  [Jealousies  of  a  Country 
Town.] 

Jacques,  for  a  considerable  period  butler  of  Claire  de 
Beauseant,  following  her  to  Bayeux.  Essentially  "aris- 
tocratic, intelligent  and  discreet, "  he  understood  the  suffer- 
ings of  his  mistress.  [Father  Goriot.  The  Deserted  Woman.] 

Jacquet  (Claude- Joseph),  a  worthy  bourgeois  of  the  Restora- 
tion; head  of  a  family,  and  something  of  a  crank.  He  per- 
formed the  duties  of  a  deputy-mayor  in  Paris,  and  also  had 
charge  of  the  archives  in  the  Department  of  Foreign  Affairs. 
Was  greatly  indebted  to  his  friend  Jules  Desmarets;  so  he 
deciphered  for  him,  about  1820,  a  code  letter  of  Gratien 
Bourignard.  When  Clemence  Desmarets  died,  Jacquet 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  243 

Comforted  the  broker  in  the  Saint-Roch  church  and  in  the 
Pere-Lachaise  cemetery.     [The  Thirteen.] 

Jacquinot,  said  to  have  succeeded  Cardot  as  notary  at  Paris, 
time  of  Louis  Philippe  [The  Middle  Classes];  but  since  Cardot 
was  succeeded  by  Berthier,  his  son-in-law,  a  discrepancy  is 
apparent. 

Jacquotte,  left  the  service  of  a  cure*  for  that  of  Dr.  Benassis, 
whose  house  she  managed  with  a  devotion  and  care  not  mi- 
mixed  with  despotism.  [The  Country  Doctor.] 

Jan, l  a  painter  who  cared  not  a  fig  for  glory.  About  1838 
he  covered  with  flowers  and  decorated  the  door  of  a  bed- 
chamber in  a  suite  owned  by  Crevel  on  rue  du  Dauphin, 
Paris.  [Cousin  Betty.] 

Janvier,  priest  in  a  village  of  Isere  in  1829,  a  "  veritable 
Fe"nelon  shrunk  to  a  curb's  proportions " ;  knew,  understood 
and  assisted  Benassis.  [The  Country  Doctor.] 

Japhet  (Baron),  celebrated  chemist  who  subjected  to 
hydrofluoric  acid,  to  chloride  of  nitrogen,  and  to  the  action 
of  the  voltaic  battery  the  mysterious  "  magic  skin  "  of  Raphael 
de  Valentin.  To  his  stupefaction  the  savant  wrought  no 
change  on  the  tissue.  [The  Magic  Skin.] 

Jean,  coachman  and  trusted  servant  of  M.  de  Merret, 
at  Vendome,  in  1816.  [La  Grande  Breteche.  Another 
Study  of  Woman.] 

Jean,  landscape  gardener  and  farm-hand  for  Felix  Grandet, 
engaged  about  November,  1819,  in  a  field  on  the  bank  of  the 
Loire,  filling  holes  left  by  removed  poplars  and  planting 
other  trees.  [Eugenie  Grandet.] 

Jean,  one  of  the  keepers  of  Pere-Lachaise  cemetery  in 
1820-1821;  conducted  Desmarets  and  Jacquet  to  the  tomb 
of  Cle"mence  Bourignard,  who  had  recently  been  interred.* 
[The  Thirteen.] 

1  Perhaps  the  fresco-painter,  Laurent-Jan,  author  of  "Unrepentant  Misanthropy," 
and  the  friend  of  Balzac,  to  whom  the  latter  dedicated  his  drama,  "Vautrin. 

2  In  1868,  at  Paris,  MM.  Ferdinand  DIIRUI'   and    Peaucellier  presented  a  play  at 
the  Gatt£  theatre,  where  one  of   the  chief  characters  was  Clcmence  Bourignard- 
Deemarets. 


244  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Jean,  lay  brother  of  an  abbey  until  1791,  when  he  found  a 
home  with  Niseron,  cure  of  Blangy,  Burgundy;  seldom  left 
Gregoire  Rigou,  whose  factotum  he  finally  became.  [The 
Peasantry.] 

Jeannette,  born  in  1758;  cook  for  Ragon  at  Paris  in  1818, 
in  rue  du  Petit-Lion-Saint-Sulpice ;  distinguished  herself 
at  the  Sunday  receptions.  [Cesar  Birotteau.] 

Jeanrenaud  (Madame),  a  Protestant,  widow  of  a  salt  barge- 
man, by  whom  she  had  a  son.  A  stout,  ugly  and  vulgar 
woman,  who  recovered,  during  the  Restoration,  a  fortune  that 
had  been  stolen  by  the  Catholic  ancestors  of  D'Espard  and 
was  restored  by  him  despite  a  suit  to  restrain  him  by  in- 
junction. Mme.  Jeanrenaud  lived  at  Villeparisis,  and  then 
at  Paris,  where  she  dwelt  successively  on  rue  de  la  Vrilliere 
— No.  8 — and  on  Grand  rue  Verte.  [The  Commission  in 
Lunacy.] 

Jeanrenaud,  son  of  the  preceding,  born  about  1792.  He 
served  as  officer  in  the  Imperial  Guard,  and,  through  the 
influence  of  D'Espard-Negrepelisse,  became,  in  1828,  chief 
of  squadron  in  the  First  regiment  of  the  Cuirassiers  of  the 
Guard.  Charles  X.  made  him  a  baron.  He  then  married 
a  niece  of  Monegod.  His  beautiful  villa  on  Lake  Geneva 
is  mentioned  by  Albert  Savarus  in  "  L'Ambitieux  par  Amour," 
published  in  the  reign  of  Louis  Philippe.  [The  Commission 
in  Lunacy.  Albert  Savarus.] 

Jenny  was,  during  the  Restoration,  maid  and  confidante 
of  Aquilina  de  la  Garde;  afterwards,  but  for  a  very  brief 
time,  mistress  of  Castanier.  [Melmoth  Reconciled.] 

Je*rome  (Pere),  second-hand  book-seller  on  Pont  Notre- 
Dame,  Paris,  in  1821  >  at  the  time  when  Rubempre1  was  making 
a  start  there.  [A  Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.] 

Jerome,  valet  successively  of  Galard  and  of  Albert  Savarus 
at  Besangon.  He  may  have  served  the  Parisian  lawyer 
less  sedulously  because  of  Mariette,  a  servant  at  the  Watte- 
villes,  whose  dowry  he  was  after.  [Albert  Savarus.j} 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  245 

Johnson  (Samuel),  assumed  name  of  the  police-agent, 
Peyrade. 

Jolivard,  clerk  of  registry,  rue  de  Normandie,  Paris,  about 
the  end  of  Louis  Philippe's  reign.  He  lived  on  the  first 
floor  of  the  house  owned  by  Pillerault,  attended  by  the  Cibots 
and  tenanted  by  the  Chapoulots,  Pons  and  Schmucke. 
[Cousin  Pons.] 

Jonathas,  valet  of  M.  de  Valentin  senior;  foster-father 
of  Raphael  de  Valentin,  whose  steward  he  aftenvards  became 
when  the  young  man  was  a  multi-millionaire.  He  served 
him  faithfully  and  survived  him.  [The  Magic  Skin.] 

Jordy  (De)  had  been  successively  captain  in  a  regiment 
of  Royal-Sue'dois  and  professor  in  the  Ecole  Militaire.  He 
had  a  refined  nature  and  a  tender  heart ;  was  the  type  of  a 
poor  but  uncomplaining  gentleman.  His  soul  must  have 
been  the  scene  of  sad  secrets.  Certain  signs  led  one  to  believe 
that  he  had  had  children  whom  he  had  adored  and  lost. 
M.  de  Jordy  lived  modestly  and  quietly  at  Nemours.  A 
similarity  of  tastes  and  character  drew  him  toward  Denis 
Minoret  whose  intimate  friend  he  became,  and  at  whose  home 
he  conceived  a  liking  for  the  doctors  young  ward — Mme. 
Savinien  de  Portenduere.  He  had  great  influence  over  her, 
and  left  her  an  income  of  fourteen  hundred  francs  when  he 
died  in  1823.  [Ursule  Mirouet.] 

Joseph,  with  Charles  and  Frangois,  was  of  the  establishment 
of  Montcornet  at  Aigues,  Burgundy,  about  1823.  [The 
Peasantry.] 

Joseph,  faithful  servant  of  Rastignac  at  Paris,  under  the 
Restoration.  In  1828  he  carried  to  the  Marquise  de  Listomere 
a  letter  written  by  his  master  to  Mme.  de  Nucingen.  This 
error,  for  which  Joseph  could  hardly  be  held  responsible, 
caused  the  scorn  of  the  marquise  when  she  discovered  that 
the  missive  was  intended  for  another.  [The  Magic  Skin. 
A  Study  of  Woman.] 

Joseph,  in  the  service  of  F.  du  Tillet,  Paris,  when  his 


246  REPERTORY  Ot  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAlfcU 

master  was  fairly  launched  in  society  and  received  Birotteau 
in  state.    [Cesar  Birotteau.] 

Joseph,  given  name  of  a  worthy  chimney-builder  of  rue 
Saint-Lazare,  Paris,  about  the  end  of  the  reign  of  Louis 
Philippe.  Of  Italian  origin,  the  head  of  a  family,  saved  from 
ruin  by  Adeline  Hulot,  who  acted  for  Mme.  de  la  Chanterie. 
Joseph  was  in  touch  with  the  scribe,  Vyder,  and  when  he 
took  Mme.  Hulot  to  see  the  latter  she  recognized  in  him  her 
husband.  [Cousin  Betty.] 

Jose"pha.     (See  Mirah,  Jose'pha.) 

Josette,  cook  for  Claes  at  Douai;  greatly  attached  to 
Josephine,  Marguerite  and  Felicie  Claes.  Died  about  the 
end  of  the  Restoration.  [The  Quest  of  the  Absolute.] 

Josette,  old  housekeeper  for  Maitre  Mathias  of  Bordeaux 
during  the  Restoration.  She  accompanied  her  master 
when  he  bade  farewell  to  Paul  de  Manerville  the  emigrant. 
[A  Marriage  Settlement.] 

Josette,  in  and  previous  to  1816  chambermaid  of  Victoire- 
Rose  Cormon  of  Alencon.  She  married  Jacquelin  when  her 
mistress  married  du  Bousquier.  [Jealousies  of  a  Country 
Town.] 

Judici  (Atala),  born  about  1829,  of  Lombard  descent; 
had  a  paternal  grandfather,  who  was  a  wealthy  chimney- 
builder  of  Paris  during  the  first  Empire,  an  employer  of 
Joseph;  he  died  in  1819.  Mile.  Judici  did  not  inherit  her 
grandfather's  fortune,  for  it  was  run  through  with  by  her 
father.  In  1844  she  was  given  by  her  mother — so  the  story 
goes — to  Hector  Hulot  for  fifteen  thousand  francs.  She 
then  left  her  family,  who  lived  on  rue  de  Charonne,  and  lived 
maritally  with  her  protector,  who  had  turned  public  scribe 
on  Passage  du  Soleil.  The  pretty  Atala  was  obliged  to 
leave  Hulot  when  his  wife  found  him.  Mme.  Hulot  promised 
her  a  dowry  and  to  wed  her  to  Joseph's  oldest  son.  She 
was  sometimes  called  Judix,  which  is  a  French  corruption 
of  the  Italian  name.  [Cousin  Betty.] 

Judith.     (See  Mme.  Genestas.) 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMED1E  HUMAINE  247 

Julien,  one  of  the  turnkeys  of  the  Conciergerie  in  1830, 
during  the  trial  of  Herrera — Vautrin — and  Rubempr6.  [Scenes 
from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Julien,  probably  a  native  of  Champagne;  a  young  man  in 
1839,  and  in  the  service  of  Sub-Prefect  Goulard,  in  Arcis- 
sur-Aube.  He  learned  through  Anicette,  and  revealed 
to  the  Beauvisages  and  Mollots,  the  Legitimist  plots  of  the 
Chateau  de  Cinq-Cygne,  where  lived  Georges  de  Maufrigneuse. 
Daniel  d'Arthez,  Laurence  de  Cinq-Cygne,  Diane  de  Cadignan 
and  Berthe  de  Maufrigneuse.  [The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Julliard,  head  of  the  firm  of  Julliard  in  Paris,  about  1806. 
At  the  "Ver  Chinois,"  rue  Saint-Denis,  he  sold  silk  in  bolls. 
Sylvie  Rogron  was  assistant  saleswoman.  Twenty  years 
later  he  met  her  again  in  their  native  country  of  Provins, 
where  he  had  retired  in  1815,  the  head  of  a  family  grouped 
about  the  Guepins  and  the  GuenSes,  thus  forming  three 
great  clans.  [Pierrette.] 

Julliard,  elder  son  of  the  preceding;  married  the  only 
daughter  of  a  rich  farmer  and  also  conceived  a  platonic 
affection  at  Provins  for  Melanie  Tiphaine,  the  most  beautiful 
woman  of  the  official  colony  during  the  Restoration.  Julliard 
followed  commerce  and  literature;  he  maintained  a  stage 
line,  and  a  journal  christened  "La  Ruche,"  in  which  latter 
he  burned  incense  to  Mme.  Tiphaine.  [Pierrette.] 

Jussieu  (Julien),  youthful  conscript  in  the  great  draft 
of  1793.  Sent  with  a  note  for  lodgment  to  the  home  of 
Mme.  de  Dey  at  Carentan,  where  he  was  the  innocent  cause 
of  that  woman's  sudden  death;  she  was  just  then  expecting 
the  return  of  her  son,  a  Royalist  hunted  by  the  Republican 
troops.  [The  Conscript.] 

Juste,  born  in  1811,  studied  medicine  in  Paris,  and  after- 
wards went  to  Asia  to  practice.  In  1836  he  lived  on  rue 
Corneille  with  Charles  Rabourdin,  when  they  helped  the 
poverty-stricken  Zephirin  Marcas.  [Z.  Marcas.] 

Justin,  old  and  experienced  valet  of  the  Vidame  de  Pamiers; 
was  secretly  slain  by  order  of  Bourignard  because  he  had 


248  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMED1E  HUMAINE 

discovered  the  real  name,  but  carefully  concealed,  of  the 
father  of  Mme.  Desmarets.     [The  Thirteen.] 

Justine,  was  maid  to  the  Comtesse  Foedora,  in  Paris,  when 
her  mistress  received  calls  from  M.  de  Valentin.  [The  Magic 
Skin.1 

K 

Katt,  a  Flemish  woman,  the  nurse  of  Lydie  de  la  Peyrade, 
whom  she  attended  constantly  in  Paris  on  rue  des  Moineaux 
about  1829,  and  during  her  mistress'  period  of  insanity  on 
rue  Honore  Chevalier  in  1840.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's 
Life.  The  Middle  Classes.] 

Keller  (Frangois),  one  of  the  influential  and  wealthy 
Parisian  bankers,  during  a  period  extending  perhaps  from 
1809  to  1839.  As  such,  in  November,  1809,  under  the  Empire, 
he  was  one  of  the  guests  at  a  fine  reception,  given  by 
Comte  Malin  de  Gondreville,  meeting  there  Isemberg,  Mont- 
cornet,  Mesdames  de  Lansac  and  de  Vaudemont,  and  a  mixed 
company  composed  of  members  of  the  aristocracy  and  people 
illustrious  under  the  Empire.  At  this  time,  moreover, 
Frangois  Keller  was  in  the  family  of  Malin  de  Gondreville, 
one  of  whose  daughters  he  had  married.  This  marriage, 
besides  making  him  the  brother-in-law  of  the  Marechal  de 
Carigliano,  gave  him  assurance  of  the  deputyship,  which  he 
obtained  in  1816  and  held  until  1836.  The  district  electors 
of  Arcis-sur-Aube  kept  him  in  the  legislature  during  that  long 
period.  Frangois  Keller  had,  by  his  marriage  with  Mademoi- 
selle de  Gondreville,  one  son,  Charles,  who  died  before  his 
parents  in  the  spring  of  1839.  As  deputy,  Frangois  Keller 
became  one  of  the  most  noted  orators  of  the  Left  Centre. 
He  shone  as  a  member  of  the  opposition,  especially  from  1819 
to  1825.  Adroitly  he  drew  about  himself  the  robe  of  phil- 
anthropy. Politics  never  turned  his  attention  from  finance. 
In  1819,  on  rue  du  Houssay,  while  Decazes  awaited  him, 
Frangois  Keller,  seconded  by  his  brother  and  partner,  Adolphe 
Keller,  refused  to  aid  the  needy  perfumer,  Ce"sar  Birotteau. 
Between  1821  and  1823  the  creditors  of  Guillaume  Grandet, 
the  bankrupt,  unanimously  selected  him  and  M.  des  Gras- 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE 'HUMAINE  24fr 

sins  of  Sauraur  as  adjusters.  Despite  his  display  of  Puri- 
tanical virtues,  the  private  career  of  Frangois  Keller  was  not 
spotless.  In  1825  it  was  known  that  he  had  an  illegitimate 
and  costly  liaison  with  Flavie  Colleville.  Rallying  to  the 
support  of  the  new  monarchy  from  1830  to  1836,  Francois 
Keller  saw  his  Philippist  zeal  rewarded  in  1839.  He  exchanged 
his  commission  at  the  Palais-Bourbon  for  a  peerage,  and 
received  the  title  of  count.  [Domestic  Peace.  Ce"sar  Birot- 
teau.  Eugenie  Grandet.  The  Government  Clerks.  The 
Member  for  Arcis.] 

Keller  (Madame  Frangois),  wife  of  the  preceding;  daughter 
of  Malin  de  Gondreville;  mother  of  Charles  Keller,  who  died 
in  1839.  Under  the  Restoration,  she  inspired  a  warm  passion 
in  the  heart  of  the  son  of  the  Duchesse  de  Marigny.  [Domestic 
Peace.  The  Member  for  Arcis.  The  Thirteen.] 

Keller  (Charles),  born  in  1809,  son  of  the  preceding  couple, 
grandson  of  the  Comte  de  Gondreville,  nephew  of  the 
Marechale  de  Carigliano;  his  life  was  prematurely  ended 
in  1839,  at  a  time  when  a  brilliant  future  seemed  before  him. 
As  a  major  of  staff  at  the  side  of  the  Prince  Royal,  Ferdinand 
d'Orle"ans,  he  took  the  field  in  Algeria.  His  bravery  urged 
him  on  in  pursuit  of  the  Emir  Abd-el-Kader,  and  he  gave  up 
his  life  in  the  face  of  the  enemy.  Becoming  viscount  as  a 
result  of  the  knighting  of  his  father,  and  assured  of  the  favors 
of  the  heir  presumptive  to  the  throne,  Charles  Keller,  at  the 
moment  when  death  surprised  him,  was  on  the  point  of  taking 
his  seat  in  the  Lower  Chamber;  for  the  body  of  electors  of  the 
district  of  Arcis-sur-Aube  were  almost  sure  to  elect  a  man 
whom  the  Tuileries  desired  so  ardently.  [The  Member  for 
Arcis.] 

Keller  (Adolphe),  brother — probably  younger — of  Frangois 
and  his  partner;  a  very  shrewd  man,  who  was  really  in  charge 
of  the  business,  a  "regular  lynx."  On  account  of  his  in- 
timate relations  with  Nucingen  and  F.  du  Tillet,  he  flatly 
refused  to  aid  C6sar  Birotteau,  who  implored  his  assistance. 
[The  Middle  Classes.  Pierrette.  Cesar  Birotteau.] 

Kergarouet   (Comte  de),  born  about  the  middle  of  the 


250  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HTJMAINE 

eighteenth  century;  of  the  Bretagne  nobility;  entered  the 
navy,  served  long  and  valiantly  upon  the  sea,  commanded 
the  "Belle-Poule,"  and  died  a  vice-admiral.  Possessor  of  a 
great  fortune,  by  his  charity  he  made  amends  for  the  foulness 
of  some  of  his  youthful  love  affairs  (1771  and  following), 
and  at  Paris,  near  the  Madeleine,  towards  the  beginning  oi 
the  nineteenth  century,  with  much  delicacy,  he  helped  the 
Baronne  Leseigneur  de  Rouville.  A  little  later,  at  the  age 
of  seventy-two,  having  for  a  long  time  been  a  widower  and 
retired  from  the  navy,  while  enjoying  the  hospitality  of  his 
relatives,  the  Fontaines  and  the  Planat  de  Bandrys,  who 
lived  in  the  neighborhood  of  Sgeaux,  Kergarouet  mar- 
ried his  niece,  one  of  the  daughters  of  Fontaine.  He  died 
before  her.  M.  de  Kergarouet  was  also  a  relative  of  the 
Portendueres  and  did  not  forget  them.  [The  Purse.  The 
Ball  at  Sgeaux.  Ursule  Mirouet.] 

Kergarouet  (Comtesse  de).  (See  Vandenesse,  Marquise 
Charles  de.) 

Kergarouet  (Vicomte  de),  nephew  of  the  Comte  de  Ker- 
garouet, husband  of  a  Pen-Hoel,  by  whom  he  had  four 
daughters.  Evidently  lived  at  Nantes  in  1836.  [B6atrix.] 

Kergarouet  (Vicomtesse  de),  wife  of  the  preceding,  born 
at  Pen-Hoel  in  1789;  younger  sister  of  Jacqueline;  mother 
of  four  girls;  very  affected  woman  and  looked  upon  as  such 
by  Felicite"  des  Touches  and  Arthur  de  Rochefide.  Lived 
in  Nantes  in  1836.  [Beatrix.] 

Kergarouet  (Charlotte  de),  born  in  1821,  one  of  the 
daughters  of  the  preceding,  grand-niece  of  the  Comte  de 
Kergarouet;  of  his  four  nieces  she  was  the  favorite  of  the 
wealthy  Jacqueline  de  Pen-Hoel ;  a  good-hearted  little  coun- 
try girl ;  fell  in  love  with  Calyste  du  Gue'nic  in  1836,  but  did 
not  marry  him.  [Beatrix.] 

Kolb,  an  Alsatian,  served  as  "man  of  all  work"  at  the 
home  of  the  Didots  in  Paris;  had  served  in  the  cuirassiers. 
Under  the  Restoration  he  became  "printer's  devil"  in  the 
establishment  of  David  Sechard  of  Angoule"me,  for  whom  he 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  251 

showed  an  untiring  devotion,  and  whose  servant,  Marion, 
he  married.     [Lost  Illusions.] 

Kolb  (Marion),  wife  of  the  preceding,  with  whom  she  be- 
came acquainted  while  at  the  home  of  David  Se"  chard.  She 
was,  at  first,  in  the  service  of  the  Angouleme  printer,  Je'rome- 
Nicolas  Sechard,  for  whom  she  had  less  praise  than  for  David. 
Marion  Kolb  was  like  her  husband  in  her  constant,  childlike 
devotion.  [Lost  Illusions.] 

Kouski,  Polish  lancer  in  the  French  Royal  Guards,  lived 
very  unhappily  in  1815-16,  but  enjoyed  life  better  the 
following  year.  At  that  time  he  lived  at  Issoudun  in  the 
home  of  the  wealthy  Jean-Jacques  Rouget,  and  served  the 
commandant,  Maxence  Gilet.  The  latter  became  the  idol 
of  the  grateful  Kouski.  [A  Bachelor's  Establishment.] 

Kropoli  (Zena),  Montenegrin  of  Zahara,  seduced  in  1809 
by  the  French  gunner,  Auguste.Niseron,  by  whom  she  had  a 
daughter,  Genevi£ve.  One  year  later,  at  Vincennes,  France, 
she  died  as  a  result  of  her  confinement.  The  necessary 
marriage  papers,  which  would  have  rendered  valid  the  situa- 
tion of  Ze"na  Kropoli,  arrivea  a  few  days  after  her  death. 
[The  Peasantry.] 


La  Bastie  (Monsieur,  Madame  and  Mademoiselle  de).  (See 
Mignon.) 

La  Bastie  la  Brifere  (Ernest  de),  member  of  a  good  family 
of  Toulouse,  born  in  1802;  very  similar  in  appearance  to 
Louis  XIII.;  from  1824  to  1829,  private  secretary  to  the 
minister  of  finances.  On  the  advice  of  Madame  d'Espard, 
and  thus  being  of  service  to  E16onore  de  Chaulicu,  he  became 
secretary  to  Melchior  de  Canalis  and,  at  the  same  time,  refer- 
endary of  the  Cour  des  Comptes.  He  became  a  chevalier 
of  the  Legion  of  Honor.  In  1829  he  conducted  for  Canalis 
a  love  romance  by  correspondence,  the  heroine  of  the  affair 
being  Marie-Modcste-Mignon  dc  la  Bastie  (of  Havre).  He 
played  his  part  so  successfully  that  she  fell  in  love  and  mar- 
riage was  agreed  upon.  This  union,  which  made  him  the 


252  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

wealthy  Vicomte  de  la  Bastie  la  Briere,  was  effected  the  fol- 
lowing February  in  1830.  Canalis  and  the  minister  of  1824 
were  witnesses  for  Ernest  de  la  Briere,  who  fully  deserved  his 
good  fortune.  [The  Government  Clerks.  Modeste  MignonJ 

La  Bastie  la  Briere  (Madame  Ernest  de),  wife  of  the 
preceding,  born  Marie-Modeste  Mignon  about  1809,  younger 
daughter  of  Charles  Mignon  de  la  Bastie  and  of  Bettina 
Mignon  de  la  Bastie — born  Wallenrod.  In  1829,  while 
living  with  her  family  at  Havre,  with  the  same  love,  evoked 
by  a  passion  for  literature,  which  Bettina  Brentano  d'Arnim 
conceived  for  Goethe,  she  fell  in  love  with  Melchior  de  Canalis; 
she  wrote  frequently  to  the  poet  in  secret,  and  he  responded 
through  the  medium  of  Ernest  de  la  Briere ;  thus  there  sprang 
up  between  the  young  girl  and  the  secretary  a  mutual  love 
which  resulted  in  marriage.  The  witnesses  for  Marie-Modeste 
Mignon  were  the  Due  d'Herouville  and  Doctor  Desplein. 
As  one  of  the  most  envied  women  in  Parisian  circles,  in  the 
time  of  Louis  Philippe,  she  became  the  close  friend  of  Mes- 
dames  de  1'Estorade  and  Popinot.  [Modeste  Mignon.  The 
Member  for  Arcis.  Cousin  Betty.]  La  Bastie  is  sometimes 
written  La  Batie. 

La  Baudraye1  (Jean-Athanase-Polydore  Milaud  de),  born 
in  1780  in  Berry,  descended  from  the  simple  family  of  Milaud, 
recently  ennobled.  M.  de  la  Baudraye's  father  was  a  good 
financier  of  pleasing  disposition;  his  mother  was  a  Casteran 
la  Tour.  He  was  in  poor  health,  his  weak  constitution 
being  the  heritage  left  him  by  an  immoral  father.  His 
father,  on  dying,  also  left  him  a  large  number  of  notes  to 
which  were  affixed  the  noble  signatures  of  the  emigrated 
aristocracy.  His  avarice  aroused,  Polydore  de  la  Baudraye 
occupied  himself,  at  the  time  of  the  Restoration,  with  col- 
lecting these  notes;  he  made  frequent  trips  to  Paris;  nego- 
tiated with  Cle'ment  Chardin  des  Lupeaulx  at  the  Hotel 
de  Mayence;  obtained,  under  a  promise,  afterwards  ex- 
ecuted, to  sell  them  profitably,  some  positions  and  titles, 
and  became  successively  auditor  of  the  seals,  baron,  officer 

1  The  motto  on  the  Baudraye  coat-of-arms  was:  "Deo  patet  sic  fides  et 
hominibus." 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  253 

of  the  Legion  of  Honor  and  master  of  petitions.  The  in- 
dividual receivership  of  Sancerre,  which  became  his  also, 
was  bought  by  Gravier.  M.  de  la  Baudraye  did  not  leave 
Sancerre;  he  married  towards  1823  Mademoiselle  Dinah 
Pie"defer,  became  a  person  of  large  property  following  his 
acquisition  to  the  castle  and  estate  of  Anzy,  settled  this 
property  with  the  title  upon  a  natural  son  of  his  wife;  he 
so  worked  upon  her  feelings  as  to  get  from  her  the  power 
of  attorney  and  signature,  sailed  for  America,  and  became 
rich  through  a  large  patrimony  left  him  by  Silas  Pie"defer — 
1836-42.  At  that  time  he  owned  in  Paris  a  stately  man- 
sion, on  rue  de  P  Arcade,  and  upon  winning  back  his  wife, 
who  had  left  him,  he  placed  her  in  it  as  mistress.  He  now 
became  count,  commander  of  the  Legion  of  Honor,  and  peer 
of  France.  Fre'de'ric  de  Nucingen  received  him  as  such  and 
served  him  as  sponsor,  when,  in  the  summer  of  1842,  the 
death  of  Ferdinand  d'Orle"ans  necessitated  the  presence 
of  M.  de  la  Baudraye  at  Luxembourg.  [The  Muse  of  the 
Department.] 

La  Baudraye  (Madame  Polydore  Milaud  de),  wife  of  the 
preceding,  born  Dinah  Pi&lefer  in  1807  or  1808  in  Berry; 
daughter  of  the  Calvinist,  Moise  Pi&lefer;  niece  of  Silas 
Piedefer,  from  whom  she  inherited  a  fortune.  She  was 
brilliantly  educated  at  Bourges,  in  the  Chamarolles  board- 
ing-school, with  Anna  deFontaine,  born  Grosstete — 1819. 
Five  years  later,  through  personal  ambition,  she  gave  up 
Protestantism,  that  she  might  gain  the  protection  of  the 
Cardinal-Archbishop  of  Bourges,  and  a  short  time  after 
her  conversion  she  was  married,  about  1823.  For  thirteen 
consecutive  years,  at  least,  Madame  de  la  Baudraye  reigned 
in  the  city  of  Sancerre  and  in  her  country-house,  Chateau 
d'Anzy,  at  Saint-Satur  near  by.  Her  court  was  composed 
of  a  strange  mixture  of  people:  the  Abb<§  Duret  and  Mes- 
sieurs Clagny,  Gravier,  Gatien  Boirouge.  At  first,  only 
Clagny  and  Duret  knew  of  the  literary  attempts  of  Jan 
Diaz,  pseudonym  of  Madame  de  la  Baudraye,  who  had  just 
bought  the  artistic  furniture  of  the  Rougets  of  Issoudun, 
and  who  invited  and  received  two  "Parisiens  de  Sancerre,". 


254 

Horace  Bianchon  and  Etienne  Lousteau,  in  September, 
1836.  A  liaison  followed  with  Etienne  Lousteau,  with  whom 
Madame  de  la  Baudraye  lived  on  rue  des  Martyrs  in  Paris 
from  1837  to  1839.  As  a  result  of  this  union  she  had  two 
sons,  recognized  later  by  M.  de  la  Baudraye.  Madame 
de  la  Baudraye  now  putting  into  use  the  talent,  neglected 
during  her  love  affair,  became  a  writer.  She  wrote  "A 
Prince  of  Bohemia,"  founded  on  an  anecodote  related  to  her 
by  Raoul  Nathan,  and  probably  published  this  novel.  The 
fear  of  endless  scandal,  the  entreaties  of  husband  and  mother, 
and  the  unworthiness  of  Lousteau,  finally  led  Dinah  de  la 
Baudraye  to  rejoin  her  husband,  who  owned  an  elegant 
mansion  on  rue  de  1' Arcade.  This  return,  which  took  place  in 
May,  1842,  surprised  Madame  d'Espard,  a  woman  who  was  not 
easily  astonished.  Paris  of  the  reign  of  Louis  Philippe 
often  quoted  Dinah  de  la  Baudraye  and  paid  considerable 
attention  to  her.  During  this  same  year,  1842,  she  as- 
sisted in  the  first  presentation  of  L6on  Gozlan's  drama, 
"The  Right  Hand  and  the  Left  Hand,"  given  at  the  Odeon. 
[The  Muse  of  the  Department.  A  Prince  of  Bohemia.  Cousin 
Betty.] 

La  Berge  (De),  confessor  of  Madame  de  Mortsauf  at  Cloche- 
gourde,  strict  and  virtuous.  He  died  in  1817,  mourned  on 
account  of  his  "  apostolic  strength,"  by  his  patron,  who 
appointed  as  his  successor  the  over-indulgent  Francis 
Birotteau.  [The  Lily  of  the  Valley.] 

La  Bertellifere,  father  of  Madame  la  Gaudiniere,  grand- 
father of  Madame  Felix  Grandet,  was  lieutenant  in  the 
French  Guards;  he  died  in  1806,  leaving  a  large  fortune. 
He  considered  investments  a  "waste  of  money."  Nearly 
twenty  years  later  his  portrait  was  still  hanging  in  the  hall 
of  Felix  Grandet's  house  at  Saumur.  [Eugenie  Grandet.] 

La  Billardifere  (Athanase-Jean-Frangois-Michel,  Baron 
Flamet  de),  son  of  a  counselor  in  the  Parliament  of  Bretagne, 
took  part  in  the  Vendean  wars  as  a  captain  under  the  name 
of  Nantais,  and  as  negotiator  played  a  singular  part  at 
Quiberon.  The  Restoration  rewarded  the  services  of  this 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  255 

unintelligent  member  of  the  petty  nobility,  whose  Catholicism 
was  more  lukewarm  than  his  love  of  monarchy.  He  became 
mayor  of  the  second  district  of  Paris,  and  division-chief 
in  the  Bureau  of  Finances,  thanks  to  his  kinship  with  a  deputy 
on  the  Right.  He  was  one  of  the  guests  at  the  famous 
ball  given  by  his  deputy,  Cesar  Birotteau,  whom  he  had  known 
for  twenty  years.  On  his  death-bed,  at  the  close  of  December, 
1824,  he  had  designated,  although  without  avail,  as  his 
successor,  Xavier  Rabourdin,  one  of  the  division-chiefs 
and  real  director  of  the  bureau  of  which  La  Billardiere  was 
the  nominal  head.  The  newspapers  published  obituaries  of 
the  deceased.  The  short  notice  prepared  jointly  by  Chardin 
des  Lupeaulx,  J.-J.  Bixiou  and  F.  du  Bruel,  enumerated  the 
many  titles  and  decorations  of  Flamet  de  la  Billardiere, 
gentleman  of  the  king's  bedchamber,  etc.,  etc.  [The  Chouans. 
Cesar  Birotteau.  The  Government  Clerks.] 

La  Billardiere  (Benjamin,  Chevalier  de),  son  of  the  pre- 
ceding, born  in  1802.  He  was  a  companion  of  the  young 
Vicomte  de  Portenduere  in  1824,  being  at  the  time  a  rich 
supernumerary  in  the  office  of  Isidore  Baudoyer  under  the 
division  of  his  father,  Flamet  de  la  Billardiere.  His  inso- 
lence and  foppishness  gave  little  cause  for  regret  when  he 
left  the  Bureau  of  Finances  for  the  Department  of  Seals 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  same  year,  1824,  that  marked  the 
expected  and  unlamented  death  of  Baron  Flamet  de  la 
Billardiere.  [The  Government  Clerks.] 

La  Blottiere  (Mademoiselle  Merlin  de),  under  the  Restora- 
tion, a  kind  of  dowager  and  canoness  at  Tours;  in  company 
with  Mesdames  Pauline  Salomon  de  Villenoix  and  de  Lis- 
tomere,  upheld,  received  and  welcomed  Frangois  Birotteau. 
[The  Vicar  of  Tours.] 

Labranchoir  (Comte  de),  owner  of  an  estate  in  Dauphin6 
under  the  Restoration,  and,  as  such,  a  victim  of  the  depreda- 
tions of  the  poacher,  Butifer.  [The  Country  Doctor.] 

La  Briere  (Ernest  de).     (See  La  Bastie  la  Briere.) 

Lac€pede    (Comte  de),   a  celebrated  naturalist,    bom  at 


256  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Agen  in  1756,  died  at  Paris  in  1825.  Grand  chancelor  of  the 
Legion  of  Honor  for  several  years  towards  the  beginning  of 
the  nineteenth  century.  This  well-known  philosopher  was 
invited  to  C6sar  Birotteau's  celebrated  ball,  December  17, 
1818.  [Cesar  Birotteau.] 

La  Chanterie  (Le  Chantre  de),  of  a  Norman  family  dating 
from  the  crusade  of  Philippe  Auguste,  but  which  had  fallen 
into  obscurity  by  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century;  he 
owned  a  small  fief  between  Caen  and  Saint-L6.  M.  le  Chantre 
de  la  Chanterie  had  amassed  in  the  neighborhood  of  three 
hundred  thousand  crowns  by  supplying  the  royal  armies 
during  the  Hanoverian  war.  He  died  during  the  Revo- 
lution, but  before  the  Terror.  [The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

La  Chanterie  (Baron  Henri  Le  Chantre  de),  born  in  1763, 
son  of  the  preceding,  shrewd,  handsome  and  seductive. 
When  master  of  petitions  in  the  Grand  Council  of  1788,  he 
married  Mademoiselle  Barbe-Philiberte  de  Champignelles. 
Ruined  during  the  Restoration  through  having  lost  his  position 
and  thrown  away  his  inheritance,  Henri  Le  Chantre  de  la 
Chanterie  became  one  of  the  most  cruel  presidents  of  the  revo- 
lutionary courts  and  was  the  terror  of  Normandie.  Imprisoned 
after  the  ninth  Thermidor,  he  owed  his  escape  to  his  wife,  by 
means  of  an  exchange  of  clothing.  He  did  not  see  her  more 
than  three  times  during  eight  years,  the  last  meeting  being  in 
1802,  when,  having  become  a  bigamist,  he  returned  to  her 
home  to  die  of  a  disgraceful  disease,  leaving,  at  the  same 
time,  a  second  wife  likewise  ruined.  This  last  fact  was  not 
made  public  until  1804.  [The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

La  Chanterie  (Baronne  Henri  Le  Chantre  de),  wife  of 
the  preceding,  born  Barbe-Philiberte  de  Champignelles  in 
1772,  a  descendant  of  one  of  the  first  families  of  Lower  Nor- 
mandie. Married  in  1788,  she  received  in  her  home,  fourteen 
years  later,  the  dying  man  whose  name  she  bore,  a  bigamist 
fleeing  from  justice.  By  him  she  had  a  daughter,  Henriette, 
who  was  executed  in  1809  for  having  been  connected  with 
the  Chauffeurs  in  One  Unjustly  accused  herself,  and  im- 
prisoned in  the  frightful  Bicetre  of  Rouen,  the  baroness 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  257 

began  to  instruct  in  morals  the  sinful  women  among  whom 
she  found  herself  thrown.  The  fall  of  the  Empire  was  her 
deliverance.  Twenty  years  later,  being  part  owner  of  a  house 
in  Paris,  Madame  de  la  Chanterie  undertook  the  training 
of  Godefroid.  She  was  then  supporting  a  generous  private 
philanthropic  movement,  with  the  help  of  Manon  Godard 
and  Messieurs  de  Veze,  de  Montauran,  Mongenod  and  Alain. 
Madame  de  la  Chanterie  aided  the  Bourlacs  and  the  Mergis, 
an  impoverished  family  of  magistrates  who  had  persecuted  her 
in  1809.  Her  Christian  works  were  enlarged  upon.  In  1843 
the  baroness  became  head  of  a  charitable  organization  which 
was  striving  to  consecrate,  according  to  law  and  religion, 
the  relations  of  those  living  in  free  union.  To  this  end 
she  selected  one  member  of  the  society,  Adeline  Hulot  d'Ervy, 
and  sent  her  to  Passage  du  Soleil,  then  a  section  of  Petite- 
Pologne,  to  try  to  bring  about  the  marriage  of  Vyder — Hector 
iulot  d'Ervy — and  Atala  Judici.  [The  Seamy  Side  of  His- 
tory. Cousin  Betty].  The  Revolution  having  done  away 
with  titles,  Madame  de  la  Chanterie  called  herself  momen- 
tarily Madame,  or  Citizeness,  Lechantre. 

Lacroix,  restaurant-keeper  on  Place  du  Marche",  Issoudun, 
1822,  in  whose  house  the  Bonapartist  officers  celebrated  the 
crowning  of  the  Emperor.  On  December  2,  of  the  same  year, 
the  duel  between  Philippe  Bridau  and  Maxence  took  place  after 
the  entertainment.  [A  Bachelor's  Establishment.] 

Lafert6  (Nicolas).     (See  Cochegrue,  Jean.) 
La  Garde  (Madame  de).     (See  Aquilina.) 

La  Gaudinifere  (Madame),  born  La  Bertelliere,  mother 
of  Madame  Felix  Grandet;  very  avaricious;  died  in  1806; 
leaving  the  Felix  Grandets  an  inheritance,  "the  amount  of 
which  no  one  knew."  [Eugenie  Grandet.] 

Laginski  (Comte  Adam  Mitgislas),  a  wealthy  man  who 
had  been  proscribed,  belonged  to  one  of  the  oldest  and  most 
illustrious  families  of  Poland,  and  counted  among  his  relations 
the  Sapie"has,  the  Radziwills,  the  Mniszechs,  the  Rezwuskis, 
the  Czartoriskis,  the  Lecszinskis,  and  the  Lubomirskis. 


258  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

He  had  relations  in  the  German  nobility  and  his  mother 
was  a  Radziwill.  Young,  plain,  yet  with  a  certain  distin- 
guished bearing,  with  an  income  of  eighty  thousand  francs, 
Laginski  was  a  leading  light  in  Paris,  during  the  reign  of 
Louis  Philippe.  After  the  Revolution  of  July,  while  still 
unsophisticated,  he  attended  an  entertainment  at  the  home 
of  Felicit^  des  Touches  in  Chaussee-d'Antin  on  rue  du 
Mont-Blanc,  and  had  the  opportunity  of  listening  to  the 
delightful  chats  between  Henri  de  Marsay  and  Emile  Blondet. 
Comte  Adam  Laginski,  during  the  autumn  of  1835,  married 
the  object  of  his  affections,  Mademoiselle  Clementine  du 
Rouvre,  niece  of  the  Ronquerolles.  The  friendship  of  his 
steward,  Paz,  saved  him  from  the  ruin  into  which  his  cre'ole- 
like  carelessness,  his  frivolity  and  his  recklessness  were 
dragging  him.  He  lived  in  perfect  contentment  with  his 
wife,  ignorant  of  the  domestic  troubles  which  were  kept 
from  his  notice.  Thanks  to  the  devotion  of  Paz  and  of 
Madame  Laginska,  he  was  cured  of  a  malady  which  had  been 
pronounced  fatal  by  Doctor  Horace  Bianchon.  Comte 
Adam  Laginski  lived  on  rue  de  la  Pepiniere,  now  absorbed 
in  part  by  rue  de  la  Boetie.  He  occupied  one  of  the  most 
palatial  and  artistic  houses  of  the  period,  so  called,  of  Louis 
Philippe.  He  attended  the  celebration  given  in  1838  at 
the  first  opening  of  Jose'pha  Mirah's  residence  on  rue  de 
la  Ville-l'Eveque.  In  this  same  year  he  attended  the  wedding 
of  Wenceslas  Steinbock.  [Another  Study  of  Woman.  The 
Imaginary  Mistress.  Cousin  Betty.] 

Laginska  (Comtesse  Adam),  born  Clementine  du  Rouvre 
in  1816,  wife  of  the  preceding,  niece,  on  her  mother's  side, 
of  the  Marquis  de  Ronquerolles  and  of  Madame  de  Se>izy. 
She  was  one  of  the  charming  group  of  young  women,  which 
included  Mesdames  de  1'Estorade,  de  Portenduere,  Marie 
de  Vandenesse,  du  Gue'nic  and  de  Maufrigneuse.  Captain 
Paz  was  secretly  in  love  with  the  countess,  who,-  becoming 
aware  of  her  steward's  affection,  ended  by  having  very  nearly 
the  same  kind  of  feeling  for  him.  The  unselfish  virtue  of 
Paz  was  all  that  saved  her,  not  only  at  this  juncture,  but  in 
another  more  dangerous  one,  when  he  rescued  her  from 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  259 

M.  de  la  Palferine,  who  was  escorting  her  to  the  Ope>a  ball 
and  who  was  on  the  point  of  taking  her  to  a  private  room 
in  a  restaurant — January,  1842.  [The  Imaginary  Mistress.] 

Lagounia  (Perez  de),  woolen-draper  at  Tarragone  in 
Catalonia,  in  the  time  of  Napoleon,  under  obligations  to 
La  Marana.  He  reared  as  his  own  daughter,  in  a  very  pious 
manner,  Juana,  a  child  of  the  celebrated  Italian  courtesan, 
until  her  mother  visited  her,  during  the  time  of  the  French 
occupation  in  1808.  [The  Maranas.] 

Lagounia  (Donna  de),  wife  of  the  preceding,  divided  with 
him  the  care  of  Juana  Marana  until  the  girl's  mother  came 
to  Tarragone  at  the  time  it  was  sacked  by  the  French.  [The 
Maranas.] 

La  Grave  (Mesdemoiselles),  kept  a  boarding-house  in 
1824  on  rue  Notre-Dame-des-Champs  in  Paris.  In  this 
house  M.  and  Madame  Phellion  gave  lessons.  [The  Govern- 
ment Clerks.] 

Laguerre  (Mademoiselle),  given  name,  probably,  Sophie, 
born  in  1740,  died  in  1815,  one  of  the  most  celebrated  cour- 
tesans of  the  eighteenth  century;  opera  singer,  and  fervent 
follower  of  Piccini.  In  1790,  frightened  by  the  march  of 
public  affairs,  she  established  herself  at  the  Aigues,  in  Bour- 
gogne,  property  procured  for  her  by  Bouret,  from  its  former 
owner.  Before  Bouret,  the  grandfather  of  La  Palferine, 
entertained  her,  and  she  brought  about  his  ruin.  The 
recklessness  of  this  woman,  surrounded  as  she  was  by  such 
notorious  knaves  as  Gaubertin,  Fourchon,  Tonsard,  and 
Madame  Soudry,  prepared  no  little  trouble  for  Montcornet, 
the  succeeding  proprietor.  Sophie  Laguerre's  fortune  was 
divided  among  eleven  families  of  poor  farmers,  all  living  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Amiens,  who  were  ignorant  of  their 
relationship  with  her.  [The  Peasantry.  A  Prince  of  Bo- 
hemia.] M.  H.  Gourdon  de  Genouillac  wrote  a  biography 
of  the  singer,  containing  many  detatts  which  are  at  variance 
with  the  facts  here  cited.  Among  other  things  we  are  told 
that  the  given  name  of  Mademoiselle  Laguerre  was  Josephine 
and  not  Sophie. 


260  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

La  Haye  (Mademoiselle  de).     (See  Petit-Claud,  Madame.) 

Lamard,  probably  a  rival  of  Felix  Gaudissart.  In  a  cafe  in 
Blois,  May,  1831,  he  praised  the  well-known  commercial 
traveler,  who  treated  him,  nevertheless,  as  a  "  little  cricket." 
[Gaudissart  the  Great.] 

Lambert  (Louis),  born  in  1797  at  Montoire  in  Loire-et- 
Cher.  Only  son  of  simple  tanners,  who  did  not  try  to  counter- 
act his  inclination,  shown  when  a  mere  child,  for  study. 
He  was  sent  in  1807  to  Lefebvre,  a  maternal  uncle,  who  was 
vicar  of  Mer,  a  small  city  on  the  Loire  near  Blois.  Under 
the  kindly  care  of  Madame  de  Stael,  he  was  a  student  in 
the  college  of  Vendome  from.  1811  to  1814.  Lambert  met 
there  Barchon-de  Penhoen  and  Jules  Dufaure.  He  was  ap- 
parently a  poor  scholar,  but  finally  developed  into  a  prodigy  ; 
he  suffered  the  persecutions  of  Father  Haugoult,  by  whose 
brutal  hands  his  "  Treatise  on  the  Will,"  composed  during  class 
hours,  was  seized  and  destroyed.  The  mathematician  had 
already  doubled  his  capacity  by  becoming  a  philosopher. 
His  comrades  had  named  him  Pythagoras.  His  course 
completed,  and  his  father  being  dead,  Louis  Lambert  lived 
for  two  years  at  Blois,  with  Lefebvre,  until,  growing  desirous 
of  seeing  Madame  de  Stael,  he  journeyed  to  Paris  on  foot, 
arriving  July  14,  1817.  Not  finding  his  illustrious  bene- 
factress alive,  he  returned  home  in  1820.  During  these 
three  years  Lambert  lived  the  life  of  a  workman,  became 
a  close  friend  of  Meyraux,  and  was  cherished  and  admired 
as  a  member  of  the  Cenacle  on  rue  des  Quatre- Vents,  which 
was  presided  over  by  Arthez.  Once  more  he  went  to  Blois, 
journeyed  over  Touraine,  and  became  acquainted  with 
Pauline  Salomon  de  Villenoix,  whom  he  loved  with  a  passion 
that  was  reciprocated.  He  had  suffered  from  brain  trouble 
previous  to  their  engagement,  and  as  the  wedding  day 
approached  the  disease  grew  constantly  worse,  although 
occasionally  there  were  periods  of  relief.  During  one  of  these 
good  periods,  in  1822,  Lambert  met  the  Cambremers  at 
Croisic,  and  on  the  suggestion  of  Pauline  de  Villenoix,  he 
made  a  study  of  their  history.  The  malady  returned,  but 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  261 

was  interrupted  occasionally  by  outbursts  of  beautiful  thought, 
the  fragments  of  which  were  collected  by  Mademoiselle 
Salomon.  Louis  had  likewise  occasional  fits  of  insanity. 
He  believed  himself  powerless  and  wished,  one  day,  to  per- 
form on  his  own  body  Origene's  celebrated  operation. 
Lambert  died  September  25,  1824,  the  day  before  the  date 
selected  for  his  marriage  with  Pauline.  [Louis  Lambert. 
A  Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.  A  Seaside  Tragedy.] 

Lambert  (Madame),  lived  in  Paris  in  1840.  She  was  then 
at  a  very  pious  age,  "  played  the  saint,"  and  performed  the 
duties  of  housekeeper  for  M.  Picot,  professor  of  mathe- 
matics, No.  9,  rue  du  Val-de-Gr&cc.  In  the  service  of 
this  old  philosopher  she  reaped  enormous  profits.  Madame 
Lambert  hypocritically  took  advantage  of  her  apparent 
devotion  to  him.  She  sought  The"odose  de  la  Peyrade, 
and  begged  him  to  write  a  memorial  to  the  Academy  in  her 
favor,  for  she  longed  to  receive  the  reward  offered  by  Montyon. 
At  the  same  time  she  put  into  La  Peyrade's  keeping  twenty- 
five  thousand  francs,  which  she  had  accumulated  by  her 
household  thefts.  On  this  occasion,  Madame  Lambert 
seems  to  have  been  the  secret  instrument  of  Corentin,  the 
famous  police-agent.  [The  Middle  Classes.] 

Langeais  (Due  de),  a  refugee  during  the  Restoration,  who 
planned,  at  the  time  of  the  Terror,  by  correspondence  with 
the  Abbe"  de  Marolles  and  the  Marquis  de  Beause"ant  to  help 
escape  from  Paris,  where  they  were  in  hiding,  two  nuns, 
one  of  whom,  Sister  Agathe,  was  a  Langeais.  [An  Episode 
Under  the  Terror.]  In  1812  Langeais  married  Mademoiselle 
Antoinette  de  Navarreins,  who  was  then  eighteen  years  old. 
He  allowed  his  wife  every  liberty,  and,  neither  abandoning 
any  of  his  habits,  nor  giving  up  any  of  his  pleasures,  he 
lived,  indeed,  apart  from  her.  In  1818  Langeais  commanded 
a  division  in  the  army  and  occupied  a  position  at  court. 
He  died  in  1823.  [The  Thirteen.] 

Langeais  (Duchesse  Antoinette  de),  *  wife  of  the  preceding, 

lAt  the  Vaudeville  and  Gaft<<  theatres  in  Paris,  Ancelot  and  Alexia  Deoom- 
berousse  at  the  former,  and  Messieurs  Ferdinand  Dugue  and  I  eaucelher  at  thi 
latter,  brought  out  plays  founded  on  the  life  of  Antoinette  de  LangeaiB,  in  1834 
and  1868  respectively, 


262  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAIME 

daughter  of  the  Due  de  Navarreins;  born  in  1794;  reared 
by  the  Princesse  de  Blamont-Chauvry,  her  aunt;  grand- 
niece  of  the  Vidame  de  Pamiers ;  niece  of  the  Due  de  Grandlieu 
by  her  marriage.  Very  beautiful  and  intelligent,  Madame 
de  Langeais  reigned  in  Paris  at  the  beginning  of  the  Restora- 
tion. In  1819  her  best  friend  was  the  Vicomtesse  Claire 
de  Beauseant,  whom  she  wounded  cruelly,  for  her  own 
amusement,  calling  on  her  one  morning  for  the  express 
purpose  of  announcing  the  marriage  of  the  Marquis  d'Ajuda- 
Pinto.  Of  this  pitiless  proceeding  she  repented  later,  and 
asked  pardon,  moreover,  of  the  forsaken  woman.  Soon 
afterwards  the  Duchesse  de  Langeais  had  the  pleasure  of 
captivating  the  Marquis  de  Montriveau,  playing  for  him 
the  role  of  Celimene  and  making  him  suffer  greatly.  He  had 
his  revenge,  however,  for,  scorned  in  her  turn,  or  believing 
herself  scorned,  she  suddenly  disappeared  from  Paris, 
after  having  scandalized  the  whole  Saint-Germain  com- 
munity by  remaining  in  her  carriage  for  a  long  time  in  front 
of  the  Montriveau  mansion.  Some  bare-footed  Spanish  Car- 
melites received  her  on  their  island  in  the  Mediterranean, 
where  she  became  Sister  Therese.  After  prolonged  searching 
Montriveau  found  her,  and,  in  the  presence  of  the  mother- 
superior,  had  a  conversation  with  her  as  she  stood  behind 
the  grating.  Finally  he  managed  to  carry  her  off — dead. 
In  this  bold  venture  the  marquis  was  aided  by  eleven  of 
The  Thirteen,  among  them  being  Ronquerolles  and  Marsay. 
The  duchess,  having  lost  her  husband,  was  free  at  the  time  of 
her  death  in  1824.  [Father  Goriot.  The  Thirteen.] 

Langeais  (Mademoiselle  de).     (See  Agathe,  Sister.) 

Langlume",  miller,  a  jolly  impulsive  little  man,  in  1823 
deputy-mayor  of  Blangy  in  Bourgogne,  at  the  time  of  the 
political,  territorial  and  financial  contests  of  which  the  country 
was  the  theatre,  with  Rigou  and  Montcornet  as  actors. 
He  was  of  great  service  to  Genevieve  Niseron's  paternal 
grandfather.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Languet,  vicar,  built  Saint-Sulpice,  and  was  an  acquaint- 
ance of  Toupillier,  who  asked  alms  in  1840  at  the  doors  oi 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  263 

this  church  in  Paris,  which  since  1860  has  been  one  of  the 
sixth  ward  parish  churches.     [The  Middle  Classes.] 

Lansac  (Duchesse  de),  of  the  younger  branch  of  the  Parisian 
house  of  Navarreins,  1809,  the  proud  woman  who  shone 
under  Louis  XV.  The  Duchesse  de  Lansac,  in  November 
of  the  same  year,  consented,  one  evening,  to  meet  Isemberg, 
Montcornet,  and  Martial  de  la  Roche-Hugon  in  Malin  de 
Gondreville's  house,  for  the  purpose  of  conciliating  her  nephew 
and  niece  in  their  domestic  quarrel.  [Domestic  Peace.] 

Lantimeche,  born  in  1770".  In  1840,  at  Paris,  a  penniless 
journeyman  locksmith  and  inventor,  he  went  to  the  money- 
lender, Ce"rizet,  on  rue  des  Poules,  to  borrow  a  hundred  francs. 
[The  Middle  Classes.] 

Lanty  (Comte  de),  owner  of  an  expensive  mansion  near 
the  Elyse"e-Bourbon,  which  he  had  bought  from  the  Mare"chal 
de  Carigliano.  He  gave  there  under  the  Restoration  some 
magnificent  entertainments,  at  which  were  present  the  upper 
classes  of  Parisian  society,  ignorant,  though  they  were, 
of  the  count's  lineage.  Lanty,  who  was  a  mysterious  man, 
passed  for  a  clever  chemist.  He  had  married  the  rich  niece 
of  the  peculiar  eunuch,  Zambinella,  by  whom  he  had  two 
children,  Marianina  and  Filippo.  [Sarrasine.  The  Member 
for  Arcis.] 

Lanty  (Comtesse  de),  wife  of  the  preceding,  born  in  1795, 
niece  and  likewise  adopted  daughter  of  the  wealthy  eunuch, 
Zambinella,  was  the  mistress  of  M.  de  Maucombe,  by  whom 
she  had  a  daughter,  Marianina  de  Lanty.  [Sarrasine.  The 
Member  for  Arcis.] 

Lanty  (Marianina  de),  daughter  of  the  preceding  and 
according  to  law  of  the  Comte  de  Lanty,  although  she  was 
in  reality  the  daughter  of  M.  de  Maucombe;  born  in  1809. 
She  bore  a  striking  resemblance  to  her  sister,  Ren6e  de 
1'Estorade,  born  Maucombe.  In  1825  she  concealed,  and 
lavished  care  on  her  great-uncle,  Zambinella.  During  her 
parents'  sojourn  in  Rome  she  took  lessons  in  sculpture 
of  Charles  Dorlange,  who  afterwards,  in  1839,  became  a 


264  REPERTORY   OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

member  for  Arcis,  under  the  name  of  Comte  de  Sallenauve. 
[Sarrasine.     The  Member  for  Arcis.  ] 

Lanty  (Filippo  de),  younger  brother  of  the  preceding, 
second  child  of  the  Comte  and  the  Comtesse  de  Lanty. 
Being  young  and  handsome  he  was  an  attendant  at  the  fetes 
given  by  his  parents  during  the  Restoration.  By  his  mar- 
riage, which  took  place  under  Louis  Philippe,  he  became 
allied  with  the  family  of  a  German  grand  duke.  [Sarrasine 
The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

La  Palf€rine  (Gabriel- Jean- Anne- Victor-Benj amin-Georges- 
Ferdinand-Charles-Edouard-Rusticoli,  Comte  de),  born  in 
1802;  of  an  ancient  Italian  family  which  had  become  im- 
poverished; grandson  on  the  paternal  side  of  one  of  the  pro- 
tectors of  Josephine-Sophie  Laguerre;  descended  indirectly 
from  the  Comtesse  Albany — whence  his  given  name  of  Charles- 
Edouard.  He  had  in  his  veins  the  mixed  blood  of  the  con- 
dottiere  and  the  gentleman.  Under  Louis  Philippe,  idle 
and  fast  going  to  ruin,  with  his  Louis  XIII.  cast  of  coun- 
tenance, his  evil-minded  wit,  his  lofty  independent  manners, 
insolent  yet  winning,  he  was  a  type  of  the  brilliant  Bohemian 
of  the  Boulevard  de  Gand;  so  much  so,  that  Madame  de 
la  Baudraye,  basing  her  information  on  points  furnished' 
her  by  Nathan,  one  day  drew  a  picture  of  him,  writing  a 
description  in  which  artificiality  and  artlessness  were  com- 
bined. In  this  were  many  interesting  touches:  La  Palfe'rine's 
strange  servant,  the  little  Savoyard — Father  Anchise;  the 
contempt  shown  at  all  times  for  the  bourgeois  class  and 
forms  of  government;  the  request  for  the  return  of  his  tooth- 
brush, then  in  the  possession  of  a  deserted  mistress,  Antonia 
Chocardelle;  his  relations  with  Madame  du  Bruel,  whom  he 
laid  siege  to,  won,  and  neglected — a  yielding  puppet,  of 
whom,  strange  to  say,  he  broke  the  heart  and  made  the 
fortune.  He  hVed  at  that  time  in  the  Roule  addition,  in  a 
plain  garret,  where  he  was  in  the  habit  of  receiving  Zephirin 
Marcas.  The  wretchedness  of  his  quarters  did  not  keep 
La  Palfe'rine  out  of  the  best  society,  and  he  was  the  guest 
of  Josepha  Mirah.  at  the  first  entertainment  given  in  her 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  265 

house  on  rue  de  la  Ville-l'Ev&flie.  By  a  strange  order  of 
events,  Comte  Rusticoli  became  Beatrix  de  Rochefide's  lover, 
a  few  years  after  the  events  just  narrated,  at  a  time  when 
the  Debats  published  a  novel  by  him  which  was  spoken  of  far 
and  wide.  Nathan  laid  the  foundation  for  this  affair.  Trailles, 
Charles-Edouard's  master,  carried  on  the  negotiations  and 
brought  the  intrigue  to  a  consummation,  being  urged  on  by 
the  Abbe  Brossette's  assent  and  the  Duchesse  de  Grandlieu's 
request.  La  Palferine's  liaison  with  Madame  de  Rochefide 
effected  a  reconciliation  between  Calyste  du  Gu6nic  and  his 
wife.  In  the  course  of  time,  however,  Comte  Rusticoli 
deserted  Beatrix  and  sent  her  back  to  her  husband,  Arthur 
de  Rochefide.  During  the  winter  of  1842  La  Palfe"rine  was 
attracted  to  Madame  de  Laginska,  had  some  meetings  with 
her,  but  failed  in  this  affair  through  the  intervention  of  Thadde"e 
Paz.  [A  Prince  of  Bohemia.  A  Man  of  Business.  Cousin 
Betty.  Beatrix.  The  Imaginary  Mistress.] 

La  Peyrade  (Charles-Marie-The'odose  de),  born  near  Avig- 
non in  1813,  one  of  eleven  children  of  the  police-agent  Peyrade's 
youngest  brother,  who  lived  in  poverty  on  a  small  estate  called 
Canquoelle ;  a  bold  Southerner  of  fair  skin ;  given  to  reflection ; 
ambitious,  tactful  and  astute.  In  1829  he  left  the  department 
of  Vaucluse  and  went  to  Paris  on  foot  in  search  of  Peyrade 
who,  he  had  reason  to  believe,  was  wealthy,  but  of  whose 
business  he  was  ignorant.  The'odose  departed  through  the 
Barriere  d'Enfer /which  has  been  destroyed  since  1860,  at  the 
moment  when  Jacques  Collin  murdered  his  uncle.  At  that 
time  he  entered  a  house  of  ill-fame,  where  he  had  unwittingly 
for  mistress  Lydie  Peyrade,  his  full-blooded  cousin.  The'odose 
then  lived  for  three  years  on  a  hundred  louis  which  Corentin 
had  secretly  given  to  him.  On  giving  him  the  money,  the 
national  chief  of  police  quietly  advised  him  to  become  an 
attorney.  Journalism,  however,  at  first,  seemed  a  tempting 
career  to  M.  de  la  Peyrade,  and  he  went  into  politics,  finally 
becoming  editor  of  a  paper  managed  by  Ce"rizet.  The  failure 
of  this  journal  left  Theodose  once  more  very  poor.  Never- 
theless, through  Corentin,  who  secretly  paid  the  expenses 
of  his  studies,  he  was  able  to  begin  and  continue  a  course 


266  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

in  law.  Once  licensed,  M.  de  la  Peyrade  became  a  barrister 
and  professing  to  be  entirely  converted  to  Socialism,  he 
freely  pleaded  the  cause  of  the  poor  before  the  magistrate 
of  the  eleventh  or  twelfth  district.  He  occupied  the  third 
story  of  the  Thuillier  house  on  rue  Saint-Dominique-d'Enfer. 
He  fell  into  the  hands  of  Dutocq  and  Cerizet  and  suffered 
under  the  pressure  of  these  grasping  creditors.  Theodose 
now  decided  that  he  would  marry  M.  Thuillier's  natural 
daughter,  Mademoiselle  Celeste  Colleville,  but,  with  Felix 
Phellion's  love  to  contend  with,  despite  the  combined  sup- 
port, gained  with  difficulty,  of  Madame  Colleville  and  of  M. 
and  Mademoiselle  Thuillier,  he  failed  through  Corentin's 
circumvention.  His  marriage  with  Lydie  Peyrade  repaired 
the  wrong  which  he  had  formerly  done  unwittingly.  As 
successor  to  Corentin  he  became  national  chief-of-police 
in  1840.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.  The  Middle 
Classes.] 

La  Peyrade  (Madame  de),  first  cousin  and  wife  of  the 
preceding,  born  Lydie  Peyrade  in  1810,  natural  daughter 
of  the  police  officer  Peyrade  and  of  Mademoiselle  Beau- 
mesnil;  passed  her  childhood  successively  in  Holland  and 
in  Paris,  on  rue  des  Moineaux,  whence,  Jacques  Collin, 
thirsting  for  revenge,  abducted  her  during  the  Restoration. 
Being  somewhat  in  love,  at  that  time, with  Lucien  de  Rubempre 
she  was  taken  to  a  house  of  ill-fame,  Peyrade  being  at  the 
time  very  ill.  Upon  her  departure  she  was  insane.  Her 
own  cousin,  Theodose  de  la  Peyrade,  had  been  her  lover 
there,  fortuitously  and  without  dreaming  that  they  were 
blood  relatives.  Corentin  adopted  this  insane  girl,  who  was 
a  talented  musician  and  singer,  and  at  his  home  on  rue 
Honor6-Chevalier,  in  1840,  he  arranged  for  both  the 
cure  and  the  marriage  of  his  ward.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's 
Life.  The  Middle  Classes.] 

La  Pouraille,  usual  surname  of  Dannepont. 

Laraviniere,  tavern-keeper  in  Western  France,  lodged 
"brigands"  who  had  armed  themselves  as  Royalists  under 
the  first  Empire.  He  was  condemned,  either  by  Bourlac 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  267 

or  Mergi,  to  five  years  in  prison.     [The  Seamy  Side  of  His- 
tory.] 

Lardot  (Madame),  born  in  1771,  lived  in  Alen$on  in  1816 
on  rue  du  Cours — a  street  still  bearing  the  same  name. 
She  was  a  laundress,  and  took  as  boarders  a  relative  named 
Grevin  and  the  Chevalier  de  Valois.  She  had  among  her 
employe's  Ce"sarine  and  Suzanne,  afterwards  Madame  TheV 
dore  Gaillard.  [Jealousies  of  a  Country  Town.] 

Laroche,  born  in  1763  at  Blangy  in  Bourgogne,  was,  in 
1823,  an  aged  vine-dresser,  who  felt  a  calm,  relentless  hatred 
for  the  rich,  especially  the  Montcornets,  occupants  of  Aigues. 
[The  Peasantry.] 

La  Roche  (Se*bastien  de),  born  early  in  the  nineteenth 
century,  was  probably  the  xson  of  an  unpretentious,  retired 
Treasury  clerk.  In  December,  1824,  he  found  himself 
in  Paris,  poor,  but  capable  and  zealous,  as  a  supernumerary 
in  the  office  of  Xavier  Rabourdin  of  the  Department  of 
Finance.  He  lived  with  his  widowed  mother  in  the  busiest 
part  of  Marais  on  rue  du  Roi-Dore".  M.  and  Madame 
Rabourdin  received  and  gave  him  assistance.  M.  de  la 
Roche  showed  them  his  great  appreciation  by  preparing 
a  copy  of  a  rare  and  mysterious  government  work.  The 
discovery  of  this  book  by  Dutocq  unfortunately  resulted  in 
the  discharge  of  both  chief  and  clerk.  [The  Government 
Clerks.] 

La  Roche-Guyon  (De),  the  eldest  of  one  of  the  oldest 
families  in  the  section  of  Orne,  at  one  time  connected  with 
the  Esgrignons,  who  visited  them  frequently.  In  1805 
he  sued  vainly,  through  Maitre  Chesnel,  for  the  hand  of  Ar- 
mande  d'Esgrignon.  [Jealousies  of  a  Country  Town.] 

La  Roche-Hugon  (Martial  de),  shrewd,  turbulent  and 
daring  Southerner,  had  a  long  and  brilliant  administrative 
career  in  politics.  Even  in  1809  the  Council  of  State  employed 
him  as  one  of  the  masters  of  petitions.  Napoleon  Bonaparte 
was  patron  of  this  young  Provencal.  Also,  in  Noveml><>. 
of  the  same  year,  Martial  was  invited  to  the  f£te  given  by 


268  REPERTORY   OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Malin  de  Gondreville — a  celebration  which  the  Emperor 
was  vainly  expected  to  attend.  Montcornet  was  present, 
also  the  Duchesse  de  Lansac,  who  succeeded  in  bringing 
about  a  reconciliation  between  her  nephew  and  niece,  M, 
and  Madame  de  Soulanges.  M.  de  la  Roche-Hugon's  mis- 
tress, Madame  de  Vaudremont,  was  also  in  attendance  at 
this  ball.  For  five  years  he  had  enjoyed  a  close  friendship 
with  Montcornet,  and  this  bond  was  lasting.  In  1815  the 
securing  of  Aigues  for  Montcornet  was  undertaken  by  Martial, 
who  had  served  as  prefect  under  the  Empire,  and  retained 
his  office  under  the  Bourbons.  Thus  from  1821  to  1823 
M.  de  la  RocherHugon  was  at  the  head  of  the  department  in 
Bourgogne,  which  contained  Aigues  and  Ville-aux-Fayes,  M. 
des  Lupeaulx's  sub-prefecture.  A  dismissal  from  this  office, 
to  which  the  Comte  de  Casteran  succeeded,  threw  Martial 
into  the  opposition  among  the  Liberalists,  but  this  was  for  a 
short  time,  as  he  soon  accepted  an  embassy.  Louis  Philippe's 
government  honored  M.  de  la  Roche-Hugon  by  making  him 
minister,  ambassador,  and  counselor  of  state.  Eugene 
de  Rastignac,  who  had  favored  him  before,  now  gave  him 
one  of  his  sisters  in  marriage.  Several  children  resulted 
from  this  union.  Martial  continued  to  remain  influential, 
and  associated  with  the  popular  idols  of  the  time,  M.  and 
Madame  de  1'Estorade.  His  relations  with  the  national 
chief  of  police,  Corentin,  in  1840,  were  also  indicative  of 
his  standing.  As  a  deputy  the  next  year  M.  de  la  Roche- 
Hugon  probably  filled  the  directorship  in  the  War  Depart- 
ment, left  vacant  by  Hector  Hulot.  [Domestic  Peace. 
The  Peasantry.  A  Daughter  of  Eve.  The  Member  for 
Arcis.  The  Middle  Classes.  Cousin  Betty.] 

La  Roche-Hugon  (Madame  Martial  de).  (See  Rastignac, 
Mesdemoiselles  de.) 

La  Rodifere  (Stephanie  de).  (See  Nueil,  Madame  Gaston 
de.) 

La  Roulie  (Jacquin),  chief  huntsman  of  the  Prince  de 
Cadignan,  took  part  with  his  master,  in  1829,  in  the  ex- 
citing hunt  given  in  Normandie,  in  which  as  spectators  or 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  269 

riders  were  the  Mignons  de  la  Bastie,  the  Maufrigneuses, 
the  Herouvilles,  M.  de  Canalis,  Ele"onore  de  Chaulieu  and 
Ernest  de  la  Briere.  Jacquin  la  Roulie  was  at  that  time  an 
old  man  and  a  firm  believer  in  the  French  school;  he  had  an 
argument  with  John  Barry,  another  guest,  who  defended 
English  principles.  [Modeste  Mignon.] 

Larsonniere  (M.  and  Madame  de),  formed  the  aristocracy 
of  the  little  city  of  Saumur,  of  which  Felix  Grandet  had 
been  mayor  in  the  years  just  previous  to  the  First  Empire. 
[Eugenie  Grandet.] 

La  Thaumassiere  (De),  grandson  of  the  Berry  historian, 
a  young  land-owner,  the  dandy  of  Sancerre.  While  present 
in  Madame  de  la  Baudraye's  parlor,  he  had  the  misfortune 
to  yawn  during  an  exposition  which  she  was  giving,  for  the 
fourth  time,  of  Kant's  philosophy;  he  was  henceforth  looked 
upon  as  a  man  completely  lacking  in  understanding  and  in 
soul.  [The  Muse  of  the  Department.] 

Latournelle  (Simon-Babylas),  born  in  1777,  was  notary  at 
Havre,  where  he  had  bought  the  most  extensive  practice 
for  one  hundred  thousand  francs,  lent  him  in  1817  by  Charles 
Mignon  de  la  Bastie.  He  married  Mademoiselle  Agnes 
Labrosse,  having  by  her  one  son,  Exupere.  He  remained 
the  intimate  friend  of  his  benefactors,  the  Mignons.  [Modeste 
Mignon.]  * 

Latournelle  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding,  born  Agnes 
Labrosse,  daughter  to  the  clerk  of  the  court  of  first  instance 
at  Havre.  Tall  and  ungainly  of  figure,  a  bourgeoise  of 
rather  ancient  tastes,  at  the  same  time  good-hearted,  she 
had  somewhat  late  in  life,  by  her  marriage,  a  son  whose 
given  name  was  Exupere.  She  entertained  Jean  Butscha. 
Madame  Latournelle  was  a  frequent  visitor  of  the  Mignons 
de  la  Bastie,  and  at  all  times  testified  her  affection  for  them. 
[Modeste  Mignon.] 

Latournelle  (Exupere),  son  of  the  preceding  couple,  went 
with  them  often  to  visit  the  Mignons  de  la  Bastie,  towards 


270  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

the  end  of  the  Restoration.     He  was  then  a  tall,  insignificant 
young  man.     [Modeste  Mignon.] 

Laudigeois,  married,  head  of  a  family,  typical  petty  bour- 
geois, employed  during  the  Restoration  by  the  mayor  of  the 
eleventh  or  twelfth  ward  in  Paris,  a  position  from  which 
he  was  unjustly  expelled  by  Colleville  in  1840.  In  1824 
an  intimate  neighbor  of  the  Phellions,  and  exactly  like  them 
in  morals,  he  attended  their  informal  card-party  on  Thursday 
evening.  Laudigeois,  introduced  by  the  Phellions,  finally 
became  a  close  friend  of  the  Thuilliers,  during  the  reign  of 
Louis  Philippe.  His  civil  statistical  record  should  be  cor- 
rected, as  his  name  in  several  of  the  papers  is  spelled  Leu- 
digeois.  [The  Government  Clerks.  The  Middle  Classes.] 

Laure,  given  name  of  a  sweet  and  charming  young  peasant 
girl,  who  took  Servin's  course  in  painting  at  Paris  in  1815. 
She  protected  Ginevra  di  Piombo,  an  affectionate  friend, 
who  was  her  elder.  [The  Vendetta.] 

Laurent,  a  Savoyard,  Antoine's  nephew;  husband  of 
an  expert  laundress  of  laces,  mender  of  cashmeres,  etc.  In 
1824  he  lived  with  them  and  their  relative,  Gabriel,  in  Paris. 
In  the  evening  he  was  door-keeper  in  a  subsidized  theatre  ; 
in  the  daytime  he  was  usher  in  the  Bureau  of  Finance.  In 
this  position  Laurent  was  first  to  learn  of  the  worldly  and 
official  success  attained  by  Celestine  Rabourdin,  when  she  at- 
tempted to  have  Xavier  appointed  successor  to  Flamet  de 
la  Billardiere.  [The  Government  Clerks.] 

Laurent,  Paris,  1815,  M.  Henri  de  Marsay's  servant,  equal 
to  the  Frontins  of  the  old  regime;  was  able  to  obtain  for  his 
master,  through  the  mail-carrier,  Moinot,  the  address  of 
Paquita  Valdes  and  other  information  about  her.  [The 
Thirteen.] 

Lavienne,  Jean-Jules  Popinot's  servant  in  Paris,  rue  du 
Fouarre,  1828;  "made  on  purpose  for  his  master,"  whom 
he  aided  in  his  active  philanthropy  by  redeeming  and  renew- 
ing pledges  given  to  the  pawnbrokers.  He  took  the  place 
of  his  master  in  Palais  de  Justice  during  the  latter's  abser-ce. 
[The  Commission  in  Lunacy  .jj 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  271 

Lavrille,  famous  naturalist,  employed  in  the  Jardin  des 
Plantes,  and  dwelling  on  rue  de  Buff  on,  Paris,  1831.  Con- 
sulted as  to  the  shagreen,  the  enlargment  of  which  was  so 
passionately  desired  by  Raphael  de  Valentin,  Lavrille  could 
do  nothing  more  than  talk  on  the  subject  and  sent  the  young 
man  to  Planchette,  the  professor  of  mechanics.  Lavrille, 
"  the  grand  mogul  of  zoology,"  reduced  science  to  a  catalogue 
of  names.  He  was  then  preparing  a  monograph  on  the 
duck  family.  [The  Magic  Skin.] 

Lebas  (Joseph),  born  in  1779,  a  penniless  orphan,  he  was 
assisted  and  employed  in  Paris,  first  by  the  Guillaumes, 
cloth-merchants  on  rue  Saint-Denis,  at  the  Cat  and  Racket. 
Under  the  First  Empire  he  married  Virginie,1  the  elder 
of  his  employer's  daughters,  although  he  was  in  love  with 
the  younger,  Mademoiselle  Augustine.  He  succeeded  the 
Guillaumes  in  business.  [At  the  Sign  of  the  Cat  and  Racket.] 
During  the  first  years  of  the  Restoration  he  presided  over 
the  Tribunal  of  Commerce.  Joseph  Lebas,  who  was  intimate 
with  M.  and  Madame  Birotteau,  attended  their  ball  with 
his  wife.  He  also  strove  for  Cesar's  rehabilitation.  [Ce"sar 
Birotteau.]  During  the  reign  of  Louis  Philippe,  having 
for  an  intimate  friend  Celestin  Crevel,  he  retired  from  business 
and  lived  at  Corbeil.  [Cousin  Betty.] 

Lebas  (Madame  Joseph),  wife  of  the  preceding,  born 
Virginie  Guillaume  in  1784,  elder  of  Guillaume's  daughters, 
lived  at  the  Cat  and  Racket;  the  counterpart,  physically  and 
morally,  of  her  mother.  Under  the  First  Empire,  at  the 
parish  church  of  Saint-Leu,  Paris,  her  marriage  took  place 
on  the  same  day  that  her  younger  sister,  Augustine  de  Som- 
mervieux,  was  wedded.  The  love  which  she  felt  for  her 
husband  was  not  reciprocated.  She  viewed  with  indifference 
her  sister's  misfortunes,  became  intimate  in  turn  with  the 
Birotteaus  and  the  Crevels ;  and,  having  retired  from  business, 
spent  her  last  days  in  the  middle  of  Louis  Philippe's  reign 
at  Corbeil.  [At  the  Sign  of  the  Cat  and  Racket.  Ce"sai 
Birotteau.  Cousin  Betty.] 

1  The  names  of  Virginie  and  Augustine  are  confused  in  the  original  text. 


272  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Lebas,  probably  a  son  of  the  preceding.  In  1836  first 
assistant  of  the  king's  solicitor  at  Sancerre;  two  years  later 
counselor  to  the  court  of  Paris.  In  1838  he  would  have 
married  Hortense  Hulot  if  Crevel  had  not  prevented  the 
match.  [The  Muse  of  the  Department.  Cousin  Betty.] 

Lebceuf,  for  a  long  time  connected  with  the  prosecuting 
attorney  at  Nantes,  being  president  of  the  court  there  in  the 
latter  part  of  Louis  Philippe's  reign.  He  was  well  acquainted 
with  the  Camusot  de  Marvilles,  and  knew  Maitre  Fraisier, 
who  claimed  his  acquaintance  in  1845.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Lebrun,  sub-lieutenant,  then  captain  in  the  Seventy- 
second  demi-brigade,  commanded  by  Hulot  during  the  war 
against  the  Chouans  in  1799.  [The  Chouans.] 

Lebrun,  division-chief  in  the  .War  Department  in  1838. 
Marneffe  was  one  of  his  employes.  [Cousin  Betty.] 

Lebrun,  protege,  friend  and  disciple  of  Doctor  Bouvard. 
Being  a  physician  at  the  prison  in  May,  1830,  he  was  called 
upon  to  establish  the  death  of  Lucien  de  Rubempre.  [Scenes 
from  a  Courtesan's  Life.]  In  1845  Lebrun  was  chief 
physician  of  the  Parisian  boulevard  theatre,  managed  by 
Felix  Gaudissart.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Lecamus  (Baron  de  Tresnes),  counselor  to  the  royal 
court  of  Paris,  lived,  in  1816,  rue  Chanoinesse,  with  Madame 
de  la  Chanterie.  Known  there  by  the  name  of  Joseph, 
he  was  a  Brother  of  Consolation  in  company  with  Montauran, 
Alain,  Abb£  de  Veze  and  Godefroid.  [The  Seamy  Side  of 

History.] 

i 
Lechesneau,    through   the   influence   of    Cambaceres    and 

Bonaparte,  appointed  attorney-general  in  Italy,  but  as  a 
result  of  his  many  disreputable  love-affairs,  despite  his 
real  capacity  for  office-holding,  he  was  forced  to  give  up 
his  position.  Between  the  end  of  the  Republic  and  the 
beginning  of  the  Empire  he  became  head  of  the  grand  jury 
at  Troyes.  Lechesneau,  who  had  been  repeatedly  bribed  by 
Senator  Malin,  had  to  occupy  himself  in  1806  with  the 
Hauteserre-Simeuse-Michu  affair.  [The  Gondreville  Mystery.] 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  273 

Leclerq,  native  of  Bourgogne,  commissioner  for  the  vintners 
in  the  department  to  which  Ville-aux-Fayes,  a  sub-pre- 
fecture of  this  same  province,  belonged.  He  was  of  service 
to  Gaubertin,  Madame  Soudry,  also  Rigou,  perhaps,  and  was 
in  turn  under  obligations  to  them.  Having  arranged  a  part- 
nership he  founded  the  house  of  "Leclerq  &  Company," 
on  Quai  de  Bethune,  He  Saint-Louis,  Paris,  in  competition 
with  the  well-known  house  of  Grandet.  In  1815  Leclerq 
married  Jenny  Gaubertin.  As  a  banker  he  dealt  in  wine 
commissions,  and  became  regent  of  the  National  Bank. 
During  the  Restoration  he .  represented  as  deputy  on  the 
Left  Centre  the  district  of  Ville-aux-Fayes,  and  not  far  from 
the  sub-prefecture,  in  1823,  bought  a  large  estate,  which 
brought  thirty  thousand  francs  rental.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Leclerq  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding,  born  Jenny 
Gaubertin,  eldest  daughter  of  Gaubertin,  steward  of  Aigues 
in  Bourgogne,  received  two  hundred  thousand  francs  as 
dowry.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Leclerq,  brother-in-law  of  the  preceding,  during  the  Restora- 
tion was  special  collector  at  Ville-aux-Fayes,  Bourgogne, 
and  joined  the  other  members  of  his  family  in  worrying, 
more  or  less,  the  Comte  de  Montcornet.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Lecocq,  a  trader,  whose  failure  was  very  cleverly  foretold 
by  Guillaume  at  the  Cat  and  Racket.  This  failure  was 
Guillaume's  Battle  of  Marengo.  [At  the  Sign  of  the  Cat  and 
Racket.] 

Lefebvre,  Louis  Lambert's  uncle,  was  successively  ora- 
torian,  sworn  priest  and  cure  of  Mer,  a  small  city  near  Blois. 
Had  a  delightful  disposition  and  a  heart  of  rare  tenderness. 
He  exercised  a  watchful  care  over  the  childhood  and  youth 
of  his  remarkable  nephew.  The  Abbe"  Lefebvre  later  on 
lived  at  Blois,  the  Restoration  having  caused  him  to  lose 
his  position.  In  1822,  under  form  of  a  letter  sent  from  Croisic, 
he  was  the  first  to  receive  information  concerning  the  Cam- 
bremers.  The  next  year,  having  become  much  older  in  ap- 
pearance, while  riding  in  a  stage-coach  he  told  of  the  frightful 
state  of  suffering,  sometimes  mingled  with  remarkable  dis- 


274  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

plays  of  intellect,  which  preceded  the  death  of  Louis  Lambert. 
[Louis  Lambert.     A  Seaside  Tragedy.] 

Lefebvre  (Robert),  well-known  French  painter  of  the  First 
Empire.  In  1806,  at  the  expense  of  Laurence  de  Cinq- 
Cygne,  he  painted  Michu's  portrait.  [The  Gondreville  Mys- 
tery.] Among  the  many  paintings  executed  by  Robert 
Lefebvre  is  a  portrait  of  Hulot  d'Ervy  dressed  in  the  uniform 
of  chief  commissary  of  the  Imperial  Guard.  This  is  dated 
1810.  [Cousin  Betty.] 

Leganfes  (Marquis  de),  Spanish  grandee,  married,  father 
of  two  daughters,  Clara  and  Mariquita,  and  of  three  sons, 
Juanito,  Philippe  and  Manuel.  He  manifested  a  spirit  of 
patriotism  in  the  war  carried  on  against  the  French  during 
the  Empire  and  died  then  under  the  most  tragic  circumstances, 
in  which  Mariquita  was  an  unwilling  abettor.  The  Marquis 
de  Le*ganes  died  by  the  hand  of  his  eldest  son,  who  had  been 
condemned  to  be  his  executioner.  [El  Verdugo.] 

Leganes  (Marquise  de),  wife  of  the  preceding  and  con- 
demned to  die  with  the  other  members  of  the  family  by 
the  hand  of  her  eldest  son.  She  spared  him  the  necessity 
of  doing  this  horrible  deed  of  war  by  committing  suicide. 
[El  Verdugo.] 

Leganes  (Clara  de),  daughter  of  the  preceding  couple; 
also  shared  the  condemnation  of  the  Marquis  de  Le"gan£s 
and  died  by  the  hand  of  Juanito.  [El  Verdugo.] 

L6ganfes  (Mariquita  de),  sister  of  the  preceding,  had  rescued 
Major  Victor  Marchand  of  the  French  infantry  from  danger 
in  1808.  In  testimony  of  his  gratitude  he  was  able  to  obtain 
pardon  for  one  member  of  the  Le"gan£s  family,  but  with  the 
horribly  cruel  provision  that  the  one  spared  should  become 
executioner  of  the  rest  of  the  family.  [El  Verdugo.] 

Leganes  (Juanito  de),  brother  of  the  last-named,  born 
in  1778.  Small  and  of  poor  physique,  of  gentlemanly 
manners,  yet  proud  and  scornful,  he  was  gifted  with  that 
delicacy  of  feeling  which  in  the  olden  times  caused  Spanish 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  275 

gallantry  to  be  so  well  known.  Upon  the  earnest  request 
of  his  proud-spirited  family  he  consented  to  execute  his 
father,  his  two  sisters  and  his  two  brothers.  Juanito  onlj 
was  saved  from  death,  that  his  family  might  not  become 
extinct.  [El  Verdugo.j 

Le*ganes  (Philippe  de),  younger  brother  of  the  preceding, 
born  in  1788,  a  noble  Spaniard  condemned  to  death;  ex- 
ecuted by  his  elder  brother  in  1808,  during  the  war  waged 
against  the  French.  [El  Verdugo.] 

Le*ganfes  (Manuel  de),  born  in  1800,  youngest  of  the  five 
Leganes  children,  suffered,  in  1808,  during  the  war  waged 
by  the  French  in  Spain,  the  fate  of  his  father,  the  marquis, 
and  of  his  elder  brother  and  sisters.  The  youngest  scion 
of  this  noble  family  died  by  the  hand  of  Juanito  de  Leganes. 
[El  Verdugo.] 

L6ger,  extensive  farmer  of  Beaumont-sur-Oise,  married 
daughter  of  Reybert,  Moreau's  successor  as  exciseman  of 
the  Presles  estate,  belonging  to  the  Comte  de  SeYizy;  had 
by  his  wife  a  daughter  who  became,  in  1838,  Madame  Joseph 
Bridau.  [A  Start  in  Life.] 

Legrelu,  a  bald-headed  man,  tall  and  good-looking;  in 
1840  became  a  vintner  in  Paris  on  rue  des  Canettes,  corner 
of  rue  Guisarde.  Toupillier,  Madame  Cardinal's  uncle, 
the  "pauper  of  Saint-Sulpice,"  was  his  customer.  [The 
Middle  Classes.] 

Lelewel,  a  nineteenth  century  revolutionist,  head  of  the 
Polish  Republican  party  in  Paris  in  1835.  One  of  his  friends 
was  Doctor  Mo'ise  Halpersohn.  [The  Imaginary  Mistress. 
The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Lemarchand.     (See  Tours,  Minieres  des.) 

Lemire,  professor  of  drawing  in  the  Imperial  Lyceum, 
Paris,  in  1812;  foresaw  the  talent  of  Joseph  Bridau,  one  of 
his  pupils,  for  painting,  and  threw  the  future  artist's  mother 
into  consternation  by  telling  her  of  this  fact.  [A  Bachelor's 
Establishment.] 


276  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Lempereur,  in  1819,  Chaussee-d'Antin,  Paris,  clerk  to 
Charles  Claparon,  at  that  time  "straw-man"  of  Tillet, 
Roguin  &  Company.  [Cesar  Birotteau.] 

Lemprun,  born  in  1745,  son-in-law  of  Galard,  market- 
gardener  of  Auteuil.  Employed,  in  turn,  in  the  houses 
of  Thelusson  and  of  Keller  in  Paris,  he  was  probably  the 
first  messenger  in  the  service  of  the  Bank  of  France,  having 
entered  that  establishment  when  it  was  founded.  He  met 
Mademoiselle  Brigitte  Thuillier  during  this  period  of  his 
life,  and  in  1814  gave  Celeste,  his  only  daughter,  in  mar- 
riage to  Brigitte's  brother,  Louis-Jerome  Thuillier.  M. 
Lemprun  died  the  year  following.  [The  Middle  Classes.] 

Lemprun  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding,  daughter  of 
Galard,  the  marke1>gardener  of  Auteuil,  mother  of  one  child — 
Madame  Celeste  Thuillier.  She  li ved  in  the  village  of  Auteuil 
from  1815  until  the  time  of  her  death  in  1829.  She  reared 
Celeste  Phellion,  daughter  of  L.-J.  Thuillier  and  of  Madame 
de  Colleville.  Madame  Lemprun  left  a  small  fortune 
inherited  from  her  father,  M.  Galard,  which  was  administered 
by  Brigitte  Thuillier.  This  Lemprun  estate  consisted 
of  twenty  thousand  francs,  saved  by  the  strictest  economy, 
and  of  a  house  which  was  sold  for  twenty-eight  thousand 
francs.  [The  Middle  Classes.] 

Lemulquinier,  a  native  of  Flanders,  owed  his  name  to 
the  linen-yarn  dealers  of  that  province,  who  are  called 
mulquiniers.  He  lived  in  Douai,  was  the  valet  of  Balthazar 
Clae's,  and  encouraged  and  aided  his  master  in  his  foolish 
investigations,  despite  the  extreme  coldness  of  his  own 
nature  and  the  opposition  of  Josette,  Martha,  and  the  women 
of  the  Clae's  family.  Lemulquinier  even  went  so  far  as  to 
give  all  of  his  personal  property  to  M.  Claes.  [The  Quest 
of  the  Absolute.] 

Lenoncourt  (De),  born  in  1708,  marshal  of  France,  mar- 
quis at  first,  then  duke,  was  the  friend  of  Victor-Amede*e 
de  Verneuil,  and  adopted  Marie  de  Verneuil.  the  acknowledged 
natural  daughter  of  his  old  comrade,  when  the  latter  died 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  277 

Suspected  unjustly  of  being  this  young  girl's  lover,  the 
septuagenarian  refused  to  marry  her,  and  leaving  her  be- 
hind, he  changed  his  place  of  residence  to  Coblentz.  [The 
Chouans.] 

Lenoncourt  (Due  de),  father  of  Madame  de  Mortsauf. 
The  early  part  of  the  Restoration  was  the  brilliant  period 
of  his  career.  He  obtained  a  peerage,  owned  a  house  in 
Paris  on  rue  Saint-Dominique-Saint-Germain,  looked  after 
Birotteau  and  found  him  a  situation  just  after  his  failure. 
Lenoncourt  played  for  the  favor  of  Louis  XVIII.,  was  first 
gentleman  in  the  king's  chamber,  and  welcomed  Victurnien 
d'Esgrignon,  with  whom  he  had  some  relationship.  The 
Due  de  Lenoncourt  was,  in  1835,  visiting  the  Princesse  de 
Cadignan,  when  Marsay  explained  the  reasons  the  political 
order  had  for  the  mysterious  kidnapping  of  Gondreville. 
Three  years  later  he  died  a  very  old  man.  [The  Lily  of  the 
Valley.  Cesar  Birotteau.  Jealousies  of  a  Country  Town. 
The  Gondreville  Mystery.  Beatrix.] 

Lenoncourt  (Duchesse  de),  wife  of  the  preceding,  born 
in  1758,  of  a  cold,  severe,  insincere,  ambitious  nature,  was 
almost  always  unkind  to  her  daughter,  Madame  de  Mortsauf. 
[The  Lily  of  the  Valley.] 

Lenoncourt-Givry  (Due  de),  youngest  son  of  M.  and 
Madame  de  Chaulieu,  at  first  followed  a  military  career. 
Titles  and  names  in  abundance  came  to  him.  In  1827 
he  married  Madeleine  de  Mortsauf,  the  only  heir  of  her  parents. 
[Letters  of  Two  Brides.]  The  Due  de  Lenoncourt-Givry 
was  a  man  of  some  importance  in  the  Paris  of  Louis  Philippe 
and  was  invited  to  the  festival  at  the  opening  of  Jose"pha 
Mirah's  new  house,  rue  de  la  Ville-l'Eveque.  [Cousin  Betty.] 
The  year  following  attention  was  still  turned  towards  him 
indirectly,  when  Sallenauve  was  contending  in  defence  of 
the  duke's  brother-in-law.  [The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Lenoncourt-Givry  (Duchesse  de),  wife  of  the  preceding, 
bore  the  first  name  of  Madeleine.  Madame  de  Lenoncourt- 
Givry  was  one  of  two  children  of  the  Comte  and  Comtesse 


278  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

de  Mortsauf.  She  lived  almost  alone  in  her  family,  having 
lost  at  an  early  age  her  mother,  then  her  brother  Jacques, 
While  passing  her  girlhood  in  Touraine,  she  met  Felix  de 
Vandenesse,  from  whom  she  knew  how  to  keep  aloof  on  be- 
coming an  orphan.  Her  inheritance  of  names,  titles  and 
wealth  brought  about  her  marriage  with  the  youngest  son 
of  M.  and  Madame  de  Chaulieu  in  }827,  and  established 
for  her  a  friendship  with  the  Grandlieus,  whose  daughter, 
Clotilde,  accompanied  her  to  Italy  about  1830.  During 
the  first  day  of  their  journey  the  arrest  of  Lucien  Chardon 
de  Rubempre"  took  place  under  their  eyes  near  Bouron, 
Seine-et-Marne.  [The  Lily  of  the  Valley.  Letters  of  Two 
Brides.  Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Lenormand  was  court  registrar  at  Paris  during  the  Restora- 
tion, and  did  Comte  Octave  de  Bauvan  a  service  by  passing 
himself  off  as  owner  of  a  house  on  rue  Saint-Maur,  which 
belonged  in  reality  to  the  count  and  where  the  wife  of  that 
high  magistrate  lived,  at  that  time  being  separated  from 
her  husband.  [Honorine.] 

Leopold,  a  character  in  "L'Ambitieux  par  Amour,"  a  novel 
by  Albert  Savarus,  was  Maitre  Leopold  Hannequin.  The 
author  pictured  him  as  having  a  strong  passion — imaginary 
or  true — for  the  mother  of  Rodolphe,  the  hero  of  this 
autobiographical  novel,  published  by  the  "Revue  de  PEst" 
under  the  reign  of  Louis  Philippe.  [Albert  Savarus.] 

Lepas  (Madame  de),  for  a  long  time  keeper  of  a  tavern 
at  Vendome,  of  Flemish  physique;  acquainted  with  M.  and 
Madame  de  Merret,  and  furnished  information  about  them 
to  Doctor  Horace  Bianchon;  Comte  Bagos  de  Feredia,  who 
died  so  tragically,  having  been  a  lodger  in  her  house.  She 
was  also  interviewed  by  the  author,  who,  under  the  name  of 
Valentine,  gave  on  the  stage  of  the  Gymnase-Dramatique 
the  story  of  the  incontinence  and  punishment  of  Josephine 
de  Merret.  This  Vendome  tavern-keeper  pretended  also 
to  have  lodged  some  princesses,  M.  Decazes,  Ge'ne'ral  Bert- 
rand,  the  King  of  Spain,  and  the  Due  and  Duchesse  d'Abrantes, 
[La  Grande  Breteche.  Another  Study  of  Woman.] 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  279 

Lepitre,  strong  Royalist,  had  some  relations  with  M.  de 
Vandenesse,  when  they  wished  to  rescue  Marie-Antoinette 
from  the  Temple.  Later,  under  the  Empire,  having  become 
head  of  an  academy,  in  the  old  Joyeuse  house,  Quartier 
Saint- Antoine,  Paris,  Lepitre  counted  among  his  pupils 
a  son  of  M.  de  Vandenesse,  Felix.  Lepitre  was  fat,  like 
Louis  XVIII.,  and  club-footed.  [The  Lily  of  the  Valley.] 

Lepitre  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding,  reared  Felix 
de  Vandenesse.  [The  Lily  of  the  Valley.] 

Leprince  (Monsieur  and  Madame).  M.  Leprince  was  a 
Parisian  auctioneer  towards  the  end  of  the  Empire  and  at 
the  beginning  of  the  Restoration.  He  finally  sold  his  business 
at  a  great  profit;  but  being  injured  by  one  of  Nucingen's 
failures,  he  lost  in  some  speculations  on  the  Bourse  some  of 
the  profits  that  he  had  realized.  He  was  the  father-in-law 
of  Xavier  Rabourdin,  whose  fortune  he  risked  in  these  dan- 
gerous speculations,  that  his  son-in-law's  domestic  comfort 
might  be  increased.  Crushed  by  misfortune  he  died  under 
Louis  XVIII.,  leaving  some  rare  paintings  which  beautified 
the  parlor  of  his  children's  home  on  rue  Duphot.  Madame 
Leprince,  who  died  before  the  bankrupt  auctioneer,  a  dis- 
tinguished woman  and  a  natural  artist,  worshiped  and, 
consequently,  spoiled  her  only  child,  Celestine,  who  became 
Madame  Xavier  Rabourdin.  She  communicated  to  her 
daughter  some  of  her  own  tastes,  and  thoughtlessly,  per- 
haps, developed  in  her  a  love  of  luxury,  intelligent  and  re- 
fined. [The  Government  Clerks.] 

Leroi  (Pierre),  called  also  Marche-a-terre,  a  Fougeres 
Ghouan,  who  played  an  important  part  during  the  civil  war 
of  1799  in  Bretagne,  where  he  gave  evidence  of  courage 
and  heartlessness.  He  survived  the  tragedy  of  this  period, 
for  he  was  seen  on  the  Place  d'Alencon  in  1809  when  Cibot 
— Pille-Miche — was  tried  at  the  bar  as  a  chauffeur  and  at- 
tempted to  escape.  In  1827,  nearly  twenty  years  later,  this 
same  Pierre  Leroi  was  known  as  a  peaceable  cattle-trader  in 
the  markets  of  his  province.  [The  Chouans.  The  Seamy  Side 
of  History.  Jealousies  of  a  Country  Town.] 


280  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Leroi  (Madame),  mother  of  the  preceding,  being  111,  was 
cured  on  coming  to  Fougeres  to  pray  under  the  oak  of  the 
Patte-d'Oie.  This  tree  was  decorated  with  a  beautiful 
wooden  image  of  the  Virgin,  placed  there  in  memory  of 
Sainte-Anne'  d'Auray's  appearance  in  this  place.  [The 
Chouans.] 

Leseigneur  de  Rouville  (Baronne),  pensionless  widow  of  a 
sea-captain  who  had  died  at  Batavia,  under  the  Republic, 
during  a  prolonged  engagement  with  an  English  vessel; 
mother  of  Madame  Hippolyte  Schinner.  Early  in  the  nine- 
teenth century  she  lived  at  Paris  with  her  unmarried  daughter, 
Adelaide,  On  the  fourth  story  of  a  house  belonging  to 
Molineux,  on  rue  de  Surene,  near  the  Madeleine,  Madame 
Leseigneur  occupied  unadorned  and  gloomy  apartments. 
There  she  frequently  received  Hippolyte  Schinner,  Messieurs 
du  Halga  and  de  Kergarouet.  She  received  from  two  of 
these  friends  many  delicate  marks  of  sympathy,  despite 
the  gossip  of  the  neighbors  who  were  astonished  that  Madame 
de  Rouville  and  her  daughter  should  have  different  names, 
and  shocked  by  their  very  suspicious  behavior.  The  manner 
in  which  Mesdames  Leseigneur  recognized  the  good  offices 
of  Schinner  led  to  his  marriage  with  Mademoiselle  de  Rouville. 
[The  Purse.] 

Leseigneur  (Adelaide).  (See  Schinner,  Madame  Hip- 
polyte.) 

Lesourd,  married  the  eldest  daughter  of  Madame  Gue'ne'e  of 
Provins,  and  toward  the  end  of  the  Restoration  presided 
over  the  justice  court  of  that  city,  of  which  he  had  first  been 
king's  attorney.  In  1828  he  was  able,  indeed,  to  defend 
Pierrette  Lorrain,  thus  showing  his  opposition  to  the  local 
Liberalist  leaders,  represented  by  Rogron,  Vinet  and  Gou- 
rand.  [Pierrette.] 

Lesourd  (Madame), wife  of  the  preceding  and  eldest  daughter 
of  Madame  Gue'nee ;  for  a  long  time  called  in  Provins,  "  the 
little  Madame  Lesourd."  [Pierrette.] 

(Jean-Francis),    notary    in    Alencon.    inflexible 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  281 

correspondent  of  the  Royalists  of  Normandie  under  the  Em- 
pire. He  issued'  arms  to  them,  received  the  surname  of 
Confesseur,  and,  in  1809,  was  put  to  death  with  others  as 
the  result  of  a  judgment  rendered  by  Bourlac.  .[The  Seamy 
Side  of  History.] 

Levrault,  enriched  by  the  iron  industry  in  Paris,  died  in 
1813;  former  owner  of  the  house  in  Nemours  which  came 
into  the  possession  finally  of  Doctor  Minoret,  who  lived 
there  in  1815.  [Ursule  Mirouet.] 

Levrault-Cre'mifere,  related  to  the  preceding,  an  old  miller, 
who  became  a  Royalist  under  the  Restoration ;  he  was  mayor 
of  Nemours  from  1829  to  1830,  and  was  replaced  after  the 
Revolution  of  July  by  the  notary,  Oe'miere-Dionis.  [Ursule 
Mirouet.] 

Levrault-Levrault,  eldest  son,  thus  named  to  distinguish 
him  from  his  numerous  relatives  of  the  same  name;  he  was 
a  butcher  in  Nemours  in  1829,  when  Ursule  Mirouet  was 
undergoing  persecution.  [Ursule  Mirouet.] 

Liautard  (Abbe1),  in  the  first  years  of  the  nineteenth  century 
was  at  the  head  of  an  institution  of  learning  in  Paris;  had 
among  his  pupils  Godefroid,  Madame  de  la  Chanterie's 
lodger  in  1836  and  the  future  Brother  of  Consolation.  [The 
Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Lina  (Due  de),  an  Italian,  at  Milan  early  in  the  century, 
one  of  the  lovers  of  La  Marana,  the  mother  of  Madame 
Diard.  [The  Maranas.] 

Lindet  (Jean-Baptiste-Robert,  called  Robert),  member 
of  the  Legislature  and  of  the  Convention,  born  at  Bernay 
in  1743,  died  at  Paris  in  1825;  minister  of  finance  under  the 
Republic,  weakened  A'ntoine  and  the  Poiret  brothers  by 
giving  them  severe  work,  although  twenty-five  years  later 
they  were  still  laboring  in  the  Treasury.  [The  Government 
Clerks.] 

Lisieux  (Francois),  called  the  Grand-Fils  (grandson),  a 
rebel  of  the  department  of  Mayenne;  chauffeur  under  the 


282  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

First  Empire  and  connected  with  the  Royalist  insurrection 
in  the  West,  which  caused  Madame  de  la  Chanterie's  imprison- 
ment. [The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Listomfere  (Marquis  de),  son  of  the  "old  Marquise  de 
Listomere";  deputy  of  the  majority  under  Charles  X.,  with 
hopes  of  a  peerage;  husband  of  Mademoiselle  de  Vandenesse 
the  elder,  his  cousin.  One  evening  in  1828,  in  his  own  house 
on  rue  Saint-Dominique,  he  was  quietly  reading  the  "  Gazette 
de  France"  without  noticing  the  flirtation  carried  on  at 
his  side  by  his  wife  and  Eugene  de  Rastignac,  then  twenty- 
five  years  old.  [The  Lily  of  the  Valley.  A  Distinguished 
Provincial  at  Paris.  A  Study  of  Woman.] 

Listomere  (Marquise  de),  wife  of  the  preceding,  elder 
of  M.  de  Vandenesse's  daughters,  and  sister  of  Charles  and 
Felix.  Like  her  husband  and  cousin,  during  the  early  years 
of  the  Restoration,  she  was  a  brilliant  type  of  the  period, 
combining,  as  she  did,  godliness  with  worldliness,  occasionally 
figuring  in  politics,  and  concealing  her  youth  under  the 
guise  of  austerity.  However,  in  1828,  her  mask  seemed  to 
fall  at  the  moment  when  Madame  de  Mortsauf  died;  for, 
then,  she  wrongly  fancied  herself  the  object  of  Eugene  de 
Rastignac's  wooing.  Under  Louis  Philippe  she  took  part 
in  an  intrigue  formed  for  the  purpose  of  throwing  her  sister- 
in-law,  Marie  de  Vandenesse,  into  the  power  of  Raoul  Nathan. 
[The  Lily  of  the  Valley.  Lost  Illusions.  A  Distinguished 
Provincial  at  Paris.  A  Study  of  Woman.  A  Daughter  of 
Eve.] 

Listomfere  (Marquis  de),  mother-in-law  of  the  preceding, 
born  Grandlieu.  She  lived  in  Paris  at  an  advanced  age 
in  He  Saint-Louis,  during  the  early  years  of  the  nineteentl 
century;  received  on  his  holidays  her  grand-nephew,  Felix 
de  Vandenesse,  then  a  student,  and  frightened  him  by  the 
solemn  or  frigid  appearance  of  everything  about  her.  [The 
Lily  of  the  Valley.] 

Listomfere  (Baronne  de),  had  been  the  wife  of  a  lieutenant- 
general.  As  a  widow  she  lived  in  the  city  of  Tours  under 


JREPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  283 

the  Restoration,  assuming  all  the  grand  airs  of  the  past 
centuries.  She  helped  the  Birotteau  brothers.  In  1823 
she  received  the  army  paymaster,  Gravier,  and  the  terrible 
Spanish  husband  who  killed  the  French  surgeon,  Be"ga. 
Madame  de  Listomere  died,  and  her  wish  to  make  Frangois 
Birotteau  her  partial  heir  was  not  executed.  [The  Vicar  of 
Tours.  Cesar  Birotteau.  The  Muse  of  the  Department.] 

Listomere  (Baron  de),  nephew  of  the  preceding,  born  in 
1791 ;  was  in  turn  lieutenant  and  captain  in  the  navy.  During 
a  leave  of  absence  spent  with  his  aunt  at  Tours  he  began  to 
intervene  in  favor  of  the  persecuted  abbe",  Francois  Birotteau, 
but  finally  opposed  him  upon  learning  of  the  power  of  the 
Congregation,  and  that  the  priest's  name  figured  in  Baronne 
de  Listomere's  will.  [The  Vicar  of  Tours.] 

Listomere  (Comtesse  de),  old,  lived  in  Saint-Germain 
suburbs  of  Paris,  in  1839.  At  the  Austrian  embassy  she 
became  acquainted  with  Rastignac,  Madame  de  Nucingen, 
Ferdinand  du  Tillet  and  Maxime  de  Trailles.  [The  Member 
for  Arcis.] 

Listomfere-Landon  (Marquise  de),  born  in  Provence,  1744; 
lady  of  the  eighteenth  century  aristocracy,  had  been  the 
friend  of  Duclos  and  Mare'chal  de  Richelieu.  Later  she  lived 
in  the  city  of  Tours,  where  she  tried  to  help  by  unbiased 
counsel  her  unsophisticated  niece  by  marriage,  the  Marquise 
Victor  d'Aiglemont.  Gout  and  her  happiness  over  the  return 
of  the  Due  d'Angouleme  caused  Madame  de  Listomere's 
death  in  1814.  [A  Woman  of  Thirty.] 

Lolotte.     (See  Topinard,  Madame.) 

Longueville  (De),  noble  and  illustrious  family,  whose 
last  scion,  the  Due  de  Rostein-Limbourg,  executed  in  1793, 
belonged  to  the  younger  branch.  [The  Ball  at  Sceaux.] 

Longueville,  deputy  under  Charles  X.,  son  of  an  attorney, 
without  authority  placed  the  particle  de  before  his  name. 
M.  Longueville  was  connected  with  the  house  of  Pahna. 
Werbrust  &  Co. ;  he  was  the  father  of  Auguste,  Maximilion 
and  Clara;  desired  a  peerage  for  himself  and  a  minister's 


284  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

daughter  for  his  elder  son,  who  had  an  income  of  fifty  thousand 
francs.     [The  Ball  at  S9eaux.] 

Longueville  (Auguste),  son  of  the  preceding,  born  late 
in  the  eighteenth  century,  possessed  an  income  of  fifty  thou- 
sand francs;  married,  probably  a  minister's  daughter;  was 
secretary  of  an  embassy ;  met  Madame  Emilie  de  Vandenesse 
during  a  vacation  which  he  was  spending  in  Paris,  and  told 
her  the  secret  of  his  family.  Died  young,  while  employed 
in  the  Russian  embassy.  [The  Ball  at  Sgeaux.] 

Longueville  (Maximilien),  one  of  Longueville's  three 
children,  sacrificed  himself  for  his  brother  and  sister;  en- 
tered business,  lived  on  rue  du  Sentier — then  no  longer  called 
rue  du  Groschenet;  was  employed  in  a  large  linen  establish- 
ment, situated  near  rue  de  la  Paix ;  fell  passionately  in  love 
with  Emilie  de  Fontaine,  who  became  Madame  Charles 
de  Vandenesse.  She  ceased  to  reciprocate  his  passion  upon 
learning  that  he  was  merely  a  novelty  clerk.  However, 
M.  Longueville,  as  a  result  of  the  early  death  of  his  father 
and  of  his  brother,  became  a  banker,  a  member  of  the  nobility, 
a  peer,  and  finally  the  Vicomte  "Guiraudin  de  Longueville." 
[The  Ball  at  Sgeaux.] 

Longueville  (Clara),  sister  of  the  preceding;  she  was  prob- 
ably born  during  the  Empire;  was  a  very  refined  young 
woman  of  frail  constitution,  but  good  complexion;  lived  in 
the  time  of  the  Restoration;  was  companion  and  prote"ge"e 
of  her  elder  brother,  Maximilien,  future  Vicomte  Guiraudin, 
and  was  cordially  received  at  the  Planat  de  Baudry's  pavilion, 
situated  in  the  valley  of  Sgeaux,  where  she  was  a  good  friend 
of  the  last  unmarried  heiress  of  Comte  de  Fontaine.  [The 
Ball  at  Sgeaux.] 

Lora  (Le"on  de),  born  in  1806,  descendant  of  a  noble  family 
of  Roussillon,  of  Spanish  origin;  penniless  son  of  Comte 
Fernand  Didas  y  Lora  and  Leonie  de  Lora,  born  Gazonal  ; 
younger  brother  of  Juan  de  Lora,  nephew  of  Mademoiselle 
Urraca  y  Lora;  he  left  his  native  country  at  an  early  age. 
His  family,  with  the  exception  of  his  'mother,  who  died, 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMED1E  HUMAINE  285 

remained  at  home  long  after  his  departure,  but  he  never 
inquired  concerning  them.     He  went  to  Paris,  where,  having 
entered   the   artist,  Schinner's,  studio,   under   the  name  of 
Mistigris,  he  became  celebrated  for  his  animation  and  repartee. 
From  1820  he  shone  in  this  way,  rarely  leaving  Joseph  Bridau 
—a  friend  whom  he  accompanied  to  the  Comte  de  Se"rizy's  at 
Presles  in  the  valley  of  Oise.     Later  Le"on  protected  his  very 
sympathetic  but  commonplace  countryman,  Pierre  Grassou. 
In  1830  he  became  a  celebrity.     Arthez  entrusted  to  him 
the  decoration  of  a  castle,  and  Leon  de  Lora  forthwith  showed 
himself  to  be  a  master.     Some  years  later  he  took  a  tour 
through  Italy  with  Felicite*  des  Touches  and  Claude  Vignon. 
Being  present  when  the  domestic  troubles  of  the  Bauvans 
were  recounted,  Lora  was  able  to  give  a  finished  analysis  of 
Honorine's  character  to  M.  de  FHostal.     Being  a  guest  at 
all  the  social  feasts  and  receptions  he  was  in  attendance 
at    one    of    Mademoiselle    Brisetout's   gatherings    on    rue 
Chauchat.     There  he  met  Bixiou,  Etienne  Lousteau,  Stid- 
mann    and    Vernisset.     He   visited   the   Hulots   frequently 
and  their  intimate  friends.     With  the  aid  of  Joseph  Bridau 
he  rescued  W.  Steinbock  from  Clichy,  saw  him  marry  Hor- 
tense,  and  was  invited  to  the  second  marriage  of  Valerie 
Marneffe.     He  was  then  the  greatest  living  painter  of  land- 
scapes and  sea-pieces,  a  prince  of  repartee  and  dissipation, 
and  dependent  on  Bixiou.     Fabien  du  Ronceret  gave  to  him 
the  ornamentation  of  an  apartment  on  rue  Blanche.  Wealthy, 
illustrious,   living  on  rue   Berlin,   the    neighbor  of  Joseph 
Bridau  and  Schinner,  member  of  the  Institute,  officer  of  the 
Legion  of  Honor,   Le"on,   assisted  by  Bixiou,  received  his 
cousin  Palafox   Gazonal,   and  pointed   out  to  him    many 
well-known  people  about  town.     [The  Unconscious  Humor- 
ists.    A  Bachelor's  Establishment.     A  Start  in  Life.     Pierre 
Grassou.     Honorine.     Cousin  Betty.     Beatrix.] 

Lora  (Don  Juan  de),  elder  brother  of  the  preceding,  spent 
his  whole  life  in  Roussillon,  his  native  country;  in  the  presence 
of  their  cousin,  Palafox  Gazonal,  denied  that  his  younger 
brother,  "le  petit  L&m,"  possessed  great  artistic  ability. 
[The  Unconscious  Humorists.] 


286 

Loraux  (Abb6),  born  in  1752,  of  unattractive  bearing, 
yet  the  very  soul  of  tenderness.  Confessor  of  the  pupils  of 
the  Lycee  Henry  IV.,  and  of  Agathe  Bridau;  for  twenty-two 
years  vicar  of  Saint-Sulpice  at  Paris;  in  1818  confessor  of 
Ce"sar  Birotteau;  became  in  1819  cure  of  the  Blancs-Man- 
teaux  in  Marais  parish.  He  thus  became  a  neighbor  of  Octave 
de  Bauvan,  in  whose  home  he  placed  in  1824  M.  de  1'Hostal. 
his  nephew  and  adopted  son.  Loraux,  who  was  the  means  of 
restoring  to  Bauvan  the  Comtesse  Honorine,  received  her 
confessions.  He  died  in  1830,  she  being  his  nurse  at  the  time. 
[A  Start  in  Life.  A  Bachelor's  Establishment.  Cesar 
Birotteau.  Honorine.] 

Lorrain,  petty  merchant  of  Pen-Hoel  in  the  beginning 
of  the  nineteenth  century ;  married  and  had  a  son,  whose  wife 
and  child,  Pierrette,  he  took  care  of  after  his  son's  death. 
Lorrain  was  completely  ruined  later,  and  took  refuge  in  a 
home  for  the  old  and  needy,  confiding  Pierrette,  both  of  whose 
parents  were  now  dead,  to  the  care  of  some  near  relatives, 
the  Rogrons  of  Provins.  Lorrain's  death  took  place  pre- 
viously to  that  of  his  wife.  [Pierrette.] 

Lorrain  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding,  and  grand- 
mother of  Pierrette ;  born  about  1757;  lived  the  simple  life 
of  her  husband,  to  whom  she  bore  some  resemblance.  A 
widow  towards  the  end  of  the  Restoration,  she  became  com- 
fortably situated  after  the  return  of  Collinet  of  Nantes.  Upon 
going  to  Provins  to  recover  her  granddaughter,  she  found 
her  dying;  went  into  retirement  in  Paris,  and  died  soon 
after,  making  Jacques  Brigaut  her  heir.  [Pierrette.] 

Lorrain,  son  of  the  preceding  couple,  Bretagne;  captain 
in  the  Imperial  Guard;  major  in  the  line;  married  the  second 
daughter  of  a  Provins  grocer,  Auffray,  through  whom  he 
had  Pierrette;  died  a  poor  man,  on  the  battlefield  of  Mon- 
tereau,  February  18,  1814.  [Pierrette.] 

Lorrain  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding  and  mother  of 
Pierrette;  born  Auffray  in  1793;  half  sister  to  the  mother 
of  Sylvie  and  Denis  Rogron  of  Provins.  In  1814,  a  poor 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  287 

widow,  still  very  young,  she  lived  with  the  Lorrains  of  Pen- 
Hoe'l,  a  town  in  the  Vende'an  Marais.  It  is  said  that  she 
was  consoled  by  the  ex-major,  Brigaut,  of  the  Catholic  army, 
and  survived  the  unfortunate  marriage  of  Madame  Ne'raud, 
widow  of  Auffray,  and  maternal  grandmother  of  Pierrette, 
only  three  years.  [Pierrette.] 

Lorrain  (Pierrette),  daughter  of  the  preceding,  born  in 
the  town  of  Pen-Hoel  in  1813;  lost  her  father  when  fourteen 
months  old  and  her  mother  when  six  y^ars  old;  lovable 
disposition,  delicate  and  unaffected.  After  a  happy  child- 
hood, spent  with  her  excellent  maternal  grandparents  and 
a  playmate,  Jacques  Brigaut,  she  was  sent  to  some  first 
maternal  cousins  of  Provins,  the  wealthy  Rogrons,  who 
treated  her  with  pitiless  severity.  Pierrette  died  on  Easter 
Tuesday,  March,  1828,  as  the  result  of  sickness  brought 
on  by  the  brutality  of  her  cousin,  Sylvie  Rogron,  who  was 
extremely  envious  of  her.  A  trial  of  her  persecutors  fol- 
lowed her  death,  and,  despite  the  efforts  of  old  Madame 
Lorrain,  Jacques  Brigaut,  Martener,  Desplein  and  Bianchon, 
her  assailants  escaped  through  the  craftily  exerted  influence 
of  Vinet.  [Pierrette.] 

Louchard,  the  craftiest  bailiff  of  Paris;  undertook  th« 
recovery  of  Esther  van  Gobseck,  who  had  escaped  from 
Frederic  de  Nucingen;  did  business  with  Maitre  Fraisier 
[Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.  Cousin  Pons.] 

Louchard  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding,  did  not  live 
with  him;  acquainted  with  Madame  Komorn  de  Godollo 
and,  in  1840,  furnished  her  information  about  The'odose 
de  la  Peyrade.  [The  Middle  Classes.] 

Loudon  (Prince  de),  general  in  the  Vende'an  cavalry, 
lived  at  Le  Mans  during  the  Terror.  He  was  brother  of  a 
Verneuil  who  was  guillotined,  was  noted  for  "  his  boldness 
and  the  martyrdom  of  his  punishment."  [The  Chouans. 
Modeste  Mignon.] 

Loudon  (Prince  Gaspare!  de),  born  in  1791,  third  and  only 
surviving  son  of  the  Due  de  Verneuil's  four  children;  fat 


288  REPERTORY    OF  THE  COMEuiE  HUMAINE 

and  commonplace,  having,  very  inappropriately,  the  same 
name  as  the  celebrated  Vendean  cavalry  general;  became 
probably  Desplein's  son-in-law.  He  took  part  in  1829 
in  a  great  hunt  given  in  Normandie,  in  company  with  the 
He'rouvilles,  the  Cadignans  and  the  Mignons.  [Modeste 
Mignon.] 

Louis  XVIII.  (Louis-Stanislas-Xavier),  born  at  Versailles, 
November  16,  1754,  died  September  16,  1824,  King  of  France. 
He  was  in  political  relations  with  Alphonse  de  Montauran, 
Malin  de  Gondreville,  and  some  time  before  this,  under  the 
name  of  the  Comte  de  Lille,  with  the  Baronne  de  la  Chanterie. 
He  considered  Peyrade  an  able  officer  and  was  his  patron. 
King  Louis  XVIII.,  friend  of  the  Comte  de  Fontaine,  en- 
gaged Felix  de  Vandenesse  as  secretary.  His  last  mistress 
was  the  Comtesse  Ferraud.  [The  Chouans.  The  Seamy 
Side  of  History.  The  Gondreville  Mystery.  Scenes  from 
a  Courtesan's  Life.  The  Ball  at  SQeaux.  The  Lily  of  the 
Valley.  Colonel  Chabert.  The  Government  Clerks.] 

Louise,  during  the  close  of  Louis  Philippe's  reign,  was 
Madame  W.  Steinbock's  waiting-maid  at  Paris,  rue  Louis- 
le-Grand,  and  was  courted  by  Hulot  d'Ervy's  cook,  at  the 
time  when  Agathe  Piquetard,  who  was  destined  to  become 
the  second  Baronne  Hulot,  was  another  servant.  [Cousin 
Betty.] 

Lourdois,  during  the  Empire  wealthy  master-painter 
of  interiors;  contractor  with  thirty  thousand  francs  income, 
of  Liberal  views.  Charged  an  enormous  sum  for  the  famous 
decorations  in  Cesar  Birotteau's  apartments,  where  he  was 
a  guest  with  his  wife  and  daughter  at  the  grand  ball  of  Decem- 
ber 17,  1818.  After  the  failure  of  the  perfumer,  a  little 
later,  he  treated  him  somewhat  slightingly.  [At  the  Sign  of 
the  Cat  and  Racket.  Cesar  Birotteau.] 

Lousteau,  sub-delegate  at  Issoudun  and  afterwards  the 
intimate  friend  of  Doctor  Rouget,  at  that  time  his  enemy, 
because  the  doctor  was  possibly  the  father  of  Mademoiselle 
Agathe  Rouget,  then  become  Madame  Bridau.  Lousteau 
died  in  1800.  [A  Bachelor's  Establishment.] 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  289 

Lousteau  (Etienne),  son  of  the  preceding,  born  at  Sancerre 
in  1799,  nephew  of  Maximilienne  Hochon,  born  Lousteau, 
school-mate  of  Doctor  Bianchon.  Urged  on  by  his  desire 
for  a  literary  vocation,  he  entered  Paris  without  money, 
in  1819,  made  a  beginning  with  poetry,  was  the  literary 
.partner  of  Victor  Ducange  in  a  melodrama  played  at  the 
Gaite  in  1821,  undertook  the  editing  of  a  small  paper  devoted 
to  the  stage,  of  which  Andoche  Finot  was  proprietor.  He 
had  at  that  time  two  homes,  one  in  the  Quartier  Latin,  rue 
de  la  Harpe,  above  the  Servel  cafe,  another  on  rue  de  Bondy, 
with  Florine  his  mistress.  Not  having  a  better  place,  he 
became  at  times  Flicoteaux's  guest,  in  company  with  Daniel 
d'Arthez  and  especially  Lucien  de  Rubempre",  whom  he 
trained,  piloted,  and  introduced  to  Dauriat,  in  fact,  whose 
first  steps  he  aided,  not  without  feeling  regret  later  in  life. 
For  one  thousand  francs  per  month,  Lousteau  rid  Philippe 
Bridau  of  his  wife,  Flore,  placing  her  in  a  house  of  ill-fame. 
He  was  at  the  Opera,  the  evening  of  the  masque  ball  of 
the  year  1824,  where  Blondet,  Bixiou,  Rastignac,  Jacques 
Collin,  Chatelet  and  Madame  d'Espard  discovered  Lucien 
de  Rubempre  with  Esther  Gobseck.  Lousteau  wrote  criti- 
cisms, did  work  for  various  reviews,  and  for  Raoul  Nathan's 
gazette.  He  lived  on  rue  des  Martyrs,  and  was  Madame 
Schontz's  Iqver.  He  obtained  by  some  little  intrigue  a  deputy- 
ship  at  Sancerre ;  carried  on  a  long  liaison  with  Dinah  de  la 
Baudraye;  just  escaped  a  marriage  with  Madame  Berthier, 
then  Felicie  Cardot;  was  father  of  Madame  de  la  Baudraye's 
children,  and  spoke  as  follows  concerning  the  birth  of  the 
eldest:  "Madame  la  Baronne  de  la  Baudraye  is  happily 
delivered  of  a  child ;  M.  Etienne  Lousteau  has  the  honor  of 
announcing  it."  During  this  liaison,  Lousteau,  for  the  sum  of 
five  hundred  francs,  gave  to  Fabien  du  Ronceret  a  discourse 
to  be  read  at  a  horticultural  exhibition,  for  which  the  latter 
was  decorated.  He  attended  a  house-warming  at  Mademoi- 
selle Brisetout's,  rue  Chauchat;  asked  Dinah  and  Nathan 
for  the  purpose  or  moral  of  the  "  Prince  of  Bohemia."  Lou- 
steau's  manner  of  living  underwent  little  change  when  Madame 
de  la  Baudraye  left  him.  He  heard  Maitre  Desroches  re- 


290  REPERTORY  Of    THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

count  one  of  Cerizet's  adventures,  saw  Madame  Marneffe 
marry  Crevel,  took  charge  of  the  "Echo  de  la  Bievre,"  and 
undertook  the  managment  of  a  theatre  with  Ridal,  the  author 
of  vaudevilles.  [A  Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.  A 
Bachelor's  Establishment.  Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life. 
A  Daughter  of  Eve.  Beatrix.  The  Muse  of  the  Depart- 
ment. Cousin  Betty.  A  Prince  of  Bohemia.  A  Man  of 
Business.  The  Middle  Classes.  The  Unconscious  Humor- 
ists, U 

Luigia,  young  and  beautiful  Roman  girl  of  the  suburbs, 
wife  of  Benedetto,  who  claimed  the  right  of  selling  her. 
She  tried  to  kill  herself  at  the  same  time  she  killed  him,  but 
did  not  succeed.  Charles  de  Sallenauve — Dorlange — pro- 
tected her,  taking  care  of  her  when  she  became  a  widow,  and 
made  her  his  housekeeper  in  1839.  Luigia  soon  left  her 
benefactor,  the  voice  of  slander  having  accused  them  in  their 
mutually  innocent  relations.  [The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Lupeaulx  (Clement  Chardin  des),  officer  and  politician, 
born  about  1785;  left  in  good  circumstances  by  his  father; 
who  was  ennobled  by  Louis  XV.,  his  coat-of-arms  showing 
"a  ferocious  wolf  of  sable  bearing  a  lamb  in  its  jaws,"  with 
this  motto:  "En  lupus  in  historia."  A  shrewd  and  ambitious 
man,  ready  for  all  enterprises,  even  the  most  compromising, 
Clement  des  Lupeaulx  knew  how  to  make  himself  of  service 
to  Louis  XVIII.  in  several  delicate  undertakings.  Many 
influential  members  of  the  aristocracy  placed  in  his  hands 
their  difficult  business  and  their  lawsuits.  He  served  thus 
as  mediator  between  the  Due  de  Navarreins  and  Polydore 
Milaud  de  la  Baudraye,  and  attained  a  kind  of  mightiness 
that  Annette  seemed  to  fear  would  be  disastrous  to  Charles 
Grandet.  He  accumulated  duties  and  ranks,  was  master 
of  petitions  in  the  Council  of  State,  secretary-general  to 
the  minister  of  finance,  colonel  in  the  National  Guard,  gov- 
ernment commissioner  in  a  joint-stock  company;  also  pro- 
vided with  an  inspectorship  in  the  king's  house,  he  became 
Chevalier  de  Sain1>Louis  and  officer  of  the  Legion  of  Honor, 
An  open  follower  of  Voltaire,  but  an  attendant  at  mass,  at 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  291 

all  times  a  Bertrand  in  pursuit  of  a  Raton,  egotistic  and  vain, 
a  glutton  and  a  libertine,  this  man  of  intellect,  sought  after 
in  all  social  circles,  a  kind  of  minister's  "  household  drudge," 
openly  lived,  until  1825,  a  life  of  pleasure  and  anxiety,  striving 
for  political  success  and  love  conquests.  As  mistresses  he 
is  known  to  have  had  Esther  van  Gobseck,  Flavie  Colleville; 
perhaps,  even,  the  Marquise  d'Espard.  He  was  seen  at  the 
Opera  ball  in  the  winter  of  1824,  at  which  Lucien  de  Rubempre* 
reappeared.  The  close  of  this  year  brought  about  con- 
siderable change  in  the  Secretary-General's  affairs.  Crippled 
by  debt,  and  in  the  power  of  Gobseck,  Bidault  and  Mitral, 
he  was  forced  to  give  up  one  of  the  treasury  departments 
to  Isidore  Baudoyer,  despite  his  personal  liking  for  Rabourdin. 
He  gained  as  a  result  of  this  stroke  a  coronet  and  a  deputy- 
ship.  He  had  ambitions  for  a  peerage,  the  title  of  gentleman 
of  the  king's  chamber,  a  membership  in  the  Academy  of 
Inscriptions  and  Belles-lettres,  and  the  commander's  cross. 
[The  Muse  of  the  Department.  Eugenie  Grandet.  A  Bach- 
elor's Establishment.  A  Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris. 
The  Government  Clerks.  Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life. 
Ursule  Mirouet.] 

Lupeaulx  (Des),  nephew  of  the  preceding,  and,  thanks 
to  him,  appointed  sub-prefect  of  Ville-aux-Fayes,  Bourgogne, 
in  1821,  in  the  department  presided  over  successively  by 
Martial  de  la  Roche-Hugon  and  Casteran.  As  Gaubertin's 
prospective  son-in-law,  M.  des  Lupeaulx,  espousing  the 
cause  of  his  fianceVs  family,  was  instrumental  in  disgusting 
Montcornet,  owner  of  Aigues,  with  his  property.  [The 
Peasantry.] 

Lupin,  born  in  1778,  son  of  the  last  steward  of  the  Soulanges 
in  Bourgogne;  in  time  he  became  manager  of  the  domain, 
notary  and  deputy  mayor  of  the  city  of  Soulanges.  Al- 
though married  and  a  man  of  family,  M.  Lupin,  still  in  ex- 
cellent physical  condition,  was,  in  1823,  a  brilliant  figure 
in  Madame  Soudry's  reception-room,  whore  ho  was  known 
for  his  tenor  voice  arid  his  extreme  gallantries—  tho  bttef 
characteristic  being  proved  by  two  liaisons  carried  on  with 


292  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

two  middle-class  women,  Madame  Sarcus,  wife  of  Sarcus 
the  Rich,  and  Euphemie  Plissoud.     [The  Peasantry.] 

Lupin  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding,  called  "Bebelle;" 
only  daughter  of  a  salt-merchant  enriched  by  the  Revo- 
lution; had  a  platonic  affection  for  the  chief  clerk,  Bonnac. 
Madame  Lupin  was  fat,  awkward,  of  very  ordinary  appear- 
ance, and  weak  intellectually.  On  account  of  these  char- 
acteristics Lupin  and  the  Soudry  adherents  neglected  her. 
[The  Peasantry.] 

Lupin  (Amaury),  only  son  of  the  preceding  couple,  perhaps 
the  lover  of  Adeline  Sarcus,  who  became  Madame  Adolphe 
Sibilet;  was  on  the  point  of  marrying  one  of  Gaubertin's 
daughters,  the  same  one,  doubtless,  that  was  wooed  And  won 
by  M.  des  Lupeaulx.  In  the  midst  of  this  liaison  and  of 
these  matrimonial  designs,  Amaury  Lupin  was  sent  to  Paris 
in  1822  by  his  father  to  study  the  notary's  profession  with 
Maitre  Crottat,  where  he  had  for  a  companion  another  clerk, 
Georges  Marest,  with  whom  he  committed  some  indiscretions 
and  went  into  debt.  Amaury  went  with  his  friend  to  the 
Lion  d' Argent,  rue  d'Enghien  in  the  Saint-Denis  section, 
when  Marest  took  Pierrotin's  carriage  to  Isle-Adam.  On 
the  way  they  met  Oscar  Husson,  and  made  fun  of  him.  The 
following  year  Amaury  Lupin  returned  to  Soulanges  in  Bour~ 
gogne.  [The  Peasantry.  A  Start  in  Life.] 

M 

Machillot  (Madame),  kept  in  Paris,  in  1838,  in  the  Notre 
Dame-des-Champs  neighborhood,  a  modest  restaurant,  which 
was  patronized  by  Godefroid  on  account  of  its  nearness  to 
Bourlac's  house.  [The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Macumer  (Felipe  He"narez,  Baron  de),  Spanish  descendant 
of  the  Moors,  about  whom  much  information  has  been  fur- 
nished by  Talleyrand;  had  a  right  to  names  and  titles  as 
follows:  Henarez,  Due  de  Soria,  Baron  de  Macumer.  He 
never  used  all  of  them ;  for  his  entire  youth  was  a  succession 
of  sacrifices.,  misfortunes  and  undue  trials.  Macumer,  a 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  203 

leading  Spanish  revolutionist  of  1823,  saw  fortune  turn 
against  him.  Ferdinand  VII.,  once  more  enthroned,  recog- 
nized him  as  constitutional  minister,  but  never  forgave  him 
for  his  assumption  of  power.  Seeing  his  property  con- 
fiscated and  himself  banished,  he  took  refuge  in  Paris,  where 
he  took  poor  lodgings  on  rue  Hillerin-Bertin  and  began 
to  teach  Spanish  for  a  living,  notwithstanding  he  was  Baron 
de  Sardaigne  with  large  estates  and  a  palace  at  Sassari. 
Macumer  also  suffered  many  heart-aches.  He  vainly  loved 
a  woman  who  was  beloved  by  his  own  brother.  His  brother's 
passion  being  reciprocated,  Macumer  sacrificed  himself 
for  their  happiness.  Under  the  simple  name  of  H6narez, 
Macumer  was  the  instructor  of  Armande-Marie-Louise  de 
Chaulieu,  whom  he  did  not  woo  in  vain.  He  married  her, 
March,  1825.  At  various  times  the  baron  occupied  or  owned 
Chantepleurs,  a  chateau  Nivernais,  a  house  on  rue  du  Bac, 
and  La  Crampade,  Louis  de  1'Estorade's  residence  in  Prov- 
enge.  The  foolish,  annoying  jealousy  of  Madame  de  Macumer 
embittered  his  life  and  was  responsible  for  his  physical 
break-down.  Idolized  by  his  wife,  in  spite  of  his  marked 
plainness,  he  died  in  1829.  [Letters  of  Two  Brides.] 

Macumer   (Baronne  de).     (See  Gaston,  Madame   Marie.; 

Madeleine,  first  name  of  Madeleine  Vinet,  by  which  she 
was  called  while  employed  as  a  domestic.  [Scenes  from  a 
Courtesan's  Life.  Cousin  Pons.] 

Madou  (Angelique),  woman  of  the  masses,  fat  but  spry; 
although  ignorant,  very  shrewd  in  her  business  of  selling 
dried  fruit.  At  the  beginning  of  the  Restoration  she  lived 
in  Paris  on  rue  Perrin-Gasselin,  where  she  fell  prey  to  the 
usurer  Bidault— Gigonnet.  Angelique  Madou  at  first  dealt 
harshly  with  Cesar  Birotteau,  when  he  was  unable  to  pay  his 
debts;  but  she  congratulated  him,  later  on,  when,  as  a  result 
of  his  revived  fortunes,  the  perfumer  settled  every  obligation. 
Angelique  Madou  had  a  little  godchild,  in  whom  she  oc- 
casionally showed  much  interest.  [C4sar  Birotteau.] 

Magnan  (Prosper),  of  Bcauvais,  son  of  a  widow;  chief- 
surgeon's  assistant;  executed  in  1799  at  Andernach  on  th« 


294  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

banks  of  the  Rhine,  being  the  innocent  victim  of  circum- 
stantial evidence,  which  condemned  him  for  the  double 
crime  of  robbery  and  murder — this  crime  having,  in  reality, 
been  committed  by  his  comrade,  Jean-Frederic-Taillefer, 
who  escaped  punishment.  [The  Red  Inn.] 

Magnan  (Madame),  mother  of  the  preceding,  lived  .at 
Beauvais,  where  she  died  a  short  time  after  her  son's  death, 
and  previous  to  the  arrival  of  Hermann,  who  was  bringing 
her  a  letter  from  Prosper.  [The  Red  Inn.] 

Magus  (Elie),  Flemish  Jew,  Dutch-Belgian  descent,  born 
in  1770.  He  lived  now  at  Bordeaux,  now  at  Paris;  was 
a  merchant  of  costly  articles,  such  as  pictures,  diamonds 
and  curiosities.  By  his  influence  Madame  Luigi  Porta, 
born  Ginevra  di  Piombo,  obtained  from  a  print-seller  a 
position  as  colorist.  Madame  Evangelista  engaged  him 
to  estimate  the  value  of  her  jewels.  He  bought  a  copy  of 
Rubens  from  Joseph  Bridau  and  some  Flemish  subjects 
from  Pierre  Grassou,  selling  them  later  to  Vervelli  as  genuine 
Rembrandts  or  Teniers;  he  arranged  for  the  marriage  of  the 
artist  with  a  cork-maker's  daughter.  t  Very  wealthy,  and 
having  retired  from  business  in  1835,  he  left  his  house  on  the 
Boulevard  Bonne-Nouvelle  to  occupy  an  old  dwelling  on 
Chauss6e  des  Minimes,  now  called  rue  de  Beam.  He  took 
with  him  his  treasures,  his  daughter,  Noemi,  and  Abramko 
as  a  guard  for  his  property.  Elie  Magus  was  still  living  in 
1845,  when  he  had  just  acquired,  in  a  somewhat  dishonorable 
manner,  a  number  of  superb  paintings  from  Sylvain  Pens' 
collection.  [The  Vendetta.  A  Marriage  Settlement.  A 
Bachelor's  Establishment.  Pierre  Grassou.  Cousin  Pons.] 

Mahoudeau  (Madame),  in  1840,  in  company  with  Madame 
Cardinal,  her  friend,  created  a  disturbance  during  one  of 
Bobino's  performances  at  a  small  theatre  near  the  Luxem- 
bourg, where  Olympe  Cardinal  was  playing.  While  playing 
the  "jeune  premiere"  she  was  recognized  by  her  mother. 
[The  Middle  Classes.] 

Mahuchet  (Madame),  women's  shoemaker,  "a  very  foul- 
mouthed  woman,"  in  the  language  of  Madame  Nourrisson; 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  295 

mother  of  seven  children.  After  having  dunned  a  countess, 
to  no  avail,  for  a  hundred  francs  that  was  due  her,  she  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  carrying  off  the  silverware,  on  display  at  a 
grand  dinner  to  be  given  by  her  debtor  one  evening,  as  a 
pledge.  She  promptly  returned,  however,  the  silver  she 
had  taken,  upon  finding  that  it  was  white  metal.  [The 
Unconscious  Humorists.] 

Malaga,  surname  of  Marguerite  Turquet. 

Malassis  (Jeanne),  from  the  country,  a  servant  of  Pingret, 
who  was  an  avaricious  and  wealthy  old  peasant  of  the  suburbs 
of  Limoges.  Mortally  injured  while  hastening  to  the  as- 
sistance of  her  master,  who  was  robbed  and  murdered,  she 
was  the  second  victim  of  J.-F.  Tascheron.  [The  Country 
Parson.] 

Malfatti,  Venetian  doctor ;  in  1820  called  into  consultation 
with  one  of  his  fellow-physicians  in  France,  concerning  the 
sickness  of  the  Due  Cataneo.  [Massimilla  Doni.] 

Malin.     (See  Gondreville.) 

Mallet,  policeman  in  the  department  of  Orne  in  1809. 
Ordered  to  find  and  arrest  Madame  Bryond  des  Minieres, 
he  let  her  escape,  by  means  of  an  agreement  with  his  comrade, 
Ratel,  who  was  to  have  aided  in  her  capture.  Having  been 
imprisoned  for  this  deed,  Mallet  was  declared  by  Bourlac 
deserving  of  capital  punishment,  and  was  put  to  death  the 
same  year.  [The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Malvaut  (Jenny).     (See  Derville,  Madame.) 

Mancini  (De),  Italian,  fair,  effeminate,  madly  beloved 
by  La  Marana,  who  had  by  him  a  daughter,  Juan-Pepita- 
Maria  de  Mancini,  later  Madame  Diard.  [The  Maranas.j 

Mancini  (Juana-Pepita-Maria  de).     (See  Diard,  Madame.) 

Manerville  (De),  born  in  1731 ;  Norman  gentleman  to  whom 
the  governor  of  Guyenne,  Richelieu,  married  one  of  the  wealth- 
iest Bordeaux  heiresses.  He  purchased  a  commission  as 
major  of  the  Gardes  de  la  Porte,  in  the  latter  part  of  Louis 


296  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

XV.'s  reign;  had  by  his  wife  a  son,  Paul,  who  was  reared 
with  austerity ;  emigrated,  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution, 
to  Martinique,  but  managed  to  save  his  property,  Lanstrac, 
etc.,  thanks  to  Maitre  Mathias,  head-clerk  of  the  notary. 
He  became  a  widower  in  1810,  three  years  before  his  death. 
[A  Marriage  Settlement.] 

Manerville  (Paul  Francois- Joseph,  Comte  de),  son  of  the 
preceding,  born  in  1794,  received  his  education  in  the  college 
at  Vendome,  finishing  his  work  there  in  1810,  the  year  of  his 
mother's  death.  He  passed  three  years  at  Bordeaux  with 
his  father,  who  had  become  overbearing  and  avaricious; 
when  left  an  orphan,  he  inherited  a  large  fortune,  including 
Lanstrac  in  Gironde,  and  a  house  in  Paris,  rue  de  la  Pepiniere. 
He  spent  six  years  in  Europe  as  a  diplomat,  passing  his  vaca- 
tions in  Paris,  where  he  was  intimate  with  Henri  de  Marsay, 
and  was  a  lover  of  Paquita  Valdes.  There  he  was  subject 
to  the  trifling  of  Madame  Charles  de  Vandenesse,  then  Emilie 
de  Fontaine;  also,  perhaps,  met  Lucien  de  Rubempre".  In 
the  winter  of  1821  he  returned  to  Bordeaux,  where  he  was  a 
social  leader.  Paul  de  Manerville  received  the  appropriate 
nick-name  of  "le  fleur  des  pois."  Despite  the  good  advice 
of  his  two  devoted  friends,  Maitre  Mathias  and  Marsay, 
he  asked,  through  the  instrumentality  of  his  great-aunt, 
Madame  de  Maulincour,  for  the  hand  of  Natalie  Evangelista  in 
marriage,  and  obtained  it.  After  being  wedded  five 
years,  he  was  divorced  from  his  wife  and  sajled  for  Calcutta 
under  the  name  of  Camille,  one  of  his  mother's  given  names. 
[The  Thirteen.  The  Ball  at  Sgeaux.  Lost  Illusions.  A 
Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.  A  Marriage  Settlement.] 

Manerville  (Comtesse  Paul  de),  wife  of  the  preceding, 
born  Mademoiselle  Natalie  Evangelista,  non-lineal  descendant 
of  the  Duke  of  Alva,  related  also  to  the  Claes.  Having  been 
spoiled  as  a  child,  and  being  of  a  sharp,  domineering  nature, 
she  robbed  her  husband  without  impoverishing  him.  She 
was  a  leader  at  Paris  as  well  as  at  Bordeaux.  As  the  mis- 
tress of  Felix  de  Vandenesse  she  disliked  his  dedication  to  a 
story,  for  in  it  he  praised  Madame  de  Mortsauf.  Later, 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  297 

in  company  with  Lady  Dudley  and  Mesdames  d'Espard, 
Charles  de  Vandenesse  and  de  Listomere,  she  attempted  to 
compromise  the  Comtesse  Felix  de  Vandenesse,  recently  mar- 
ried, with  Raoul  Nathan.  [A  Marriage  Settlement.  The 
Lily  of  the  Valley.  A  Daughter  of  Eve.] 

Manette,  under  the  Restoration  at  Clochegourde  in  Tou- 
raine,  the  Comtesse  de  Mortsauf's  housekeeper,  taking  her 
mother's  place  in  the  care  of  her  young  master  and  mistress, 
Jacques  and  Madeleine  de  Mortsauf .  [The  Lily  of  the  Valley.] 

Manon.     (See  Godard,  Manon.) 

Manon-la-Blonde,  during  the  last  years  of  the  Restoration 
a  Paris  prostitute,  who  fell  violently  in  love  with  Theodore 
Calvi,  became  a  receiver  of  stolen  goods,  brought  to  her  by 
the  companion  of  Jacques  Collin,  who  committed  murder 
also,  at  the  time  of  the  robbery;  she  thus  became  the  in- 
direct or  involuntary  cause  of  the  Corsican's  arrest.  [Scenes 
from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Manseau  (Pere),  tavern-keeper  at  Echelles,  a  town  in 
Savoie,  gave  aid  to  La  Fosseuse,  in  her  poverty,  and 
sheltered  this  unfortunate  woman  in  a  barn.  La  Fosseuse 
became  the  protegee  of  Doctor  Benassis.  [The  Country 
Doctor.] 

Marana  (La),  the  last  of  a  long  series  of  prostitutes  bearing 
the  same  name;  natural  descendant  of  the  Herouvilles. 
She  was  known  to  have  had  more  than  one  distinguished 
lover:  Mancini,  the  Due  de  Lina,  and  a  king  of  Naples.  She 
was  notorious  in  Venice,  Milan  and  Naples.  She  had  by 
Mancini  one  child,  whom  he  acknowledged,  Juan-Pepita- 
Maria,  and  had  her  reared  in  good  morals  by  the  Lagounias, 
who  were  under  obligations  to  her.  Upon  going  to  seek 
her  daughter  in  Tarragone,  Spain,  she  surprised  the  girl 
in  company  with  Montefiore,  but  scorned  to  take  vengeance 
upon  him.  She  accepted  as  husband  of  the  young  girl 
M.  Diard,  who  had  asked  for  her  hand.  In  1823,  when  she 
was  dying  in  the  hospital  at  Bordeaux,  Marana  once  more 
saw  her  daughter,  still  virtuous,  although  unhappy.  [The 
Hated  Son.  The  Maranas.iJ 


298  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMED1E  HUMAINE 

Marcas  (Zephirin),  born  about  1803  in  a  Bretagne  family 
at  Vitro" .  In  after  life  he  supported  his  parents  who  were 
in  poor  circumstances.  He  received  a  free  education  in  a 
seminary,  but  had  no  inclination  for  the  priesthood.  Carrying 
hardly  any  money  he  went  to  Paris,  in  1823  or  1824,  and 
after  studying  with  a  lawyer  became  his  chief  clerk.  Later 
he  studied  men  and  objects  in  five  capitals :  London,  Berlin, 
Vienna,  St.  Petersburg  and  Constantinople.  For  five  years 
he  was  a  journalist,  and  reported  the  proceedings  of  the 
"Chambres."  He  often  visited  R.  de  la  Palfe"rine.  With 
women  he  proved  to  be  of  the  passionate- timid  kind.  With 
the  head  of  a  lion,  and  a  strong  voice,  he  was  equal  as  an 
orator  to  Berryer,  and  the  superior  of  M.  Thiers.  For  a  long 
time  he  supplied  the  political  ability  needed  by  a  deputy 
who  had  become  a  minister,  but,  convinced  of  his  disloyalty, 
he  overthrew  him,  only  to  restore  him  for  a  short  time.  He 
once  more  entered  into  polemical  controversy ;  saw  the  news- 
papers which  had  sparkled  with  his  forceful,  high-minded 
criticism  die;  and  lived  miserably  upon  a  daily  allowance 
of  thirty  sous,  earned  by  copying  for  the  Palais.  Marcas 
lived  at  that  time,  1836,  in  the  garret  of  a  furnished  house 
on  rue  Corneille.  His  thankless  debtor,  become  minister 
again,  sought  him  anew.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  hearty 
attention  of  his  young  neighbors,  Rabourdin  and  Juste, 
who  furnished  him  with  some  necessary  clothing,  and  aided 
him  at  Humann's  expense,  Marcas  would  not  have  taken 
advantage  of  the  new  opportunity  that  was  offered  him. 
His  new  position  lasted  but  a  short  time.  The  third  fall 
of  the  government  hastened  that  of  Marcas.  Lodged  once 
more  on  rue  Corneille  he  was  taken  with  a  nervous  fever. 
The  sickness  increased  and  finally  carried  away  this  unrecog- 
nized genius.  Z.  Marcas  was  buried  in  a  common  grave  in 
Montparnasse  cemetery,  January,  1838.  [A  Prince  of  Bohe- 
mia. Z.  Marcas.] 

Marchand  (Victor),  son  of  a  Parisian  grocer,  infantry- 
major  during  the  campaign  of  1808,  a  lover  of  Clara  Le"ganes, 
to  whom  he  was  under  obligation;  tried,  without  success, 
to  marry  this  girl  of  the  Spanish  nobility,  who  preferred  to 


REPERTORY   OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  299 

suffer  the  most  horrible  of  deaths,  decapitation  by  the  hand 
of  her  own  brother.     [El  Verdugo.] 

Marche-i-Terre.     (See  Leroi,  Pierre.) 

Marcillac  (Madame  de).  Thanks  to  some  acquaintances 
of  the  old  regime,  whom  she  had  kept,  and  to  her  relationship 
with  the  Rastignacs,  with  whom  she  lived  quietly,  she  found 
the  means  of  introducing  to  Claire  de  Beause"ant,  Chevalier 
de  Rastignac,  her  well-beloved  grand-nephew — about  1819. 
[Father  Goriot.] 

Marcosini  (Count  Andrea),  bora  in  1807  at  Milan;  although 
an  aristocrat  he  took  temporary  refuge  in  Paris  as  a  liberal; 
a  wealthy  and  handsome  poet;  took  his  period  of  exile  in 
1834  in  good  spirits.  He  was  received  on  terms  of  friend- 
ship by  Mesdames  d'Espard  and  Paul  de  Manerville.  On 
the  rue  Froidmanteau  he  was  constantly  in  pursuit  of 
Marianina  Gambara;  at  the  Italian  Giardini's  "  table-d'hote  " 
he  discussed  musical  topics  and  spoke  of  "Robert  le  Diable." 
For  five  years  he  kept  Paolo  Gambara's  wife  as  his  mistress; 
then  he  gave  her  ap  to  marry  an  Italian  dancer.  [Gambara.] 

Mare"chal,  und«r  the  Restoration  an*  attorney  at  Ville- 
aux-Fayes,  Bourgogne,  Montcornet's  legal  adviser,  helped 
by  his  recommendation  to  have  Sibilet  appointed  steward 
of  Aigues  in  1817.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Mareschal,  supervisor  in  the  college  of  Vendome  in  1811, 
when  Louis  Lambert  became  a  stadent  in  this  educational 
institution.  [Louis  Lambert.] 

Marest  (Fre"de"ric),  born  about  1802,  son  of  a  rich  lumber- 
merchant's  widow,  cousin  of  Georgos  Marest;  attorney's 
clerk  in  Paris,  November,  1825;  lover  of  Florentine  Cabirolle, 
who  was  maintained  by  Cardot;  made  the  acquaintance  at 
Maitre  Desroches'  of  Oscar  Husson,  and  took  him  to  a  fete 
given  by  Mademoiselle  Cabirolle  on  rue  de  Vend6me,  where 
his  friend  foolishly  compromised  himself.  [A  Start  in  Life.] 
Fre'de'ric  Marest,  in  1838,  having  become  an  examining  magis- 
trate in  the  public  prosecutor's  office  in  Paris,  had  to  ex- 
amine Auguste  de  Mergi,  who  was  charged  with  having 


300  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

committed  robbery  to  the  detriment  of  Doctor  Halpersohn. 
[The  Seamy  Side  of  History.]  The  following  year,  while 
acting  as  king's  solicitor  at  Arcis-sur-Aube,  Frederic  Marest, 
still  unmarried  and  very  corpulent,  became  acquainted  with 
Martener's  sons,  Goulard,  Michu  and  Vinet,-  and  visited  in 
the  Beauvisage  and  Mollot  families.  [The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Marest  (Georges),  cousin  of  the  preceding,  son  of  the  senior 
member  of  a  large  Parisian  hardware  establishment  on  rue 
Saint-Martin.  He  became,  in  1822,  the  second  clerk  of  a 
Parisian  notary,  Maitre  A.  Crottat.  He  had  then  as  a  com- 
rade in  study  and  in  pleasure  Amaury  Lupin.  At  this  time 
Marest's  vanity  made  itself  absurdly  apparent  in  Pierrotin's 
coach,  which  did  service  in  the  valley  of  Oise;  he  hoaxed 
Husson,  amused  Bridau  and  Lora,  and  vexed  the  Comte 
de  Serizy.  Three  years  later  Georges  Marest  had  become 
the  chief  clerk  of  Leopold  Hannequin.  He  lost  by  debauchery 
a  fortune  amounting  to  thirty  thousand  francs  a  year,  and 
died  a  plain  insurance-broker.  [The  Peasantry.  A  Start 
in  Life.ij 

Margaritis,  of  Italian  origin,took  up  his  residence  in  Vouvray 
in  1831,  an  old  man  of  deranged  mind,  most  eccentric  of 
speech,  and  who  pretended  to  be  a  vine-grower.  He  was  in- 
duced by  Vernier  to  hoax  the  famous  traveler,  Gaudissart, 
during  a  business  trip  of  the  latter.  [Gaudissart  the  Great.] 

Margaritis  (Madame),  wife  of  the  insane  Margaritis. 
She  kept  him  near  her  for  the  sake  of  economy,  and  made 
amends  to  the  deceived  Gaudissart.  [Gaudissart  the  Great.] 

Margueron,  wealthy  citizen  of  Beaumont-sur-Oise,  under 
Louis  XVIII.,  wished  his  son  to  be  tax-collector  of  the  dis- 
trict in  which  he  himself  owned  the  farm  lying  next  to  the 
property  of  Se"rizy  at  Presles,  and  which  he  had  leased  to 
Le"ger.  [A  Start  in  Life.] 

Marianne,  during  the  Restoration,  servant  of  Sophie 
Gamard  at  Tours.  [The  Vicar  of  Tours.] 

Marianne,  served  with  Gaucher  in  Michu's  house,  October, 
1803,  in  the  district  of  Arcis-sur-Aube,  at  Cinq-Cygne.  She 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  301 

served  her  master  with  discretion  and  fidelity.     [The  Gondre- 
ville  Mystery.] 

Mariast,  owned  No.  22  rue  de  la  Montagne-Sainte-Gene- 
vieve,  Paris,  and  let  it  to  Messieurs  d'Espard  during  nearly 
the  whole  period  of  the  Restoration.  [The  Commission  in 
Lunacy.] 

Marie  des  Anges    (Mere),   born  in  1762,  Jacques  Briche- 

teau's  aunt,  superior  of  the  Ursuline  convent  at  Arcis-sur- 
Aube,  saved  from  the  guillotine  by  Danton,  had  the  fifth 
of  April  of  each  year  observed  with  a  mass  in  her  nephew's 
behalf,  and,  under  Louis  Philippe,  protected  the  descendant 
of  a  celebrated  Revolutionist,  Charles  de  Sallenauve;  her 
influence  gave  him  the  position  of  deputy  of  the  district. 
[The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Mariette.     (See  Godeschal,  Marie.) 

Mariette,  born  in  1798;  from  1817  in  the  service  of  the 
Wattevilles  of  Besangon;  was  under  Louis  Philippe,  despite 
her  extreme  homeliness,  and  on  account  of  the  money  she 
had  saved,  courted  by  Jerome,  a  servant  of  Albert  Savarus. 
Mademoiselle  de  Watteville,  who  was  in  love  with  the  lawyer, 
used  Mariette  and  Je'rome  to  her  own  advantage.  [Albert 
Savarus.] 

Mariette,  in  1816,  cook  in  the  employ  of  Mademoiselle 
Cormon,  of  Alengon;  sometimes  received  advice  from  M. 
du  Ronceret;  an  ordinary  kitchen-maid  in  the  same  house- 
hold, when  her  mistress  became  Madame  du  Bousquier. 
[Jealousies  of  a  Country  Town.] 

Mariette,  was  in  the  employ  of  La  Fosseuse,  towards  the 
end  of  the  Restoration,  in  the  village  over  which  Benassis 
was  mayor.  [The  Country  Doctor.] 

Marigny  (Duchesse  de),  much  sought  after  in  the  Saint- 
Germain  section;  related  to  the  Navarreins  and  the  Grand- 
lieus;  a  woman  of  experience  and  good  at  giving  advice; 
real  head  of  her  house;  died  in  1819.  [The  Thirteen.] 


302  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Marigny1  (De),  son  of  the  preceding,  harebrained,  but 
attractive,  had  an  attachment  for  Madame  Keller,  a  middle- 
class  lady  of  the  Chaussee-d'Antin.  [The  Thirteen.] 

Marin,  in  1839,  at  Cinq-Cygne,  in  the  district  of  Arcis- 
sur-Aube,  first  valet  of  Georges  de  Maufrigneuse  and  pro- 
tector of  Anicette.  [The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Marion  of  Arcis,  grandson  of  a  steward  in  the  employ 
of  Simeuse;  brother-in-law  of  Madame  Marion,  born  Giguet. 
He  had  the  confidence  of  Malin,  acquired  for  him  the  Gondre- 
ville property,  and  became  a  lawyer  in  Aube,  then  president 
of  an  Imperial  court.  [The  Gondreville  Mystery.  The  Mem- 
ber for  Arcis.] 

Marion,  brother  of  the  preceding  and  brother-in-law  of 
Colonel  Giguet,  whose  sister  became  his  wife.  Through 
Malin's  influence,  he  became  co-receiver-general  of  Aube, 
with  Sibuelle  as  his  colleague.  [The  Gondreville  Mystery. 
The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Marion  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding,  Colonel  Giguet's 
sister.  She  was  on  intimate  terms  with  Malin  de  Gondreville. 
After  her  husband's  death  she  returned  to  her  native  country, 
Arcis,  where  her  parlor  was  frequented  by  many  guests. 
Under  Louis  Philippe,  Madame  Marion  exerted  her  powers 
in  behalf  of  Simon  Giguet,  the  Colonel's  son.  [The  Member 
for  Arcis.] 

Marion.     (See  Kolb,  Madame.) 

Mariotte,  of  Auxerre,  a  rival  of  the  wealthy  Gaubertin 
in  contracting  for  the  forest  lands  of  that  portion  of  Bourgogne 
in  which  Aigues,  the  large  estate  of  Montcornet,  was  situated. 
[The  Peasantry.] 

Mariotte  (Madame),  of  Auxerre,  mother  of  the  preceding, 
in  1823,  had  Mademoiselle  Courtecuisse  in  her  service.  [The 
Peasantry.] 

Marius,  the  cognomen,  become  hereditary,  of  a  native  of 

1  During  the  last  century  the  Marignys  owned,  before  the  Verneuils.Rosembray, 
in  estate  where  a  great  hunt  brought  together,  1829,  Cadignan,  Chaulieu,  Canalis, 
Miguou,  etc. 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  303 

Toulouse,  who  established  himself  as  a  Parisian  hair-dresser, 
and  was  thus  nick-named  by  the  Chevalier  de  Parny,  one  of 
his  patrons,  in  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
He  handed  down  this  name  of  Marius  as  a  kind  of  permanent 
property  to  his  successors.  [The  Unconscious  Humorists.] 

Marmus  (Madame),  wife  of  a  savant,  who  was  an  officer 
in  the  Legion  of  Honor  and  a  member  of  the  Institute.  They 
lived  together  on  rue  Duguay-Trouin  in  Paris,  and  were 
(in  1840)  on  intimate  terms  with  Zelie  Minard.  [The  Middle 
Classes.] 

Marmus,   husband   of  the   preceding   and   noted   for  his 

absent-mindedness.     [The  Middle  Classes.] 

Marneffe  (Jean-Paul-Stanislas),  born  in  1794,  employed 
in  the  War  Department.  In  1833,  while  a  mere  clerk  living 
on  twelve  hundred  francs  a  year,  he  married  Mademoiselle 
Valerie  Fortin.  Having  become  as  unprincipled  as  a  con- 
vict, under  the  patronage  of  Baron  Hulot,  his  wife's  para- 
mour, he  left  rue  du  Doyenne*  to  install  himself  in  luxury 
in  the  Saint-Germain  section,  and  later  became  head-clerk, 
assistant  chief,  and  chief  of  the  bureau,  chevalier,  then  officer 
of  the  Legion  of  Honor.  Jean-Paul-Stanislas  Marneffe, 
decayed  physically  as  well  as  morally,  died  in  May,  1842. 
[Cousin  Betty.] 

Marneffe1  (Madame).     (See  Crevel,  Madame  Ce"lestin.) 

Marneffe  (Stanislas),  legal  son  of  the  preceding  couple, 
suffered  from  scrofula,  much  neglected  by  his  parents.  [Cousin 
Betty.] 

Marolles  (Abbe"  de),  an  old  priest,  who  lived  towards  the 
close  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Having  escaped  in  Sep- 
tember, 1792,  from  the  massacre  of  the  Carmelite  convent, 
now  a  small  chapel  on  rue  de  Vaugirard,  he  concealed 
himself  in  the  upper  Saint-Martin  district,  near  the  German 
highway.  He  had  under  his  protection,  at  this  time,  two 

i  In  1849    at  Paris  Clairville  produced  upon  the  stae  of  the  Gvmnase-Draina- 

^S 

five  acts) . 


304  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

nuns,  who  were  in  as  great  danger  as  he,  Sister  Marthe  and 
Sister  Agathe.  On  January  22,  1793,  and  on  January  21, 
1794,  the  Abbe"  de  Marolles,  in  their  presence,  said  masses 
for  the  repose  of  Louis  XVI. 's  soul,  having  been  asked  to  do 
so  by  the  executioner  of  the  "martyr-king,"  whose  presence 
at  mass  the  Abb6  knew  nothing  of  until  January  25,  1794, 
when  he  was  so  informed  at  the  corner  of  rue  des  Frondeurs 
by  Citizen  Ragou.  [An  Episode  under  the  Terror.] 

Maronis  (Abbe"  de),  a  priest  of  great  genius,  who  would 
have  been  another  Borgia,  had  he  worn  the  tiara.  He  was 
Henri  de  Marsay's  teacher,  and  made  of  him  a  complete  skep- 
tic, in  a  period  when  the  churches  were  closed.  The  Abbe  de 
Maronis  died  a  bishop  in  1812.  [The  Thirteen.] 

Matron,  under  the  Restoration,  a  physician  at  Marsac, 
Charente;  nephew  of  the  Cure  Marron.  He  married  his 
daughter  to  Postel,  a  pharmacist  of  Angouleme.  He  was 
intimate  with  the  family  of  David  Sechard.  [Lost  Illusions. 
Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Marsay  (De),  immoral  old  gentleman.  To  oblige  Lord 
Dudley  he  married  one  of  the  former's  mistresses  and  recog- 
nized their  son  as  his  own.  For  this  favor  he  received  a 
hundred  thousand  francs  per  year  for  life,  money  which  he 
soon  threw  away  in  evil  company.  He  confided  the  child 
to  his  old  sister,  Mademoiselle  de  Marsay,  and  died,  as  he  had 
lived,  away  from  his  wife.  [The  Thirteen.] 

Marsay  (Madame  de).     (See  Vordac,  Marquise  de.) 

Marsay  (Mademoiselle  de),  sister-in-law  of  the  preceding, 
took  care  of  her  son,  Henri,  and  treated  him  so  well  that  she 
was  greatly  mourned  by  him  when  she  died  advanced  in  years. 
[The  Thirteen.] 

Marsay  (Henri  de),  born  between  1792  and  1796,  son  of 
Lord  Dudley  and  the  celebrated  Marquise  de  Vordac,  who 
was  first  united  in  marriage  to  the  elder  De  Marsay. 
This  gentleman  adopted  the  boy,  thus  becoming,  according 
to  law,  his  father.  The  young  Henri  was  reared  by  Mademoi- 
selle de  Marsay  and  the  Abb6  de  Maronis.  He  was  9n  in- 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  305 

timate  terms,  in  1815,  with  Paul  de  Manerville,  and  was 
already  one  of  the  all  powerful  Thirteen,  with  Bourignard, 
Montriveau  and  Ronquerolles.  At  that  time  he  found  on 
rue  Saint-Lazare  a  girl  from  Lesbosen,  Paquita  Valdes, 
whom  he  wished  to  make  his  mistress.  He  met  at  the  same 
time  his  own  natural  sister,  Madame  de  San-R6al,  of  whom 
he  became  the  rival  for  Paquita's  love.  At  first  Marsay 
had  been  the  lover  of  the  Duchesse  Charlotte,  then  of  Arabelle 
Dudley,  whose  children  were  his  very  image.  He  was  also 
known  to  be  intimate  with  Delphine  de  Nucingen  up  to 
1819,  then  with  Diane  de  Cadignan.  In  his  position  as 
member  of  the  Thirteen  Henri  was  in  Montriveau's  party 
when  Antoinette  de  Langeais  was  stolen  from  the  Carmelites. 
He  bought  Coralie  for  sixty  thousand  francs.  He  passed  the 
whole  of  his  time  during  the  Restoration  in  the  company 
of  young  men  and  women.  He  was  the  companion  and  coun- 
selor of  Victurnien  d'Esgrignon,  Savinien  de  Portenduere 
and  above  all  of  Paul  de  Manerville,  whose  course  he  vainly 
tried  to  direct  after  an  ill-appointed  marriage,  and  to  whom 
he  announced,  as  possible,  his  own  union.  Marsay  aided 
Lucien  de  Rubempre'  and  served  for  him,  with  Rastignac, 
as  second  in  a  duel  with  Michel  Chrestien.  The  Chaulieu 
and  Fontaine  women  feared  or  admired  Henri  de  Marsay— 
a  man  who  was  slighted  by  M.  de  Canalis,  the  much  toasted 
poet.  The  Revolution  of  July,  1830,  made  Marsay  a  man 
of  no  little  importance.  He,  however,  was  content  to  tell 
over  his  old  love  affairs  gravely  in  the  home  of  Felicite1  des 
Touches.  As  prime  minister  from  1832  to  1833,  he  was  an 
habitue"  of  the  Princesse  de  Cadignan's  Legitimist  salon, 
where  he  served  as  a  screen  for  the  last  Vendean  insurrection. 
There,  indeed,  Marsay  brought  to  light  the  secrets,  already 
old,  of  Malin's  kidnapping.  Marsay  died  in  1834,  a  physical 
wreck,  having  but  a  short  time  before,  when  Nathan  was 
courting  Marie  de  Vandenesse,  taken  part  in  the  intrigue, 
although  he  was  disgusted  with  the  author.  [The  Thirteen. 
The  Unconscious  Humorists.  Another  Study  of  Woman. 
The  Lily  of  the  Valley.  Father  Goriot.  Jealousies  of  a 
Country  Town.  Ursule  Mirouet.  A  Marriage  Settlement.  Lost 


306  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Illusions.  A  Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.  Letters  of 
Two  Brides.  The  Ball  at  Sgeaux.  Modeste  Mignon.  The 
Secrets  of  a  Princess.  The  Gondreville  Mystery.  A  Daughter 
of  Eve.] 

Martainville  (Alphonse-Louis-Dieudonne),  publicist  and 
dramatic  writer,  born  at  Cadiz,  in  1776,  of  French  parents, 
died  August  27,  1830.  He  was  an  extreme  Royalist  and, 
as  such,  in  1821  and  1822,  threw  away  his  advice  and  support 
on  Lucien  de  Rubempre",  then  a  convert  to  Liberalism.  [A 
Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.] 

Martener,  well-educated  old  man  who  lived  in  Provins 
under  the  Restoration.  He  explained  to  the  archaeologist, 
Desfondrilles,  who  consulted  him,  the  reason  why  Europe,  dis- 
daining the  waters  of  Provins,  sought  Spa,  where  the  waters 
were  less  efficacious,  according  to  French  medical  advice. 
[Pierrette.] 

Martener,  son  of  the  preceding;  physician  at  Provins  in 
1827,  capable  man,  simple  and  gentle.  He  married  Madame 
Gue"ne*e's  second  daughter.  When  consulted  one  day  by 
Mademoiselle  Habert,  he  spoke  against  the  marriage  of 
virgins  of  forty,  and  thus  filled  Sylvie  Rogron  with  despair. 
He  protected  and  cared  for  Pierrette  Lorrain,  the  victim 
of  this  same  old  maid.  [Pierrette.] 

Martener  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding,  second  daughter 
of  Madame  Guen^e,  and  sister  of  Madame  Auffray.  Having 
taken  pity  on  Pierrette  Lorrain  in  her  sickness,  she  gave  to 
her,  in  1828,  the  pleasures  of  music,  playing  the  compositions 
of  Weber,  Beethoven  or  Harold.  [Pierrette.] 

Martener,  son  of  the  preceding  couple,  prote'ge'  of  Vinet  the 
elder,  honest  and  thick-headed.  He  was,  in  1839,  examining 
magistrate  at  Arcis-sur-Aube  and  caucused,  during  the 
election  season  in  the  spring  of  this  same  year,  with  the 
officers,  Michu,  Goulard,  O.  Vinet  and  Marest.  [The  Member 
for  Arcis.] 

Martha  was  for  a  long  time  the  faithful  chambermaid  of 


REPERTORY   OF  THE  CUMKD1E  HUMAINE  307 

Josephine  Claes;  she  died  in  old  age  between  1828  and  1830. 
[The  Quest  of  the  Absolute.] 

Marthe  (Sister),  a  Gray  sister  of  Auvergne;  from  1809 
to  1816  instructed  V6ronique  Sauviat — Madame  Graslin — 
in  reading,  writing,  sacred  history,  the  Old  and  the  New 
Testaments  the  Catechism,  the  elements  of  arithmetic. 
[The  Country  Parson.^ 

Marthe  (Sister),  born  BeausSant,  in  1730,  a  nun  in  the 
Abbey  of  Chelles,  fled  with  Sister  Agathe  (n£e  Langeais) 
and  the  Abbe  de  Marolles  to  a  poor  lodging  in  the  upper 
Saint-Martin  dis  rict.  On  January  22,  1793,  she  went  to 
a  pastry-cook  near  Saint  Laurent  to  get  the  wafers  necessary 
for  a  mass  for  the  repose  of  Louis  XVI. 's  soul.  At  this  cere- 
mony she  was  present,  as  was  also  the  man  who  had  executed 
the  King.  The  following  year,  January  21,  1794,  this  same 
ceremony  was  repeated  exactly.  She  passed  these  two  years 
of  the  Terror  under  Mucius  Seoevola's  protection.  [An  Epi- 
sode under  the  Terror.] 

Marthe  (Sister),  in  the  convent  of  the  Carmelites  at  Blois, 
knew  two  young  women,  Mesdames  de  1'Estorade  and  Gaston. 
[Letters  of  Two  Brides.] 

Martin,  a  woman  of  a  Dauphine  village,  of  which  Doctor 
Benassis  was  mayor,  kept  the  hospital  children  for  three 
francs  and  a  bar  of  soap  each  month.  She  was,  possibly,  the 
first  person  in  the  country  seen  by  Genestas-Bluteau,  and 
also,  the  first  to  impart  knowledge  to  him.  [The  Country 
Doctor.?) 

Martineau,  name  of  two  brothers  employed  by  M.  de  Mort- 
sauf  in  connection  with  his  farms  in  Touraine.  The  elder 
was  at  first  a  farm-hand,  then  a  steward;  the  younger,  a 
warden.  [The  Lily  of  the  Valley.] 

Martineau,  son  of  one  of  the  two  Martineau  brothers.  [The 
Lily  of  the  Valley.] 

Marty  (Jean-Baptiste),  actor  of  melodrama,  employ^ 
or  manager  of  the  Gaite,  before  and  after  the  Paris  fire  of 


308  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

1836;  born  in  1779,  celebrated  during  the  Restoration; 
in  1819  and  1820  he  played  in  "  Mont-Sauvage,"  a  play 
warmly  applauded  by  Madame  Vauquer.  This  woman  was 
accompanied  to  the  theatre  on  the  Boulevard  du  Crime, 
by  her  rue  Neuve-Sainte-Genevieve  lodger,  Jacques  Collin, 
called  also  Vautrin,  on  the  evening  before  his  arrest.  [Father 
Goriot.]  Marty  died,  at  an  advanced  age,  in  1868,  a  chevalier 
in  the  Legion  of  Honor,  after  having  been  for  many  years 
mayor  of  Charenton. 

Marville  (De).     (See  Camusot.) 

Mary,  an  Englishwoman  in  the  family  of  Louis  de  1'Estorade 
during  the  Restoration  and  under  Louis  Philippe.  [Letters 
of  Two  Brides.  The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Massin-Levrault,  junior,  son  of  a  poor  locksmith  of  Mon- 
targis,  grand-nephew  of  Doctor  Denis  Minoret,  as  a  result 
of  his  marriage  with  a  Levrault-Minoret ;  father  of  three  girls, 
Pamela,  Aline,  and  Madame  G'oupil.  He  bought  the  office 
of  clerk  to  the  justice  of  peace  in  Nemours,  January,  1815, 
and  lived  at  first  with  his  family  in  the  good  graces  of  Doctor 
Minoret,  through  whom  his  sister  became  postmistress  at 
Nemours.  Massin-Levrault,  junior,  was  one  of  the  indirect 
persecutors  of  Ursule  de  Portenduere.  H*e  became  a  muni- 
cipal councilor  after  July,  1830,  began  to  lend  money 
to  the  laboring  people  at  exorbitant  rates  of  interest,  and 
finally  developed  into  a  confirmed  usurer.  [Ursule  Mirouet.] 

Massin-Levrault  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding,  born 
Levrault-Minoret  in  1793,  grand-niece  of  Doctor  Denis 
Minoret  on  the  maternal  side;  her  father  was  a  victim  of 
the  campaign  in  France.  She  strove  in  every  way  possible 
to  win  the  affections  of  her  wealthy  uncle,  and  was  one  of 
Ursule  de  Portendu£re's  persecutors.  [Ursule  Mirouet.!) 

Massol,  native  of  Carcassonne,  licentiate  in  law  and  editor 
of  the  "Gazette  des  Tribunaux"  in  May,  1830.  Without  know- 
ing their  relationship  he  brought  together  Jacqueline  and 
Jacques  Collin,  a  boarder  at  the  Concierge,  and,  acting 
under  Granville's  orders,  in  his  journal  attributed  Lucien 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  309 

de  Rubempre's  suicidal  death  to  the  rupture  of  a  tumor. 
A  Republican,  through  the  lack  of  the  particle  de  before  his 
name,  and  very  ambitious,  he  was,  in  1834,  the  associate 
of  Raoul  Nathan  in  the  publication  of  a  large  journal,  and 
sought  to  make  a  tool  of  the  poet-founder  of  this  paper. 
In  company  with  Stidmann,  Steinbock  and  Claude  Vignon, 
Massol  was  a  witness  of  the  second  marriage  of  Valerie 
Marneffe.  In  1845,  having  become  a  councilor  of  state 
and  president  of  a  section,  he  supported  Jenny  Cadine. 
He  was  then  charged  with  the  administrative  lawsuit  of 
S.-P.  Gazonal.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.  The  Magic 
Skin.  A  Daughter  of  Eve.  Cousin  Betty.  The  Uncon- 
scious Humorists.] 

Masson,  friend  of  Maitre  Desroches,  an  attorney,  to  whom, 
upon  the  latter's  advice,  Lucien  de  Rubempre"  hastened, 
when  Coralie's  furniture  was  attached,  in  1821.  [A  Dis- 
tinguished Provincial  at  Paris.] 

Masson  (Publicola),  born  in  1795,  the  best  known  chirop- 
odist in  Paris,  a  radical  Republican  of  the  Marat  type,  even 
resembled  the  latter  physically;  counted  Le"on  de  Lora  among 
his  customers.  [The  Unconscious  Humorists.] 

Mathias,  born  in  1753.  He  started  as  third  clerk  to  a  Bor- 
deaux notary,  Chesneau,  whom  he  succeeded.  He  mar- 
ried, but  lost  his  wife  in  1826.  He  had  one  son  on  the  bench, 
and  a  married  daughter.  He  was  a  good  example  of  the 
old-fashioned  country  magistrate,  and  gave  out  his  en- 
lightened opinions  to  two  generations  of  Manervilles.  [A 
Marriage  Settlement.] 

Mathilde  (La  Grande),  on  terms  of  friendship  with  Jenny 
Courand  in  Paris,  under  the  reign  of  Louis  Philippe.  [Gaudis- 
sart  the  Great.l] 

Mathurine,  a  cook,  spiritual  and  upright,  first  in  the  em- 
ploy of  the  Bishop  of  Nancy,  but  later  given  a  place  on  rue 
Vaneau,  Paris,  with  Valerie  Marneffe,  by  Lisbeth,  a  relative 
of  the  former  on  her  mother's  side.  [Cousin  Betty .3 

Matifat,  a  wealthy  druggist,  on  rue  des  Lombards,  Paris, 


310  EEPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century;  kept  the  "Reine 
des  Roses,"  which  later  was  handled  by  Ragon  and  Birot- 
teau;  typical  member  of  the  middle  classes,  narrow  in  views 
and  pleased  with  himself,  vulgar  in  language  and,  perhaps, 
in  action.  He  married  and  had  a  daughter,  whom  he  took, 
with  his  wife,  to  the  celebrated  ball  tendered  by  Cesar  Birot- 
teau  on  rue  Saint-Honore,  Sunday,  December  17,  1818. 
As  a  friend  of  the  Collevilles,  Thuilliers  and  Saillards,  Matifat 
obtained  for  them  invitations  from  Cesar  Birotteau.  In  1821 
he  supported  on  rue  de  Bondy  an  actress,  who  was  shortly 
transferred  from  the  Panorama  to  the  Gymnase-Dramatique. 
Although  called  Florine,  her  true  name  was  Sophie  Grig- 
nault,  and  she  became  subsequently  Madame  Nathan.  J.- 
J.  Bixiou  and  Madame  Desroches  visited  Matifat  frequently 
during  the  year  1826,  sometimes  on  rue  du  Cherche-Midi, 
sometimes  in  the  suburbs  of  Paris.  Having  become  a 
widower,  Matifat  remarried  under  Louis  Philippe,  and  re- 
tired from  business.  He  was  a  silent  partner  in  the  theatre 
directed  by  Gaudissart.  [Cesar  Birotteau.  A  Bachelor's 
Establishment.  Lost  Illusions.  A  Distinguished  Provincial 
at  Paris.  The  Firm  of  Nucingen.  Cousin  Pons.] 

Matifat  (Madame),  first  wife  of  the  preceding,  a  woman 
who  wore  a  turban  and  gaudy  colors.  She  shone,  under 
the  Restoration,  in  bourgeois  circles  and  died  probably  during 
the  reign  of  Louis  Philippe.  [Ce"sar  Birotteau.  The  Firm 
of  Nucingen.] 

Matifat  (Mademoiselle),  daughter  of  the  preceding  couple, 
attended  the  Birotteau  ball,  was  sought  in  marriage  by 
Adolphe  Cochin  and  Maitre  Desroches;  married  General 
Baron  Gouraud,  a  poor  man  much  her  elder,  bringing  to 
him  a  dowry  of  fifty  thousand  crowns  and  expectations  of  an 
estate  on  rue  du  Cherche-Midi  and  a  house  at  Luzarches. 
[Ce'sar  Birotteau.  The  Firm  of  Nucingen.  Pierrette.] 

Maucombe  (Comte  de),  of  a  Provencal  family  already 
celebrated  under  King  Rene1.  During  the  Revolution  he 
"clothed  himself  in  the  humble  garments  of  a  provincial 
proof-reader,"  in  the  printing-office  of  Jerome-Nicolas 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  311 

Se*chard  at  Angouleme.  He  had  a  number  of  children: 
Renee,  who  became  Madame  de  FEstorade;  Jean,  and  Marian- 
ina,  a  natural  daughter,  claimed  by  Lanty.  He  was  a  deputy 
by  the  close  of  1826,  sitting  between  the  Centre  and  the  Right. 
[Lost  Illusions.  Letters  of  Two  Brides.] 

Maucombe  (Jean  de),  son  of  the  preceding,  gave  up  his 
portion  of  the  family  inheritance  to  his  older  sister,  Madame ' 
de  PEstorade,  born  Rene"e  de  Maucombe    [Letters  of  Two 
Brides.] 

Maufrigneuse  (Due  de),  born  in  1778,  son  of  the  Prince 
de  Cadignan,  who  died  an  octogenarian  towards  the  close 
of  the  Restoration,  leaving  then  as  eldest  of  the  house  the 
Prince  de  Cadignan.  The  prince  was  in  love  with  Madame 
d'Uxelles,  but  married  her  daughter,  Diane,  in  1814,  and 
afterwards  lived  unhappily  with  her.  He  supported  Marie 
Godeschal;  was  a  cavalry  colonel  during  the  reigns  of  Louis 
XVIII.  and  Charles  X.;  had  under  his  command  Philippe 
Bridau,  the  Vicomte  de  Serizy,  Oscar  Husson.  He  was  on 
intimate  terms  with  Messieurs  de  Grandlieu  and  d'Espard. 
[The  Secrets  of  a  Princess.  A  Start  in  Life.  A  Bachelor's 
Establishment.  Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Maufrigneuse  (Duchesse  de),  wife  of  the  preceding,  born 
Diane  d'  Uxelles  in  1796,  married  in  1815.  She  was  in  turn  the 
mistress  of  Marsay,  Miguel  d'Ajuda-Pinto,Victurniend'Esgrig- 
non,  Maxime  de  Trailles,  Eugene  de  Rastignac,  Armand  de 
Montriveau,  Marquis  de  Rouquerolles,  Prince  Galathionne, 
the  Due  de  Rhetore",  a  Grandlieu,  Lucien  de  Rubempre",  and 
Daniel  d'Arthez.  She  lived  at  various  times  in  the  following 
places:  Anzy,  near  Sancerre;  Paris,  on  rue  Saint-Honore"  in 
the  suburbs  and  on  rue  Miromesnil ;  Cinq-Cygno  in  Champagne  ; 
Geneva  and  the  borders  of  Le"man.  She  inspired  a  foolish 
platonic  affection  in  Michel  Chrestien,  and  kept  at  a  distance 
the  Due  d'He"rouville,  who  courted  her  towards  the  end  of 
the  Restoration,  by  sarcasm  and  brilliant  repartee.  Her 
first  and  last  love  affairs  were  especially  well  known.  For 
her  the  Marquis  Miguel  d' A  judo-Pinto  gave  up  Berthe  de 
Rochefide,  his  wife,  avenging  thus  a  former  mistress,  Claire 


312  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

de  Beauseant.  Her  liaison  with  Victurnien  d'Esgrignon 
became  the  most  stormy  of  romances.  Madame  de  Maufrig- 
neuse,  disguised  as  a  man  and  possessed  of  a  passport,  bear- 
ing the  name  of  Felix  de  Vandenesse,  succeeded  in  rescuing 
from  the  Court  of  Assizes  the  young  man  who  had  com- 
promised himself  in  yielding  to  the  foolish  extravagance  of  his 
.  mistress.  The  duchesse  received  even  her  tradesmen  in  an 
angelic  way,  and  became  their  prey.  She  scattered  fortunes 
to  the  four  winds,  and  her  indiscretions  led  to  the  sale  of 
Anzy  in  a  manner  advantageous  to  Polydore  Milaud  de  la 
Baudraye.  Some  years  later  she  made  a  vain  attempt 
to  rescue  Lucien  de  Rubempre,  against  whom  a  criminal 
charge  was  pending.  The  Restoration  and  the  Kingdom  of 
1830  gave  to  her  life  a  different  lustre.  Having  fallen  heir 
to  the  worldly  sceptre  of  Mesdames  'de  Langeais  and  de 
Beauseant,  both  of  whom  she  knew  socially,  she  became 
intimate  with  the  Marquise  d'Espard,  a  lady  with  whom 
in  1822  she  disputed  the  right  to  rule  the  "fragile 
kingdom  of  fashion."  She  visited  frequently  the  Chaulieus, 
whom  she  met  at  a  famous  hunt  near  Havre.  In  July,  1830, 
reduced  to  poor  circumstances,  abandoned  by  her  husband, 
who  had  then  become  the  Prince  de  Cadignan,  and  assisted 
by  her  relatives,  Mesdames  d'Uxelles  and  de  Navarreins, 
Diane  operated  as  it  were  a  kind  of  retreat,  occupied  herself 
with  her  son  Georges,  and  strengthening  herself  by  the 
memory  of  Chrestien,  also  by  constantly  visiting  Madame 
d'Espard,  she  succeeded,  without  completely  foregoing 
society,  in  making  captive  the  celebrated  deputy  of  the  Right, 
a  man  of  wealth  and  maturity,  Daniel  Arthez  himself.  In 
her  own  home  and  in  that  of  Felicite  des  Touches  she  heard, 
between  1832  and  1835,  anecdotes  of  Marsay.  The  Princesse 
de  Cadignan  had  portraits  of  her  numerous  lovers.  She 
had  also  one  of  the  Madame  whom  she  had  attended,  and 
upon  meeting  him,  showed  it  to  Marsay,  minister  of  Louis 
Philippe.  She  owned  also  a  picture  of  Charles  X.  which 
was  thus  inscribed,  "Given  by  the  King."  After  the  mar- 
riage of  her  son  to  a  Cinq-Cygne,  she  visited  often  at  the 
estate  of  that  name,  and  was  there  in  1839,  during  the  regular 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  313 

election.  [The  Secrets  of  a  Princess.  Modeste  Mignon. 
Jealousies  of  a  Country  Town.  The  Muse  of  the  Depart- 
ment. Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.  Letters  of  Two 
Brides.  Another  Study  of  Woman.  The  Gondreville  Mys- 
tery. The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Maufrigneuse  (Georges  de),  son  of  the  preceding,  born 
in  1814,  had  successively  in  his  service  Toby  and  Marin, 
took  the  title  of  duke  towards  the  close  of  the  Restoration, 
was  in  the  last  Vende"an  uprising.  Through  his  mother's 
instrumentality,  who  paved  the  way  for  the  match  in  1833, 
he  married  Mademoiselle  Berthe  de  Cinq-Cygne  in  1838, 
and  became  heir  to  the  estate  of  the  same  name  the  fol- 
lowing year  during  the  regular  election.  [The  Secrets  of  a 
Princess.  The  Gondreville  Mystery.  Beatrix.  The  Member 
for  Arcis.] 

Maufrigneuse  (Berthe  de),  wife  of  the  preceding,  daughter 
of  Adrien  and  Laurence  de  Cinq-Cygne,  married  in  1838, 
although  she  had  been  very  nearly  engaged  in  1833 ;  she  lived 
with  all  of  her  family  on  their  property  at  Aube  during  the 
spring  of  1839.  [Beatrix.  The  Gondreville  Mystery.  The 
Member  for  Arcis.] 

Maugredie,  celebrated  Pyrrhonic  physician,  being  called 
into  consultation,  he  gave  his  judgment  on  the  very  serious 
case  of  Raphael  de  Valentin.  [The  Magic  Skin.] 

Maulincour1  (Baronne  de),  born  Rieux,  an  eighteenth 
century  woman  who  "did  not  lose  -her  head"  during  the 
Revolution;  intimate  friend  of  the  Vidame  de  Pamiers. 
At  the  beginning  of  the  Restoration  she  spent  half  of  her 
time  in  the  suburbs  of  Saint-Germain,  where  she  managed  to 
educate  her  grandson,  Auguste  Carbonnon  de  Maulincour, 
and  the  remainder  on  her  estates  at  Bordeaux,  where  she  de- 
manded the  hand  of  Natalie  Evange"lista  in  marriage  for  her 
grand-nephew,  Paul  de  Manerville.  Of  the  family  of  this 
girl  she  had  an  unfavorable,  but  just  opinion.  The  Baronne 
de  Maulincour  died  a  short  time  before  her  grandson  of  the 

i  Some  Maulincourts  had,  during  the  last  century,  a  place  of  residence  on  Chaus*i 
des  Minimes,  in  the  Maraifl,  of  which  Elie  Magus  subsequently  became  proprietor. 


314  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

chagrin  which  she  felt  on  account  of  this  young  man's  unhappy 
experiences.     [A  Marriage  Settlement.     The  Thirteen.] 

Maulincour  (Auguste  Carbonnpn  de),  born  in  1797,  grand- 
son of  the  preceding,  by  whom  he  was  reared;  moulded  by 
the  Vidame  de  Farmers,  whom  he  left  but  rarely ;  lived  on 
rue  de  Bourbon  in  Paris;  had  a  short  existence,  under  Louis 
XVIII.,  which  was  full  of  brilliance  and  misfortune.  Having 
embraced  a  military  career  he  was  decorated,  becoming 
major  in  a  cavalry  regiment  of  the  Royal  Guard,  and  after- 
wards lieutenant-colonel  of  a  company  of  body-guards. 
He  vainly  courted  Madame  de  Langeais,  fell  in  love  with 
Cle'mence  Desmarets,  followed  her,  compromised  her,  and 
persecuted  her.  By  his  indiscretions  he  drew  upon  himself 
the  violent  enmity  of  Gratien  Bourignard,  father  of  Madame 
Desmarets.  In  this  exciting  struggle  Maulincour,  having 
neglected  the  warnings  that  many  self-imposed  accidents 
had  brought  upon  him,  also  a  duel  with  the  Marquis  de 
Ronquerolles,  was  fatally  poisoned  and  soon  after  followed 
the  old  baroness,  his  grandmother,  to  Pere-Lachaise.  [The 
Thirteen.] 

Mauny  (Baron  de),  was  killed  during  the  Restoration, 
or  after  1830,  in  the  suburbs  of  Versailles,  by  Victor  (the 
Parisian),  who  struck  him  with  a  hatchet.  The  murderer 
finally  took  refuge  at  Aiglemont  in  the  family  of  his  future 
mistress,  Helene.  [A  Woman  of  Thirty.] 

Maupin  (Camille).     (See  Touches,  Felicite"  des.) 

Maurice,  valet,  employed  by  the  Comte  and  Comtesse 
de  Restaud,  during  the  Restoration.  His  master  believed 
his  servant  to  be  faithful  to  his  interests,  but  the  valet,  on 
the  contrary,  was  true  to  those  of  the  wife  who  opposed  her 
husband  in  everything.  [Father  Goriot.  Gobseck.] 

Medal  (Robert),  celebrated  and  talented  actor,  who  was 
on  the  Parisian  stage  in  the  last  years  of  Louis  Philippe, 
at  the  time  when  Sylvain  Pons  directed  the  orchestra  in 
Gaudissart's  theatre.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Melin,  inn-keeper  or  "cabaretier"  in  the  west  of  France, 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  315 

furnished  lodging  in  1809  to  the  Royalists  who  were  after- 
wards condemned  by  Mergi,  and  himself  received  five  years 
of  confinement.  [The  Seamy  Side  of  History. ] 

Melmoth  ^  (John),  an  Irishman  of  pronounced  English 
characteristics,  a  Satanical  character,  who  made  a  strange 
agreement  with  Rodolphe  Castanier,  Nucingen's  faithless 
cashier,  whereby  they  were  to  make  a  reciprocal  exchange 
of  personalities;  in  1821,  he  died  in  the  odor  of  holiness,  on 
rue  Fe"rou,  Paris.  [Melmoth  Reconciled.] 

Memmi  (Emilio).     (See  Var&se,  Prince  de.) 
Mene-4-Bien,  cognomen  of  Coupiau. 

Margi  (De).  magistrate  during  the  Empire  and  the  Restora- 
tion, whose  activity  was  rewarded  by  both  governments, 
inasmuch  as  he  always  struck  the  members  of  the  party  out 
of  power.  In  1809  the  court  over  which  he  presided  was 
charged  with  the  fiases  of  the  "Chauffeurs  of  Mortagne." 
Mergi  showed  great  hatred  in  his  dealings  with  Madame  de 
la  Chanterie.  [The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Mergi  (De),  son  of  the  preceding,  married  Vanda  de  Bourlac. 
[The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Mergi  (Baronne  Vanda  de),  born  Bourlac,  of  Polish 
origin  on  her  mother's  side,  belonged  to  the  family  of  Tar- 
lowski,  married  the  son  of  Mergi,  the  celebrated  magistrate, 
and,  having  survived  him,  was  condemned  to  poverty  and 
sickness;  was  aided  in  Paris  by  Godefroid,  a  messenger  from 
Madame  de  la  Chanterie,  and  attended  by  her  father  and 
Doctors  Bianchon,  Desplein,  Haudry  and  Moise  Halpcrsohn, 
the  last  of  whom  finally  saved  her.  [The  Seamy  Side  of 
History.] 

Mergi  (Auguste  de),  during  the  last  half  of  Louis  Philippe's 
reign  was  in  turn  a  collegian,  university  student  and  humble 
clerk  in  the  Palais  at  Paris;  looked  after  the  needs  of  his 
mother,  Vanda  de  Mergi,  with  sincerest  devotion.  For  her 
sake  he  stole  four  thousand  francs  from  MoTse  Halpersohn, 
but  remained  unpunished,  thanks  to  one  of  the  Brothers 


316  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDTE  HUMAINE 

of  Consolation,  who  boarded  with  Madame  de  la  Chanterie. 
[The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Merkstus,  banker  at  Douai,  under  the  Restoration  had 
a  bill  of  exchange  for  ten  thousand  francs  signed  by  Balthazar 
Claes,  and,  in  1819,  presented  it  to  the  latter  for  collection. 
[The  Quest  of  the  Absolute.] 

Merle,  captain  in  the  Seventy-second  demi-brigade ;  jolly 
and  careless.  Killed  at  La  Vivetiere  in  December,  1799, 
by  Pille-Miche  (Cibot).  [The  Chouans.] 

Merlin,  of  Douai,  belonged  to  the  convention,  of  which 
he  was,  for  two  years,  one  of  the  five  directors;  attorney- 
general  in  the  court  of  appeal;  in  September,  1805,  rejected 
the  appeal  of  the  Simeuses,  of  the  Hauteserres,  and  of  Michu, 
men  who  had  been  condemned  for  kidnapping  Senator  Malin. 
[The  Gondreville  Mystery.] 

Merlin  (Hector),  came  to  Paris  from  Limoges,  expecting  to 
become  a  journalist;  a  Royalist;  during  the  two  years  in  which 
Lucien  de  Rubempre  made  his  literary  and  political  beginning, 
Merlin  was  especially  noted.  At  that  time  he  was  Suzanne 
du  Val-Noble's  lover,  and  a  polemical  writer  for  a  paper 
of  the  Right-Centre;  he  also  brought  honor  to  Andoche 
Finot's  little  gazette  by  his  contributions.  As  a  journalist 
he  was  dangerous,  and  could,  if  necessary,  fill  the  chair  of 
the  editor-in-chief.  In  March,  1822,  with  Theodore  Gail- 
lard,  he  established  the  "Re* veil,"  another  kind  of  "Drapeau 
Blanc."  Merlin  had  an  unattractive  face,  lighted  by  two 
pale-blue  eyes,  which  were  fearfully  sharp ;  his  voice  had  in  it 
something  of  the  mewing  of  a  cat,  something  of  the  hyena's 
asthmatic  gasping.  [A  Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.] 

Merlin  de  la  Blottiere  (Mademoiselle),  of  a  noble  family 
of  Tours  (1826);  Frangois  Birotteau's  friend.  [The  Vicar 
of  Tours.] 

Merret  (De),  gentleman  of  Picardie,  proprietor  of  the 
Grande-Breteche,  near  Vendome,  under  the  Empire;  had 
the  room  walled  up,  where  he  knew  the  Spaniard  Bagos 
de  Fe"re*dia,  lover  of  his  wife,  was  in  hiding.  He  died  in 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  317 

1816-  at  Paris  as  the  result  of  excesses.    [Another  Study 
of  Woman.     La  Grande  Breteche.] 

Merret  (Madame  Josephine  de),  wife  of.  the  preceding, 
mistress  of  Bagos  de  Feredia,  whom  she  saw  perish  almost 
under  her  eyes,  after  she  had  refused  to  give  him  up  to  her 
husband.  She  died  in  the  same  year  as  Merret,  at  La 
Grande  Breteche,  as  a  result  of  the  excitement  she  had  under- 
gone. The  story  of  Madame  de  Merret  was  the  subject  of  a 
vaudeville  production  given  at  the  Gymnase-Dramatique 
theatre,  under  the  title  of  "  Valentine."  [Another  Study  of 
Woman.  La  Grande  Breteche.] 

Me"tivier,  paper  merchant  on  rue  Serpente  in  Paris,  under 
the  Restoration;  correspondent  of  David  Se'chard,  friend 
of  Gobseck  and  of  Bidault,  accompanying  them  frequently 
to  the  cafe  Themis,  between  rue  Dauphine  and  the  Quai 
des  Augustins.  Having  two  daughters,  and  an  income  of  a 
hundred  thousand  francs,  he  withdrew  from  business.  [Lost 
Illusions.  The  Government  Clerks.  The  Middle  Classes.] 

Metivier,  nephew  and  successor  of  the  preceding,  one  of 
whose  daughters  he  married.  He  was  interested  in  the  book 
business,  in  connection  with  Morand  and  Barbet;  took  ad- 
vantage of  Bourlac  in  1838;  lived  on  rue  Saint-Dominique 
d'Enfer,  in  the  Thuillier  house  in  1840;  engaged  in  usurious 
transactions  with  Jeanne-Marie-Brigitte,  Cerizet,  Dutocq, 
discounters  of  various  kinds  and  titles.  [The  Seamy  Side 
of  History.  The  Middle  Classes.] 

Meynardie  (Madame),  at  Paris,  under  the  Restoration, 
in  all  probability,  had  an  establishment  or  shop  in  which 
Ida  Gruget  was  employed;  undoubtedly  controlled  a  house 
of  ill-fame,  in  which  Esther  van  Gobseck  was  a  boarder. 
[The  Thirteen.  Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Meyraux,  medical  doctor;  a  scholarly  young  Parisian, 
with  whom  Louis  Lambert  associated,  November,  1819. 
Until  his  death  in  1832  Meyraux  was  a  member  of  the  rue 
des  Quatre- Vents  Cenacle,  over  which  Daniel  d'Arthez 
presided.  [Louis  Lambert.  A  Distinguished  Provincial  at 
Paris.jj 


318  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Michaud  (Justin),  an  old  chief  quartermaster  to  the  cuiras- 
siers of  the  Imperial  Guard,  chevalier  of  the  Legion  of  Honor. 
He  married  one  of  the  Montcornet  maids,  Olympe  Charel, 
and  became,  under  the  Restoration,  head  warden  of  the  Mont- 
cornet  estates  at  Blangy  in  Bourgogne.  Unknown  to  him- 
self he  was  secretly  beloved  by  Genevieve  Niseron.  His 
military  frankness  and  loyal  devotion  succumbed  before  an 
intrigue  formed  against  him  by  Sibilet,  steward  of  Aigues, 
and  by  the  Rigous,  Soudrys,  Gaubertins,  Fourchons  and 
Tonsards.  On  account  of  the  complicity  of  Courtecuisse 
and  Vaudoyer  the  bullet  fired  by  Frangois  Tonsard,  in 
1823,  overcame  the  vigilance  of  Michaud.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Michaud  (Madame  Justin),  born  Olympe  Charel,  a  virtuous 
and  pretty  farmer's  daughter  of  Le  Perche;  wife  of  the  pre- 
ceding; chambermaid  of  Madame  de  Montcornet — born 
Troisville — before  her  marriage  and  induction  to  Aigues  in 
Bourgogne.  Her  marriage  to  Justin  Michaud  was  the  out- 
come of  mutual  love.  She  had  in  her  employ  Cornevin, 
Juliette  and  Gounod;  sheltered  Genevieve  Niseron,  whose 
strange  disposition  she  seemed  to  understand.  For  her 
husband,  who  was  thoroughly  hated  in  the  Canton  of  Blangy, 
she  often  trembled,  and  on  the  same  night  that  Michaud  was 
murdered  she  died  from  overanxiety,  soon  after  giving  birth 
to  a  child  which  did  not  survive  her.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Michel,  waiter  at  Socquard's  caf6  and  coffee-house  keeper 
at  Soulanges  in  1823.  He  also  looked  after  his  patron's 
vineyard  and  garden.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Michonneau  (Christine-Michelle).  (See  Poiret,  the  elder, 
Madame.) 

Michu,  during  the  progress  of  and  after  the  French  Revo- 
lution he  played  a  part  directly  contrary  to  his  regular  political 
affiliations.  His  lowly  birth,  his  harsh  appearance,  and  his 
marriage  with  the  daughter  of  a  Troyes  tanner  of  advanced 
opinion,  all  helped  to  make  his  pronounced  Republicanism 
seem  in  keeping,  although  beneath  it  he  hid  his  Royalist 
faith  and  an  active  devotion  to  the  Simeuses,  the  Hauteserres 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HTJMAINE  319 

and  the  Cinq-Cygnes.  Michu  controlled  the  Gondreville 
estate  between  1789  and  1804,  after  it  was  snatched  from 
its  rightful  owners,  and  under  the  Terror  he  presided  over  the 
Jacobin  club  at  Arcis.  As  a  result  of  the  assassination 
of  the  Due  d'Enghien  March  21,  1804,  he  lost  his  position 
at  Gondreville.  Michu  then  lived  not  far  from  there,  near 
Laurence  de  Cinq-Cygne,  to  whom  he  made  known  his  secret 
conduct,  and,  as  a  result,  became  overseer  of  all  the  estate 
attached  to  the  castle.  Having  publicly  shown  his  op- 
position to  Malin,  he  was  thought  guilty  of  being  leader  in  a 
plot  to  kidnap  the  new  Seigneur  de  Gondreville,  and  was 
consequently  condemned  to  death,  a  sentence  which  was 
executed,  despite  his  innocence,  October,  1806.  [The  Gon- 
dreville Mystery.] 

Michu  (Marthe),  wife  of  the  preceding,  daughter  of  a 
Troyes  tanner,  "the  village  apostle  of  the  Revolution," 
who,  as  a  follower  of  Baboeuf,  a  believer  in  racial  and  social 
equality,  was  put  to  death.  A  blonde  with  blue  eyes,  and 
of  perfect  build,  in  accordance  with  her  father's  desire, 
despite  her  modest  innocence,  posed  before  a  public  assembly 
as  the  Goddess  of  Liberty.  Marthe  Michu  adored  her  hus- 
band, by  whom  she  had  a  son,  Frangois,  but  being  ignorant 
for  a  long  time  of  his  secret,  she  lived  in  a  manner  separated 
from  him,  under  her  mother's  wing.  When  she  did  learn  of 
her  husband's  Royalist  actions,  and  that  he  was  devoted 
to  the  Cinq-Cygnes,  she  assisted  him,  but  falling  into  a  skil- 
fully contrived  plot,  she  innocently  brought  about  her  hus- 
band's execution.  A  forged  letter  having  attracted  her  to 
Malin's  hiding-place,  Madame  Michu  furnished  all  the  neces- 
sary evidence  to  make  the  charge  of  kidnapping  seem  plau- 
sible. She  also  was  cast  into  prison  and  was  awaiting  trial 
when  death  claimed  her,  November,  1806.  [The  Gondreville 
Mystery.] 

Michu  (Francois),  son  of  the  preceding  couple,  born  in  1793. 
In  1803,  while  in  the  service  of  the  house  of  Cinq-Cygne, 
he  ferreted  out  the  police-system  that  Giguet  represented. 
The  tragic  death  of  his  parents  (a  picture  of  one  of  them 


320  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

hung  on  the  wall  at  Cinq-Cygne)  caused  his  adoption  in 
some  way  or  other  by  the  Marquise  Laurence,  whose  efforts 
afterwards  paved  the  way  for  his  career  as  a  lawyer  from 
1817  to  1819,  an  occupation  which  he  left,  only  to  become 
a  magistrate.  In  1824  he  was  associate  judge  of  the  Alengon 
court.  Then  he  was  appointed  attorney  of  the  king  and  re- 
ceived the  cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honor,  after  the  suit 
against  Victurnien  d'Esgrignon  by  M.  du  Bosquier  and  the 
Liberals.  Three  years  later  he  performed  similar  duties 
at  the  Arcis  court,  over  which  he  presided  in  1839.  Al- 
ready wealthy,  and  receiving  an  income  of  twelve  thousand 
francs  granted  him  in  1814  by  Madame  de  Cinq-Cygne, 
Francois  Michu  married  a  native  of  Champagne,  Mademoiselle 
Cirel,  a  Troyes  heiress.  In  Arcis  he  attended  only  the 
social  affairs  given  by  the  Cinq-Cygnes,  then  become  allies 
of  the  Cadignans,  and  in  fact  never  visited  any  others.  [The 
Gondreville  Mystery.  Jealousies  of  a  Country  Town.  The 
Member  for  Arcis.] 

Michu  (Madame  Franc,  ois),  wife  of  the  preceding,  born 
Girel.  Like  her  husband,  she  rather  looked  with  scorn 
upon  Arcis  society,  in  1839,  and  departed  little  from  the 
circle  made  up  of  government  officers'  families  and  the  Cinq- 
Cygnes.  [The  Gondreville  Mystery.  The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Migeon,  in  1836,  porter  in  the  rue  des  Martyrs  house  in 
which  Etienne  Lousteau  lived  for  three  -years;  he  was  com- 
missioned for  nine  hundred  francs  by  Mme.  de  la  Baudraye, 
who  then  lived  with  the  writer,  to  carry  her  jewelry  to  the 
pawn-broker.  [The  Muse  of  the  Department.] 

Migeon  (Pamela),  daughter  of  the  preceding,  born  in  1823; 
in  1837,  the  intelligent  little  waiting-maid  of  Madame  de 
la  Baudraye,  when  he  baronne  lived  with  Lousteau.  [The 
Muse  of  the  Department.] 

Mignon  de  la  Bastie  (Charles),  born  in  1773  in  the  district 
of  Var,  "  last  member  of  the  family  to  which  Paris  is  indebted 
for  the  street  and  the  house  built  by  Cardinal  Mignon"; 
went  to  war  under  the  Republic ;  was  closely  associated  w!.  uh 
Anne  Dumay.  At  the  beginning  of  the  Empire,  as  the  ^e- 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMED1E  HUMAfNE  321 

suit  of  mutual  affection,  his  marriage  with  Bettina  Wallenrod, 
only  daughter  of  a  Frankfort  banker  took  place.  Shortly 
before  the  return  of  the  Bourbons,  he  was  appointed  lieu- 
tenant-colonel, and  became  commander  of  the  Legion  of 
Honor.  Under  the  Restoration  Charles  Mignon  de  la  Bastie 
lived  at  Havre  with  his  wife,  and  acquired  forthwith,  by 
means  of  banking,  a  large  fortune,  which  he  shortly  lost. 
After  absenting  himself  from  the  country,  he  returned,  during 
the  last  year  of  Charles  X.'s  reign,  from  the  Orient,  having 
become  a  multi-millionaire.  Of  his  four  children,  he  lost 
three,  two  having  died  in  early  childhood,  while  Bettina 
Caroline,  the  third,  died  in  1827,  after  being  misled 
and  finally  deserted  by  M.  d'Estourny.  Marie-Modeste 
was  the  only  child  remaining,  and  she  was  confided  during 
her  father's  journeys  to  the  care  of  the  Dumays,  who  were 
under  obligations  to  the  Mignons;  she  married  Ernest  de  la 
Bastie-La  Briere  (also  called  La  Briere-la  Bastie).  The 
brilliant  career  of  Charles  Mignon  was  the  means  of  his  re- 
assuming  the  title,  Comte  de  la  Bastie.  [Modeste  Mignon.] 

Mignon  (Madame  Charles),  wife  of  the  preceding,  born 
Bettina  Wallenrod-Tustall-Bartenstild,  indulged  daughter 
of  a  banker  in  Frankfort-on-the-Main.  She  became  blind 
soon  after  her  elder  daughter,  Bettina-Caroline's  troubles 
and  early  death,  and  had  a  presentiment  of  the  romance  con- 
nected with  her  younger  daughter,  Marie-Modeste,  who  became 
Madame  Ernest  de  la  Bastie-La  Briere.  Towards  the  close 
of  the  Restoration,  Madame  Charles  Mignon,  as  the  result 
of  an  operation  by  Desplein,  recovered  her  sight  and  was  a 
witness  of  Marie-Modeste's  happiness.  [Modeste  Mignon.] 

Mignon  (Bettina-Caroline),  elder  daughter  of  the  preceding 
couple;  born  in  1805,  the  very  image  of  her  father;  a  typical 
Southern  girl;  was  favored  by  her  mother  over  her  youngrr 
sister,  Marie-Modeste,  a  kind  of  "Gretchen,"  who  was  simih 
in    appearance  to  Madame   Mignon.     Bettina-Caroline  wa 
seduced,  taken  away  and  finally  deserted  by  a  "gentl. 
of  fortune,"  named  D'Estourny,  and  shortly  sank  at  HavT 
under  the  load   of  her  sins   and   suffering,  surrounded   by 


322  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

nearly  all  of  her  family.  Since  1827  there  has  been  inscribed 
on  her  tomb  in  the  little  Ingouville  cemetery  the  following 
inscription:  "Bettina  Caroline  Mignon,  died  when  twenty- 
two  years  of  age.  Pray  for  her!"  [Modeste  Mignon.] 

Mignon  (Marie-Modeste).  (See  La  Bastie-La  Briere, 
Madame  Ernest  de.) 

Mignonnet,  born  in  1782,  graduate  of  the  military  schools, 
was  an  artillery  captain  in  the  Imperial  Guard,  but  resigned 
under  the  Restoration  and  lived  at  Issoudun.  Short  and 
thin,  but  of  dignified  bearing;  much  occupied  with  science; 
friend  of  the  cavalry  officer  Carpentier,  with  whom  he  joined 
the  citizens  against  Maxence  Gilet.  Gilet's  military  par- 
tisans, Commandant  Potel  and  Captain  Renard,  lived  in 
the  Faubourg  of  Rome,  Belleville  of  the  coporation  of  Berry. 
[A  Bachelor's  Establishment.] 

Milaud,  handsome  representative  of  the  self-enriched 
plebeian  branch  of  Milauds ;  relative  of  Jean-Athanase-Poly- 
dore  Milaud  de  la  Baudraye,  in  whose  marriage  he  put  no 
confidence,  and  from  whom  he  expected  to  receive  an  in- 
heritance. Under  the  favor  of  Marchangy,  he  undertook  the 
career  of  a  public  prosecutor.  Under  Louis  XVIII.  he  was  a 
deputy  at  Angouleme,  a  position  to  which  he  was  succeeded 
by  Maitre  Petit-Claud.  Milaud  eventually  performed  the 
same  duties  at  Nevers,  which  was  probably  his  native  country. 
[Lost  Illusions.  The  Muse  of  the  Department.] 

Milaud  de  la  Baudraye.     (See  La  Baudraye.) 

Millet,  Parisian  grocer,  on  rue  Chanoinesse,  in  1836 
attended  to  the  renting  of  a  small,  unfurnished  room  in 
Madame  de  la  Chanterie's  house;  gave  Godefroid  information, 
after  haying  submitted  him  to  a  rigid  examination.  [The 
Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Minard  (Louis),  refractory  "chauffeur,"  connected  with 
the  Royalist  insurrection  in  western  France,  1809,  was  tried 
at  the  bar  of  justice,  where  Bourlac  and  Mergi  presided; 
he  was  executed  the  same  year  that  he  was  condemned  to 
death.  [The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDTE  HITMAINE  323 

Minard  (Auguste- Jean-Franc,  ois),  as  clerk  to  the  minister 
of  finances  he  received  a  salary  of  fifteen  hundred  francs. 
In  the  florist  establishment  of   a  fellow-workman's  sister, 
Mademoiselle  Godard,   of    rue   Richelieu,  he   met  a  clerk' 
Zelie  Lorain,  the  daughter  of  a  porter.     He  fell  in  love  with 
her,  married  her,  and  had  by  her  two  children,  Julien  and 
Prudence.     He  lived   near   the  Courcelles  gate,  and  as  an 
economical  worker  of  retiring  disposition  he  was  made  the  butt 
of  J.-J.  Bixiou's  jests  in  the  Treasury  Department.     Neces- 
sity gave  him  fortitude  and  originality.     After  giving  up 
his  position  in  December,  1824,  Minard  opened  a  trade  hi 
adulterated  teas   and    chocolates,  and  subsequently  became 
a  distiller.    In  1835  he  was  the  richest  merchant  in  the  vicinity, 
having  an  establishment  on  the  Place  Maubert  and  one  of 
the  best  houses  on  the  rue  des  Macons-Sorbonne.     In  1840 
Minard  became  mayor  of  the  eleventh  district,  where  he  lived, 
judge  of  the  tribunal  of  commerce,  and  officer  of  the  Legion  of 
Honor.    He  frequently  met  his  former  colleagues  of  the  period 
of   the   Restoration:   Colleville,    Thuillier,   Dutocq,  Fleury, 
Phellion,  Xavier  Rabourdin,  Saillard,  Isidore  Baudoyer  and 
Godard.     [The  Government  Clerks.     The  Finn  of  Nucingen. 
The  Middle  Classes.] 

Minard  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding,  born  Ze"lie  Lorain, 
daughter  of  a  porter.  On  account  of  her  cold  and  prudent 
disposition,  she  did  not  persist  long  in  her  trial  at  the  Conser- 
vatory, but  became  florist's  girl  in  Mademoiselle  Godard's 
establishment  on  rue  Richelieu.  After  her  marriage  to 
Frangois  Minard  she  gave  birth  to  two  children,  and,  with 
the  help  of  Madame  Lorain,  her  mother,  reared  them  com- 
fortably near  the  Courcelles  gate.  Under  Louis  Philippe, 
having  become  rich,  and  living  in  that  part  of  the  Saint- 
Germain  suburbs  which  lies  next  to  Saint-Jacques,  she 
showed,  as  did  her  husband,  the  silly  pride  of  the  enriched 
mediocrity.  [The  Government  Clerks.  The  Middle  Classes.] 

Minard  (Julien),  son  of  the  preceding  couple,  attorney; 
at  first  considered  "the  family  genius."  In  1840  he  com- 
mitted some  indiscretions  with  Olympe  Cardinal,  creator  of 


324  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDTE  HUMAINE 

"Love's  Telegraphy,"  played  at  Mourier's  small  theatre1  on 
the  Boulevard.  His  dissipation  ended  in  a  separation  brought 
about  by  Julien's  parents,  who  contributed  to  the  support 
of  the  actress,  then  become  Madame  Cerizet.  [The  Middle 
Classes.] 

Minard  (Prudence),  sister  of  the  preceding,  was  sought 
in  marriage  by  Felix  Gaudissart  towards  the  end  of  Louis 
Philippe's  reign.  [The  Middle  Classes.  Cousin  Pons.] 

Minette,2  vaudeville  actress  on  rue  de  Chartres,  during 
the  Restoration,  died  during  the  first  part  of  the  Second 
Empire,  lawful  wife  of  a  director  of  the  Gaz;  was  well  known 
for  her  brilliancy,  and  was  responsible  for  the  saying  that 
"Time  is  a  great  faster,"  quoted  sometimes  before  Lucien 
de  Rubempr6  in  1821-22.  [A  Distinguished  Provincial  at 
Paris.] 

Minorets  (The),  representatives  of  the  well-known  "com- 
pany of  army  contractors,"  in  which  Mademoiselle  Sophie 
Laguerre's  steward,  wrho  preceded  Gaubertin  at  Aigues, 
in  Bourgogne,  acquired  a  one-third  share,  after  giving  up 
his  stewardship.  [The  Peasantry.]  The  relatives  of  Madame 
Flavie  Colleville,  daughter  of  a  ballet-dancer,  who  was  sup- 
ported by  Galathionne  and,  perhaps,  by  the  contractor, 
Du  Bourguier,  were  connected  with  the  Minorets,  probably 
the  army  contractor  Minorets.  [The  Government  Clerks.] 

Minoret  (Doctor  Denis),  born  in  Nemours  in  1746,  had 
the  support  of  Dupont,  deputy  to  the  States-General  in 
1789,  who  was  his  fellow-citizen;  he  was  intimate  with  the 
Abb6  Morellet,  also  the  pupil  of  Rouelle  the  chemist,  and  an 
ardent  admirer  of  Diderot's  friend,  Bordeu,  by  means  of 
whom,  or  his  friends,  he  gained  a  large  practice.  Denis 
Minoret  invented  the  Lelievre  balm,  became  an  acquaintance 
and  protector  of  Robespierre,  married  the  daughter  of  the 
celebrated  harpsichordist,  Valentin  Mirouet,  died  suddenly, 

1  This  theatre  was  built  in  1831  on  the  Boulevard  du  Temple,  where  the  first  Am- 
biguhad  been  situated;  it  was  afterwards  moved  to  No.  40,  rue  de  Bondy,  Decem- 
ber 30,  1862. 

2  Minette  married  M.  Marguerite;  she  lived  in  Paris  during  the  last  years  of  her 
life  in  the  large  house  at  the  corner  of  rue  Saint-Georges  and  rue  Provence. 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINK  325 

soon  after  the  execution  of  Madame  Roland.  The  Empire, 
like  the  former  governments,  recompensed  Minoret's  ability, 
and  he  became  consulting  physician  to  His  Imperial  and 
Royal  Majesty,  in  1805,  chief  hospital  physician,  officer  of 
the  Legion  of  Honor,  chevalier  of  Saint-Michel,  and  member 
of  the  Institute.  Upon  withdrawing  to  Nemours,  January, 
1815,  he  lived  there  in  company  with  his  ward,  Ursule  Mirouet, 
daughter  of  his  brother-in-law,  Joseph  Mirouet,  later  Madame 
Savinien  de  Portendue*re,  a  girl  whom  he  had  taken  care 
of  since  she  had  become  an  orphan.  As  she  was  the  living 
image  of  the  late  Madame  Denis  Minoret,  he  loved  her  so 
devotedly  that  his  lawful  heirs,  Minoret-Levrault,  Massin, 
Cremiere,  fearing  that  they  would  lose  a  large  inheritance, 
mistreated  the  adopted  child.  Doctor  Minoret,  at  the  time 
when  he  was  worried  over  their  plotting,  saw  Bouvard,  a 
fellow-Parisian  with  whom  he  had  formerly  associated, 
and  through  his  influence  interested  himself  greatly  in  the 
subject  of  magnetism.  In  1835,  surrounded  by  some  of  his 
nearest  relatives,  Minoret  died  at  an  advanced  age,  having 
been  converted  from  the  philosophy  of  Voltaire  through 
the  influence  of  Ursule,  whom  he  remembered  substantially 
in  his  will.  [Ursule  Mirouet.] 

Minoret-Levrault  (Frangois),  son  of  the  oldest  brother  of 
the  preceding,  and  his  nearest  heir,  born  in  1769,  strong  but 
uncouth  and  illiterate,  had  charge  of  the  post-horses  and 
was  keeper  of  the  best  tavern  in  Nemours,  as  a  result  of 
his  marriage  with  Ze"lie  Levrault-Cre'mi£re,  an  only  daughter. 
After  the  Revolution  of  1830  he  became  deputy-mayor.  As 
principal  heir  to  Doctor  Minoret's  estate  he  was  the  bitterest 
persecutor  of  Ursule  Mirouet,  and  made  way  with  the  will 
which  favored  the  young  girl.  Later,  bcinf  compelled  to 
restore  her  property,  overcome  by  remorse,  and  sorrowing 
for  his  son,  who  was  the  victim  of  a  runaway,  and  for  his 
insane  wife,  Frangois  Minoret-Levrault  becanr»e  the  faithful 
keeper  of  the  property  of  Ursule,  who  had  then  become 
Madame  Savinien  de  Portenduere.  [Ursule  Mirouet.] 

Minoret-Levrault    (Madame   Frangois),    wife    of   the   pre- 


326  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMED1E  HUMAINE 

ceding,  born  Zelie  Levrault-Cre'miSre,  physically  feeble, 
sour  of  countenance  and  action,  harsh,  greedy,  as  illiterate 
as  her  husband,  brought  him  as  dower  half  of  her  maiden 
name  (a  local  tradition)  and  a  first-class  tavern.  She  was,  in 
reality,  the  manager  of  the  Nemours  post-house.  She  wor- 
shiped her  son  Desire",  whose  tragic  death  was  sufficient 
punishment  for  her  avaricious  persecutions  of  Ursule  de 
Portenduere.  She  died  insane  in  Doctor  Blanche's  sani- 
tarium in  the  village  of  Passy1  in  1841.  [Ursule  Mirouet.] 

Minoret  (Desire),  son  of  the  preceding  couple,  born  in 
1805.  Obtained  a  half  scholarship  in  the  Louis-le-Grand 
lyceum  in  Paris,  through  the  instrumentality  of  Fontanes, 
an  acquaintance  of  Dr.  Minoret ;  finally  studied  law.  Under 
Goupil's  leadership  he  became  somewhat  dissipated  as  a 
young  man,  and  loved  in  turn  Esther  van  Gobseck  and  Sophie 
Grignault — Florine — who,  after  declining  his  offer  of  mar- 
riage, became  Madame  Nathan.  DSsird  Minoret  was  not 
actively  associated  with  his  family  in  the  persecution  of 
Ursule  de  Portenduere.  The  Revolution  of  1830  was  ad- 
vantageous to  him.  He  took  part  during  the  three  glorious 
days  of  fighting,  received  the  decoration,  and  was  selected 
to  be  deputy  attorney  to  the  king  at  Fontainebleau.  He 
died  as  a  result  of  the  injuries  received  in  a  runaway,  October, 
1836.  [Ursule  Mirouet.] 

Mirah  (Josepha)  born  in  1814.  Natural  daughter  of  a 
wealthy  Jewish  banker,  abandoned  in  Germany,  although 
she  bore  as  a  sign  of  her  identity  an  anagram  of  her  Jewish 
name,  Hiram.  When  fifteen  years  old  and  a  working  girl 
in  Paris,  she  was  found  out  and  misled  by  Celestin  Crevel, 
whom  she  left  eventually  for  Hector  Hulot,  a  more  liberal 
man.  The  munificence  of  the  commissary  of  stores  exalted 
her  socially,  and  gave  her  the  opportunity  of  training  her 
voice.  Her  vocal  attainments  established  her  as  a  prima 
donna,  first  at  the  Italiens,  then  on  rue  le  Peletier.  After 
Hector  Hulot  became  a  bankrupt,  she  abandoned  him  and 
his  house  on  rue  Chauchat,  near  the  Royal  Academy,  where, 

1  Since  1860  a  suburb  of  Paris 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  327 

at  different  times,  had  lived  Tullia,  Comtesse  du  Bruel  and 
Heloiise  Brisetout.  The  Due  d'He"rouville  became  Mademoi- 
selle Mirah's  lover.  This  affair  led  to  an  elegant  reception 
on  rue  de  la  Ville-PEveque  to  which  all  Paris  received  invi- 
tation. Josepha  had  at  all  times  many  followers.  One  of 
the  Kellers  and  the  Marquis  d'Esgrignon  made  fools  of  them- 
selves over  her.  Eugene  de  Rastignac,  at  that  time  minister, 
invited  her  to  his  home,  and  insisted  upon  her  singing  the 
celebrated  cavatina  from  "La  Muette."  Irregular  in  her 
habits,  whimsical,  covetous,  intelligent,  and  at  times  good- 
natured,  Josepha  Mirah  gave  some  proof  of  generosity  when 
she  helped  the  unfortunate  Hector  Hulot,  for  whom  she 
went  so  far  as  to  get  Olympe  Grenouville.  She  finally  told 
Madame  Adeline  Hulot  of  the  baron's  hiding-place  on  the 
Passage  du  Soleil  in  the  Petite-Pologne  section.  [Cousin 
Betty.] 

Mirault,  name  of  one  branch  of  the  Bargeton  family, 
merchants  in  Bordeaux  during  the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth 
centuries.  [Lost  Illusions.] 

Mirbel  (Madame  de),  well-known  miniature-painter  from 
1796  to  1849;  made  successively  the  portrait  of  Louise  de 
Chaulieu,  given  by  this  young  woman  to  the  Baron  de 
Macumer,  her  future  husband;  of  Lucien  de  Rubempr6  fop 
Esther  Gobseck;  of  Charles  X.  for  the  Princess  of  Cadignan, 
who  hung  it  on  the  wall  of  her  little  salon  on  rue  Miromesnil, 
after  the  Revolution  of  1830.  This  last  picture  bore  the 
inscription,  "Given  by  the  King."  [Letters  of  Two  Brides. 
Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.  The  Secrets  of  a  Princess.] 

Mirouet  (Ursule).  (See  Portenduere,  Vicomtesse  Savinion 
de.) 

Mirouet  (Valentin),  celebrated  harpsichordist  and  instru- 
ment-maker; one  of  the  best  known  French  organists;  father- 
in-law  of  Doctor  Minoret;  died  in  1785.  His  business  was 
bought  by  Erard.  [Ursule  Mirouet.] 

Mirouet  (Joseph),  natural  son  of  the  preceding  and  brother- 
in-law  of  Doctor  Denis  Minoret.  He  was  a  good  musician 


328  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

and  of  a  Bohemian  disposition.  He  was  a  regiment  mu- 
sician during  the  wars  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth 
and  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  centuries.  He  passed 
through  Germany,  and  while  there  married  Dinah  Grollman, 
by  whom  he  had  a  daughter,  Ursule,  later  the  Vicomtesse 
de  Portenduere,  who  had  been  left  a  penniless  orphan  in  her 
early  youth.  [Ursule  Mirouet.] 

Mitant  (La),  a  very  poor  woman  of  Conches  in  Bourgogne, 
who  was  condemned  for  having  let  her  cow  graze  on  the  Mont- 
cornet  estate.  In  1823  the  animal  was  seized  by  the  deputy, 
Brunet,  and  his  assistants,  Vermichel  and  Fourchon.  [The 
Peasantry.!) 

Mitouflet,  old  grenadier  of  the  Imperial  Guard,  husband 
of  a  wealthy  vineyard  proprietress,  kept  the  tavern  Soleil 
d'Or  at  Vouvray  in  Touraine.  After  1830  Felix  Gaudissart 
lived  there  and  Mitouflet  served  as  his  second  in  a  harmless 
duel  brought  on  by  a  practical  joke  played  on  the  illustrious 
traveling  salesman,  dupe  of  the  insane  Margaritis.  [Gaudis- 
sart the  Great.] 

Mitouflet,  usher  to  the  minister  of  war  under  Louis  Philippe, 
in  the  time  of  Cottin  de  Wissembourg,  Hulot  d'Ervy  and 
Marneffe.  [Cousin  Betty.] 

Mitral,  a  bachelor,  whose  eyes  and  face  were  snuff-colored, 
a  bailiff  in  Paris  during  the  Restoration,  also  at  the  same  time 
a  money-lender.  He  numbered  among  his  patrons  Molineux 
and  Birotteau.  He  was  invited  to  the  celebrated  ball  given 
in  December,  1818,  by  the  perfumer.  Being  a  maternal  uncle 
of  Isidore  Baudoyer,  connected  in  a  friendly  way  with  Bidault 
— Gigonnet — and  Esther-Jean  van  Gobseck,  Mitral,  by  their 
good-will,  obtained  his  nephew's  appointment  to  the  Treasury, 
December,  1824.  He  spent  his  time  then  in  Isle-Adam, 
the  Marais  and  the  Saint-Marceau  section,  places  of  residence 
of  his  numerous  family.  In  possession  of  a  fortune,  which 
undoubtedly,  would  go  later  to  the  Isidore  Baudoyers,  Mitral 
retired  to  the  Seine-et-Oise  division.  [Cesar  Birotteau. 
The  Government  Clerks.] 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  329 

Mizerai,  in  1836  a  restaurant-keeper  on  rue  Michel-le- 
Comte,  Paris.  Z6phirin  Marcas  took  his  dinners  with  him 
at  the  rate  of  nine  sous.  [Z.  Marcas.] 

Modinier,  steward  to  Monsieur  de  Watteville;  "governor" 
of  Rouxey,  the  patrimonial  estate  of  the  Wattevilles.  [Albert 
Savarus.] 

Moinot,  in  1815  mail-carrier  for  the  Chausse"e-d'Antin; 
married  and  the  father  of  four  children;  lived  in  the  fifth 
story  at  11,  rue  des  Trois-Freres,  now  known  as  rue  Taitbout. 
He  innocently  exposed  the  address  of  Paquita  Valdes  to 
Laurent,  a  servant  of  Marsay,  who  artfully  tried  to  obtain 
it  for  him.  "  My  name,"  said  the  mail-carrier  to  the  servant, 
"is  written  just  like  Moineau  (sparrow) — M-o-i-n-o-t." 
"  Certainly,"  replied  Laurent.  [The  Thirteen.] 

Mo'ise,  Jew,  who  was  formerly  a  leader  of  the  rouleurs  in 
the  South.  His  wife,  La  Gonore,  was  a  widow  in  1830. 
[Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Moise,  a  Troyes  musician,  whom  Madame  Beauvisage 
thought  of  employing  in  1839  as  the  instructor  of  her  daughter, 
Cecile,  at  Arcis-sur-Aube.  [The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Molineux  (Jean-Baptiste),  Parisian  landlord,  miserly  and 
selfish.  Mesdames  Crochard  lived  in  one  of  his  houses  between 
rue  du  Tourniquet-Saint-Jean  and  rue  la  Tixeranderie, 
in  1815.  Mesdames  Leseigneur  de  Rouville  and  Hippolyte 
Schinner  were  also  his  tenants,  at  about  the  same  time, 
on  rue  de  Surene.  Jean-Baptiste  Molineux  lived  on  Cour- 
Batave  during  the  first  part  of  Louis  XVIII.'s  reign.  He 
then  owned  the  house  next  to  Ce'sar  Birotteau's  shop  on  rue 
Saint-Honore.  Molineux  was  one  of  the  many  guests  present 
at  the  famous  ball  of  December  17,  1818,  and  a  few  months 
later  was  the  annoying  assignee  connected  with  the  per- 
fumer's failure.  [A  Second  Home.  The  Purse.  Ce'sar  Bi- 
rotteau.] 

Mollot,  through  the  influence  of  his  wife  Sophie,  appointed 
clerk  to  the  justice  of  the  peace  at  Arcis-sur-Aube;  often 


330  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINK 

visited  Madame  Marion,   and  saw  at    her   home  Goulard, 
Beau  visage,  Giguet,  and  Herbelot.     [The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Mollot  (Madame  Sophie),  wife  of  the  preceding,  a  prying, 
prating  woman,  who  disturbed  herself  greatly  over  Maxime 
de  Trailles  during  the  electoral  campaign  in  the  division 
of  Arcis-sur-Aube,  April,  1839.  [The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Mollot  (Ernestine),  daughter  of  the  preceding  couple, 
was,  in  1839,  a  young  girl  of  marriageable  age.  [The  Member 
for  Arcis.] 

Mongenod,  born  in  1764;  son  of  a  grand  council  attorney, 
who  left  him  an  income  of  five  or  six  thousand.  Becoming 
bankrupt  during  the  Revolution,  he  became  first  a  clerk 
with  Fre"de"ric  Alain,  under  Bordin.  the  solicitor.  He  was 
unsuccessful  in  several  ventures:  as  a  journalist  with  the 
"Sentinelle,"  started  or  built  up  by  him ;  as  a  musical  composer 
with  the  "Peruviens,"  an  opera-comique  given  in  1798  at  the 
Feydau  theatre.1  His  marriage  and  the  family  expenses 
attendant  rendered  his  financial  condition  more  and  more 
embarrassing.  Mongenod  had  lent  money  to  Frederic 
Alain,  so  that  he  might  be  present  at  the  opening  performance 
of  the  "Mariage  de  Figaro."  He  borrowed,  in  turn,  from  Alain 
a  sum  of  money  which  he  was  unable  to  return  at  the  time 
agreed.  He  set  out  thereupon  for  America,  made  a  fortune, 
returned  January,  1816,  and  reimbursed  Alain.  From  this 
time  dates  the  opening  of  the  celebrated  Parisian  banking- 
house  of  Mongenod  &  Co.  The  firm-name  changed  to 
Mongenod  &  Son,  and  then  to  Mongenod  Brothers.  In  1819 
the  bankruptcy  of  the  perfumer,  Ce'sar  Birotteau,  having  taken 
place,  Mongenod  became  personally  interested  at  the  Bourse,2 
in  the  affair,  negotiating  with  merchants  and  discounters. 
Mongenod  died  in  1827.  [The  Seamy  Side  of  History. 
Ce'sar  Birotteau.] 

Mongenod    (Madame   Charlotte),   wife  of  the   preceding, 

1  The  Feydau  theatre,  with  its  dependencies  on  the  thoroughfare  of   the  same 
name,  existed  in  Paris  until  1826  on  the  site  now  taken  by  the  rue  de  la  Bourse. 

-  The  Bourse  temporarily  occupied  a  building  on  rue  Feydau,  while  the  present 
palace  was  building. 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HTJMAINH  331 

in  the  year  1798  bore  up  bravely  under  her  poverty,  even 
selling  her  hair  for  twelve  francs  that  her  family  might  have 
bread.  Wealthy,  and  a  widow  after  1827,  Madame  Mongenod 
remained  the  chief  adviser  and  support  of  the  bank,  operated 
in  Paris  on  rue  de  la  Victoire,  by  her  two  sons,  Fre'de'ric  and 
Louis.  [The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Mongenod  (Frederic),  eldest  of  the  preceding  couple's 
three  children,  received  from  his  thankful  parents  the  given 
name  of  M.  Alain  and  became,  after  1827,  the  head  of  his 
father's  banking-house  on  rue  de  la  Victoire.  His  honesty 
is  shown  by  the  character  of  his  patrons,  among  whom 
were  the  Marquis  d'Espard,  Charles  Mignon  de  la  Bastie, 
the  Baronne  de  la  Chanterie  and  Godefroid.  [The  Com- 
mission in  Lunacy.  The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Mongenod  (Louis),  younger  brother  of  the  preceding,' with 
whom  he  had  business  association  on  rue  de  la  Victoire,  where 
he  was  receiving  the  prudent  advice  of  his  mother,  Madame 
Charlotte  Mongenod,  when  Godefroid  visited  him  in  1836. 
[The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Mongenod  (Mademoiselle),  daughter  of  Fre'de'ric  and  Char- 
lotte Mongenod,  born  in  1799;  she  was  offered  in  marriage, 
January,  1816,  to  Fre'de'ric  Alain,  who  would  not  accept  this 
token  of  gratitude  from  the  wealthy  Mongenods.  Made- 
moiselle Mongenod  married  the  Vicomte  de  Fontaine.  [The 
Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Monistrol,  native  of  Auvergne,  a  Parisian  broker,  towards 
the  last  years  of  Louis  Philippe's  reign,  successively  on  rue 
de  Lappe  and  the  new  Beaumarchais  boulevard.  He  was 
one  of  the  pioneers  in  the  curio  business,  along  with  the 
Popinots,  Ponses,  and  the  Re"monencqs.  This  kind  of  busi- 
ness afterwards  developed  enormously.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Montauran  (Marquis  Alphonse  de),  was,  in  the  closing  years 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  connected  with  nearly  all  of  the 
well-known  Royalist  intrigues  in  France  and  elsewhere. 
He  frequently  visited,  along  with  Flarnet  de  la  Billardit-rcaiid 
the  Comte  de  Fontaine,  the  home  of  Ragon,  the  perfumer, 


332  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

who  was  proprietor  of  the  "Reine  des  Roses,"  from  which 
went  forth  the  Royalist  correspondence  between  the  West 
and  Paris.  Too  young  to  have  been  at  Versailles,  Alphonse 
de  Montauran  had  not  "the  courtly  manners  for  which 
Lauzun,  Adhemar,  Coigny,  and  so  many  others  were  noted." 
His  education  was  incomplete.  Towards  the  autumn  of 
1799  he  especially  distinguished  himself.  His  attractive 
appearance,  his  youth,  and  a  mingled  gallantry  and  au- 
thoritativeness,  brought  him  to  the  notice  of  Louis  XVIII., 
who  appointed  him  governor  of  Bretagne,  Normandic, 
Maine  and  Anjou.  Under  the  name  of  Gars,  having  become 
commander  of  the  Chouans,  in  September,  the  marquis 
conducted  them  in  an  attack  against  the  Blues  on  the  plateau 
of  La  Pelerine,  which  extends  between  Fougeres,  Ille-et- 
Vilaine,  and  Erne*e,  Mayenne.  Madame  du  Gua  did  not 
leave  him  even  then.  Alphonse  de  Montauran  sought  the 
hand  of  Mademoiselle  d'Uxelles,  after  leaving  this,  the  last 
mistress  of  Charette.  Nevertheless,  he  fell  in  love  with 
Marie  de  Verneuil,  the  spy,  who  had  entered  Bretagne  with 
the  express  intention  of  delivering  him  to  the  Blues.  He 
married  her  in  FougSres,  but  the  Republicans  murdered  him 
and  his  wife  a  few  hours  after  their  marriage.  [Ce"sar  Birot- 
teau.  The  Chouans.] 

Montauran  (Marquise  Alphonse  de),  wife  of  the  preceding; 
born  Marie-Nathalie  de  Verneuil  at  La  Chanterie  near  Alen- 
$on,  natural  daughter  of  Mademoiselle  Blanche  de  Casteran, 
who  was  abbess  of  Notre-Dame  de  Seez  at  the  time  of  her 
death,  and  of  Victor- Ame'de'e,  Due  de  Verneuil,  who  owned  her 
and  left  her  an  inheritance,  at  the  expense  of  her  legitimate 
brother.  A  lawsuit  between  brother  and  sister  resulted. 
Marie-Nathalie  lived  then  with  her  guardian,  the  Mare'chal 
Due  de  Lenoncourt,  and  was  supposed  to  be  his  mistress. 
After  vainly  trying  to  bring  him  to  the  point  of  marriage 
she  was  cast  off  by  him.  She  passed  through  divers  political 
and  social  paths  during  the  Revolutionary  period.  After 
having  shone  in  court  circles  she  had  Danton  for  a  lover. 
During  the  autumn  of  1799  Fouche"  hired  Marie  de  Verneuil 
to  betray  Alphonse  de  Montauran,  but  the  lovely  spy  and 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  333 

the  chief  of  the  Chouans  fell  in  love  with  each  other.  They 
were  united  in  marriage  a  few  hours  before  their  death  to- 
wards the  end  of  that  year,  1799,  in  which  Jacobites  and 
Chouans  fought  on  Bretagne  soil.  Madame  de  Montauran 
was  attired  in  her  husband's  clothes  when  a  Republican  bullet 
killed  her.  [The  Chouans.] 

Montauran  (Marquis  de),  younger  brother  of  Alphonse  de 
Montauran,  was  in  London,  in  1799,  when  he  received  a 
letter  from  Colonel  Hulot  containing  Alphonse's  last  wishes. 
Montauran  complied  with  them;  returned  to  France,  but 
did  not  fight  against  his  country.  He  kept  his  wealth 
through  the  intervention  of  Colonel  Hulot  and  finally  served 
the  Bourbcns  in  the  gendarmerie,  where  he  himself  became  a 
colonel.  When  Louis  Philippe  came  to  the  throne,  Montauran 
believed  an  absolute  retirement  necessary.  Under  the  name 
of  M.  Nicolas,  he  became  one  of  the  Brothers  of  Consolation, 
who  met  in  Madame  de  la  Chanterie's  home  on  rue  Cha- 
noinesse.  He  saved  M.  Auguste  de  Mergi  from  being  prose- 
cuted. In  1841  Montauran  was  seen  on  rue  du  Montparnasse, 
where  he  assisted  at  the  funeral  of  the  elder  Hulot.  [The 
Chouans.  The  Seamy  Side  of  History.  Cousin  Betty.] 

Montbauron  (Marquise  de),  Raphael  de  Valentin's  aunt, 
died  on  the  scaffold  during  the  Revolution.  [The  Magic 
Skin.] 

Montcornet  (Marshal,  Comte  de),  Grand  Cross  of  the 
Legion  of  Honor,  Commander  of  Saint-Louis,  born  in  1774, 
son  of  a  cabinet-maker  in  the  Faubourg  Saint-Antoine, 
"  child  of  Paris,"  mingled  in  almost  all  of  the  wars  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  and  beginning  of  the  nineteenth 
centuries.  He  commanded  in  Spain  and  in  Pomerania, 
and  was  colonel  of  cuirassiers  in  the  Imperial  Guard.  He 
took  the  place  of  his  friend,  Martial  de  la  Roche-Hugon  in 
the  affections  of  Madame  de  Vaudremont.  The  Comte  de 
Montcornet  was  in  intimate  relations  with  Madame  or  Made- 
moiselle Fortin,  mother  of  Valeric  Crevel.  Towards  1815, 
Montcornet  bought,  for  about  a  hundred  thousand  francs, 
the  Aiguos,  Sophie  Laguerre's  old  estate,  situated  between 


334  REPERTORY   OF  THE  COMEDIE  HU MAINE 

Conches  and  Blangy,  near  Soulanges  and  Ville-aux-Fayes. 
The  Restoration  allured  him.  He  wished  to  have  his  origin 
overlooked,  to  gain  position  under  the  new  regime,  to  efface 
all  memory  of  the  expressive  nick-name  received  from  the 
Bourgogne  peasantry,  who  called  him  the  "Upholsterer." 
In  the  early  part  of  1819  he  married  Virginie  de  Troisville. 
His  property,  increased  by  an  income  of  sixty  thousand 
francs,  allowed  him  to  live  in  state.  In  winter  he  occupied 
his  beautiful  Parisian  mansion  on  rue  Neuve-des-Mathurins, 
now  called  rue  des  Mathurins,  and  visited  many  places, 
especially  the  homes  of  Raoul  Nathan  and  of  Esther  Gobseck. 
During  the  summer  the  count,  then  mayor  of  Blangy,  lived 
at  Aigues.  His  unpopularity  and  the  hatred  of  the  Gau- 
bertins,  Rigous,  Sibilets,  Soudrys,  Tonsards,  and  Fourchons 
rendered  his  sojourn  there  unbearable,  and  he  decided  to 
dispose  of  the  estate.  Montcornet,  although  of  violent  dis- 
position and  weak  character,  could  not  avoid  being  a  sub- 
ordinate in  his  own  family.  The  monarchy  of  1830  over- 
whelmed Montcornet,  then  lieutenant-general  unattached, 
with  gifts,  and  gave  a  division  of  the  army  into  his  command. 
The  count,  now  become  marshal,  was  a  frequent  visitor 
at  the  Vaudeville.1  Montcornet  died  in  1837.  He  never 
acknowledged  his  daughter,  Vale'rie  Crevel,  and  left  her 
nothing.  He  is  probably  buried  in  Pere-Lachaise  cemetery, 
where  a  monument  was  to  be  raised  for  him  under  W.  Stein- 
bock's  supervision.  Mare"chal  de  Montcornet's  motto  was: 
"Sound  the  Charge."  [Domestic  Peace.  Lost  Illusions. 
A  Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.  Scenes  from  a  Cour- 
tesan's Life.  The  Peasantry.  A  Man  of  Business.  Cousin 
Betty.] 

Montcornet  (Comtesse  de.)     (See  Blondet,  Madame  Emile.) 

Montefiore,  Italian  of  the  celebrated  Milanese  family  of 
Montefiore,  commissary  in  the  Sixth  of  the  line  under  the 
Empire;  one  of  the  finest  fellows  in  the  army;  marquis,  but 
unable  under  the  laws  of  the  kingdom  of  Italy  to  use  his 

1  A  Parisian  theatre,  situated  until  1838  on  rue  de  Chartres.  Rue  de  Chartre*. 
which  also  disappeared,  although  later,  was  located  between  the  Palais-Royal 
square  and  the  Place  du  Carrousel, 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMED1E  HUMAINE  33b 

title.  Thrown  by  his  disposition  into  the  "mould  of  the 
Rizzios,"  he  barely  escaped  being  assassinated  in  1808  in  the 
city  of  Tarragone  by  La  Marana,  who  surprised  him  in 
company  with  her  daughter,  Juana-Pepita-Maria  de  Mancini, 
afterwards  Francois  Diard's  wife.  Later,  Montefiore  himself 
married  a  celebrated  Englishwoman.  In  1823  he  was  killed 
and  plundered  in  a  deserted  alley  in  Bordeaux  by  Diard,  who 
found  him,  after  being  awray  many  years,  in  a  gambling-house 
at  a  watering-place.  [The  Maranas.] 

Montes  de  Montejanos  (Baron),  a  rich  Brazilian  of  wild 
and  primitive  disposition;  towards  1840,  when  very  young, 
was  one  of  the  first  lovers  of  Valerie  Fortin,  who  became  in 
turn  Madame  Marneffe  and  Madame  Ce'lestin  Crevel.  He 
saw  her  again  at  the  Faubourg  Saint-Germain  and  at  the 
Place  or  Pate"  des  Italiens,  and  had  occasion  for  being  en- 
vious of  Hector  Hulot,  W.  Steinbock  and  still  others.  He 
had  revenge  on  his  mistress  by  communicating  to  her  a 
mysterious  disease  from  which  she  died  in  the  same  manner 
as  Celestin  Crevel.  [Cousin  Betty.] 

Montpersan  (Comte  de),  nephew  of  a  canon  of  Saint- 
Denis,  upon  whom  he  called  frequently ;  an  aspiring  rustic, 
grown  sour  on  account  of  disappointment  and  deceit;  mar- 
ried, and  head  of  a  family.  At  the  beginning  of  the  Restora- 
tion he  owned  the  Chateau  de  Montpersan,  eight  leagues  from 
Moulins  in  Allier,  where  he  lived.  In  1819  he  received  a  call 
from  a  young  stranger  who  came  to  inform  him  of  the  death 
of  Madame  de  Montpersan's  lover.  [The  Message.] 

Montpersan  (Comtesse  Juliette  de),  wife  of  the  preceding, 
born  about  1781,  lived  at  Montpersan  with  her  family,  and 
while  there  learned  from  her  lover's  fellow-traveler  of  the 
former's  death  as  a  result  of  an  overturned  carriage, 
countess  rewarded  the  messenger  of  misfortune  in  a  delicate 
manner.  [The  Message.] 

Montpersan  (Mademoiselle  de),  daughter  of  the  preccdim; 
couple,  was  but  a  child  when  the  sorrowful  news  arriy 
which  caused  her   mother   to   leave   the  table.    The  child, 


336  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

thinking  only  of  the  comical  side  of  affairs,  remarked 
upon  her  father's  gluttony,  suggesting  that  the  countess' 
abrupt  departure  had  allowed  him  to  break  the  rules  of  diet 
imposed  by  her  presence.  [The  Message.] 

Montriveau  (General  Marquis  de),  father  of  Armand  de 
Montriveau.  Although  a  knighted  chevalier,  he  continued 
to  hold  fast  to  the  exalted  manners  of  Bourgogne,  and  scorned 
the  opportunities  which  rank  and  wealth  had  offered  in  his 
birth.  Being  an  encyclopaedist  and  "one  of  those  already 
mentioned  who  served  the  Republic  nobly,"  Montriveau 
was  killed  at  Novi  near  Joubert's  side.  [The  Thirteen.] 

Montriveau  (Comte  de),  paternal  uncle  of  Armand  de 
Montriveau.  Corpulent,  and  fond  of  oysters.  Unlike  his 
brother  he  emigrated,  and  in  his  exile  met  with  a  cordial 
reception  by  the  Dulmen  branch  of  the  Rivaudoults  of 
Arschoot,  a  family  with  which  he  had  some  relationship. 
He  died  at  St.  Petersburg.  [The  Thirteen.] 

Montriveau  (Ge'ne'ral  Marquis  Armand  de),  nephew  of  the 
preceding  and  only  son  of  General  de  Montriveau.  As 
a  penniless  orphan  he  was  entered  by  Bonaparte  in  the  school 
of  Chalons.  He  went  into  the  artillery  service,  and  took 
part  in  the  last  campaigns  of  the  Empire,  among  others  that 
in  Russia.  At  the  battle  of  Waterloo  he  received  many 
serious  wounds,  being  then  a  colonel  in  the  Guard.  Montriveau 
passed  the  first  three  years  of  the  Restoration  far  away  from 
Europe.  He  wished  to  explore  the  upper  sections  of  Egypt, 
and  Central  Africa.  After  being  made  a  slave  by  savages 
he  escaped  from  their  hands  by  a  bold  ruse  and  returned  to 
Paris,  where  he  lived  on  rue  de  Seine  near  the  Chamber  of 
Peers.  Despite  his  poverty  and  lack  of  ambition  and  in- 
fluential friends,  he  was  soon  promoted  to  a  general's  position. 
His  association  with  The  Thirteen,  a  powerful  and  secret 
band  of  men,  who  counted  among  their  members  Ronquerolles, 
Marsay  and  Bourignard,  probably  brought  him  this  un- 
solicited favor.  This  same  freemasonry  aided  Montriveau 
in  his  desire  to  have  revenge  on  Antoinette  de  Langeais  for  her 
delicate  flirtation;  also  later,  when  still  feeling  for  her  the 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  337 

same  passion,  he  seized  her  body  from  the  Spanish  Car- 
melites. About  the  same  time  the  general  met,  at  Madame 
de  Beauseant's,  Rastignac,  just  come  to  Paris,  and  told  him 
about  Anastasie  de  Restaud.  Towards  the  end  of  1821,  the 
general  met  Mesdames  d'Espard  and  de  Bargeton,  who  were 
spending  the  evening  at  the  Ope"ra.  Montriveau  was  the 
living  picture  of  Kleber,  and  in  a  kind  of  tragic  way  became  a 
widower  by  Antoinette  de  Langeais.  Having  become  cele- 
brated for  a  long  journey  fraught  with  adventures,  he  was  the 
social  lion  at  the  time  he  ran  across  a  companion  of  his  Egyp- 
tian travels,  Sixte  du  Cha'telet.  Before  a  select  audience  of 
artists  and  noblemen,  gathered  during  the  first  years  of  the 
reign  of  Louis  Philippe  at  the  home  of  Mademoiselle  des 
Touches,  he  told  how  he  had  unwittingly  been  responsible 
for  the  vengeance  taken  by  the  husband  of  a  certain  Rosina, 
during  the  time  of  the  Imperial  wars.  Montriveau,  now  ad- 
mitted to  the  peerage,  was  in  command  of  a  department. 
At  this  time,  having  become  unfaithful  to  the  memory  of 
Antoinette  de  Langeais,  he  became  enamored  of  Madame 
Rogron,  born  Bathilde  de  Chargeboeuf,  who  hoped  soon  to 
bring  about  their  marriage.  In  1839,  in  company  with  M. 
de  Ronquerolles,  he  became  second  to  the  Due  de  Rhe'tore', 
elder  brother  of  Louise  de  Chaulieu,  in  his  duel  with  Dorlange- 
Sallenauve,  brought  about  because  of  Marie  Gaston.  [The 
Thirteen.  Father  Goriot.  Lost  Illusions.  A  Distinguished 
Provincial  at  Paris.  Another  Study  of  Woman.  Pierrette. 
The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Morand,  formerly  a  clerk  in  Barbet's  publishing-house, 
in  1838  became  a  partner;  along  with  Me"tivier  tried  to  take 
advantage  of  Baron  de  Bourlac,  author  of  "The  Spirit  ot 
Modern  Law."  [The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Moreau,  born  in  1772;  son  of  a  follower  of  Danton,  pro- 
cureur-syndic  at  Versailles  during  the  Revolution ;  was  Madame 
Clapart's  devoted  lover,  and  remained  faithful  almost  all 
the  rest  of  his  life.  After  a  very  adventurous  life  Moreau, 
about  1805,  became  manager  of  the  Preslcs  estate,  situated 
in  the  valley  of  the  Oise,  which  was  the  property  of  the 


338  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Comte  de  Se"rizy.  He  married  Estelle,  maid  of  Le"ontine 
de  Serizy,  and  had  by  her  three  children.  After  serving 
as  manager  of  the  estate  for  seventeen  years,  he  gave  up  his 
position,  when  his  dishonest  dealings  with  Le"ger  were  ex- 
posed by  Reybert,  and  retired  a  wealthy  man.  A  silly 
deed  of  his  godson,  Oscar  Husson,  was,  more  than  anything 
else,  the  cause  of  his  dismissal  from  his  position  at  Presles. 
Moreau  attained  a  lofty  position  under  Louis  Philippe, 
having  grown  wealthy  through  real-estate,  and  became 
the  father-in-law  of  Constant-Cyr-Melchior  de  Canalis. 
At  last  he  became  a  prominent  deputy  of  the  Centre  under 
the  name  of  Moreau  of  the  Oise.  [A  Start  in  Life.] 

Moreau  (Madame  Estelle),  fair-skinned  wife  of  the  pre- 
ceding, born  of  lowly  origin  at  Saint-L6,  became  maid  to 
Le"ontine  de  Se*rizy.  Her  fortune  made,  she  became  over- 
bearing and  received  Oscar  Husson,  son  of  Madame  Clapart 
by  her  first  husband,  with  unconcealed  coldness.  She  bought 
the  flowers  for  her  coiffure  from  Nattier,  and,  wearing  some 
of  them,  she  was  seen,  in  the  autumn  of  1822,  by  Joseph 
Bridau  and  Le*on  de  Lora,  who  had  just  arrived  from  Paris 
to  do  some  decorating  in  the  chateau  at  Serizy.  [A  Start  in 
Life.] 

Moreau  (Jacques),  eldest  of  the  preceding  couple's  three 
children,  was  the  agent  between  his  mother  and  Oscar  Husson 
at  Presles.  [A  Start  in  Life.] 

Moreau,  the  best  upholsterer  in  Alengon,  rue  de  la  Porte- 
de-Seez,  near  the  church;  in  1816  furnished  Madame  du 
Bousquier,  then  Mademoiselle  Rose  Cormon,  the  articles 
of  furniture  made  necessary  by  M.  de  Troisville's  unlooked- 
for  arrival  at  her  home  on  his  return  from  Russia.  [Jealousies 
of  a  Country  Town.] 

Moreau,  an  aged  workman  at  Dauphine",  uncle  of  little 
Jacques  Colas,  lived,  during  the  Restoration,  in  poverty 
and  resignation,  with  his  wife,  in  the  village  near  Grenoble — 
a  place  which  was  completely  changed  by  Doctor  Benassis. 
[The  Country  Doctor.] 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  33& 

Moreau-Malvin,  "a  prominent  butcher,"  died  about  1820. 
His  beautiful  tomb  of  white  marble  ornaments  rue  du  Mare"chal- 
Lefebvre  at  Pere-Lachaise,  near  the  burial-place  of  Madame 
Jules  Desmarets  and  Mademoiselle  Raucourt  of  the  Come'die- 
Frangaise.  [The  Thirteen.] 

Morillon  (Pere),  a  priest,  who  had  charge,  for  some 
time  under  the  Empire,  of  Gabriel  Claes'  early  education. 
[The  Quest  of  the  Absolute.] 

Morin  (La),  a  very  poor  old  woman  who  reared  La  Fosseuse, 
an  orphan,  in  a  kindly  manner,  in  a  market-town  near  Gren- 
oble, but  who  gave  her  some  raps  on  the  fingers  with  her 
spoon  when  the  child  was  too  quick  in  taking  soup  from 
the  common  porringer.  La  Morin  tilled  the  soil  like  a  man, 
and  murmured  frequently  at  the  miserable  pallet  on  which  she 
and  La  Fosseuse  slept.  [The  Country  Doctor.] 

Morin  (Jeanne-Marie-Victoire  Tarin,  veuve),  accused  of 
trying  to  obtain  money  by  forging  signatures  to  promissory- 
notes,  also  of  the  attempted  assassination  of  Sieur  Ragoul- 
leau ;  condemned  by  the  Court  of  Assize  at  Paris  on  January 
11,  1812,  to  twenty  years  of  hard  labor.  The  elder  Poiret, 
a  man  who  never  thought  independently,  was  a  witness  for 
the  defence,  and  often  thought  of  the  trial.  The  widow 
Morin,  born  at  Pont-sur-Seine,  Aube,  was  a  fellow-country- 
woman of  Poiret,  who  was  born  at  Troyes.  [Father  Goriot.] 
Many  extracts  have  been  taken  from  the  items  published 
about  this  criminal  case. 

Morisson,  an  inventor  of  purgative  pills,  which  wore 
imitated  by  Doctor  Poulain,  physician  to  Pons  and  the  Cibots, 
when,  as  a  beginner,  he  wished  to  make  his  fortune  rapidly. 
[Cousin  Pons.] 

Mortsauf  (Comte  de),  head  of  a  Touraine  family,  which 
owed  to  an  ancestor  of  Louis  XL's  reign— a  man  who  had 
escaped  the  gibbet — its  fortune,  coat-of-anns  and  position. 
The  count  was  the  incarnation  of  the  "refugee."  Exiled,  either 
willingly  or  unwillingly,  his  banishment  made  him  weak  of 
mind  and  body.  He  married  Blanche-Henriette  de  Lenon- 


340  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

court,  by  whom  he  had  two  children,  Jacques  and  Madeleine. 
On  the  accession  of  the  Bourbons  he  was  breveted  field- 
marshal,  but  did  not  leave  Clochegourde,  a  castle  brought 
to  him  in  his  wife's  dowry  and  situated  on  the  banks  of  the 
Tndre  and  the  Cher.  [The  Lily  of  the  Valley.] 

Mortsauf  (Comtesse  de),1  wife  of  the  preceding;  born 
Blanche-Henriette  de  Lenoncourt,  of  the  "  house  of  Lenon- 
court-Givry,  fast  becoming  extinct, "  towards  the  first  years 
of  the  Restoration ;  was  born  after  the  death  of  three  brothers, 
and  thus  had  a  sorrowful  childhood  and  youth;  found  a  good 
foster-mother  in  her  aunt,  a  Blamont-Chauvry ;  and  when 
married  found  her  chief  pleasure  in  the  care  .of  her  children. 
This  feeling  gave  her  the  power  to  repress  the  love  which 
she  felt  for  Felix  de  Vandenesse,  but  the  effort  which  this 
hard  struggle  caused  her  brought  on  a  severe  stomach  disease 
of  which  she  died  in  1820.  [The  Lily  of  the  Valley.] 

Mortsauf  (Jacques  de),  elder  child  of  the  preceding  couple, 
pupil  of  Dominis,  most  delicate  member  of  the  family,  died 
prematurely.  With  his  death  the  line  of  Lenoncourt-Givrys 
proper  passed  away,  for  he  would  have  been  their  heir.  [The 
Lily  of  the  Valley.] 

Mortsauf  (Madeleine  de),  sister  of  the  preceding;  after  her 
mother's  death  she  would  not  receive  Felix  de  Vandenesse, 
who  had  been  Madame  de  Mortsauf's  lover.  She  became  in 
time  Duchesse  de  Leoncourt-Givry  (see  that  name).  [The 
Lily  of  the  Valley.] 

Mouche,  born  in  1811,  illegitimate  son  of  one  of  Fourchon's 
natural  daughters  and  a  soldier  who  died  in  Russia;  was  given 
a  home,  when  an  orphan,  by  his  maternal  grandfather, 
whom  he  aided  sometimes  as  ropemaker's  apprentice.  About 
1823,  in  the  district  of  Ville-aux-Fayes,  Bourgogne,  he  profited 
by  the  credulity  of  the  strangers  whom  he  was  supposed  to 
teach  the  art  of  hunting  otter.  Mouche's  attitude  and  con- 
versation, as  he  came  in  the  autumn  of  1823  to  the  Aigues, 
scandalized  the  Montcornets  and  their  guests.  [The  Peas- 
antry.] 

1  Beauplan  and  Barrifere  presented  a  play  at  the  Comedie-I  raugaise,  having  for 
»  heroine  Madame  de  Mortsauf,  June  14,  1853. 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  341 

Mouchon,  eldest  of  three  brothers  who  lived  in  1793  in  the 
Bourgogne  valley  of  Avonne  or  Aigues;  managed  the  estate 
of  Ronquerolles;  became  deputy  of  his  division  to  the  Con- 
vention; had  a  reputation  for  uprightness;  preserved  the 
property  and  the  life  of  the  Ronquerolles;  died  in  the  year 
1804,  leaving  two  daughters,  Mesdames  Gendrin  and  Gauber- 
tin.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Mouchon,  brother  of  the  preceding,  had  charge  of  the 
relay  post-house  at  Conches,  Bourgogne;  had  a  daughter 
who  married  the  wealthy  farmer  Guerbet;  died  in  1817. 
[The  Peasantry.] 

Mouchon,  brother  of  the  preceding,  born  in  1756;  priest, 
who  had,  before  the  Revolution,  the  curacy  of  Ville-aux-Fayes, 
and  knew  how  to  keep  it  during  the  Restoration.  This 
sharpness  illustrates  his  character.  He  was  in  high  favor 
with  the  Rigous,  Soudrys,  Gaubertins,  Sibilets,  Fourchons 
and  Tonsards.  They  called  him  sometimes  by  the  name 
of  "Moucheron."  [The  Peasantry.] 

Mougin,  born  about  1805  in  Toulouse,  fifth  of  the  Parisian 
hair-dressers  who,  under  the  name  of  Marius,  successively 
owned  the  same  business.  In  1845,  a  wealthy  married  man 
of  family,  captain  in  the  Guard  and  decorated  after  1832, 
an  elector  and  eligible  to  office,  he  had  established  himself 
on  the  Place  de  la  Bourse  as  capillary  artist  emeritus,  where 
his  praises  were  sung  by  Bixiou  and  Lora  to  the  wondering 
Gazonal.  [The  Unconscious  Humorists.] 

Mouilleron,  king's  attorney  at  Issoudun  in  1822,  cousin  to 
every  person  in  the  city  during  the  quarrels  between  the 
Rouget  and  Bridau  families.  [A  Bachelor's  Establishment.] 

Murat  (Joachim,  Prince).    In  October,  1800,  on  the  day 
in  which  Bartolomeo  di  Piombo  was  presented   by 
Bonaparte,  he  was,  with  Lannes  and  Rapp,  in  the  rooms  of 
Bonaparte,  the  First  Consul.     He  became  Grand 
Berg  in  1806,  the  time  of  the  well-known  quarrel  betwec 
the    Simeuses    and    Malin    de    Gondreville.     Murat 
to  the  rescue  of  Colonel  Chabert's  cavalry  regiment  at  the 


342  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDTE  HUMAINE 

battle  of  Eylau,  February  7  and  8,  1807.  "Oriental  in 
tastes,"  he  exhibited,  even  before  acceding  to  the  throne  of 
Naples  in  1808,  a  foolish  love  of  luxury  for  a  modern  soldier. 
Twenty  years  later,  during  a  village  celebration  in  Dauphine", 
Benassis  and  Genestas  listened  to  the  story  of  Bonaparte, 
as  told  by  a  veteran,  then  become  a  laborer,  who  mingled 
with  his  narrative  a  number  of  entertaining  stories  of  the 
bold  Murat.  [The  Vendetta.  The  Gondreville  Mystery. 
Colonel  Chabert.  Domestic  Peace. .  The  Country  Doctor.] 

Muret  gave  information  about  Jean-Joachim  Goriot,  his 
predecessor  in  the  manufacture  of  "pates  alimentaires." 
[Father  Goriot.] 

Musson,  well-known  hoaxer  in  the  early  part  of  the  nine- 
teenth century.  The  policeman,  Peyrade,  imitated  his  crafti- 
ness in  manner  and  disguise  twenty  years  later,  while  acting 
as  an  Fjnglish  nabob  keeping  Suzanne  Gaillard.  [Scenes 
from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

N 

Nanon,  called  Nanon  the  Great  from  her  height  (6  ft.  4  in.) ; 
born  about  1769.  First  she  tended  cows  on  a  farm  that  she 
was  forced  to  leave  after  a  fire;  turned  away  on  every  side, 
because  of  her  appearance,  which  was  repulsive,  she  became, 
about  1791,  at  the  age  of  twenty-two,  a  member  of  Felix 
Grandet's  household  at  Saumur,  where  she  remained  the 
rest  of  her  life.  She  always  showed  gratitude  to  her  master 
for  having  taken  her  in.  Brave,  devoted  and  serious-minded, 
the  only  servant  of  the  miser,  she  received  as  wages  for  very 
hard  service  only  sixty  francs  a  year.  However,  the  ac- 
cumulations from  even  so  paltry  an  income  allowed  her, 
in  1819,  to  make  a  life  investment  of  four  thousand  francs 
with  Monsieur  Cruchot.  Nanon  had  also  an  annuity  of 
twelve  hundred  francs  from  Madame  de  Bonfons?  lived  near 
the  daughter  of  her  former  master,  who  was  dead,  and,  about 
1827,  being  almost  sixty  years  of  age,  married  Antoine 
Cornoiller.  With  her  husband,  she  continued  her  work  of 
devoted  service  to  Eugenie  de  Bonfons.  [Eugenie  Grandet.] 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  343 

Napolitas,  in  1830,  secretary  of  Bibi-Lupin,  chief  of  the 
secret  police.  Prison  spy  at  the  Conciergerie,  he  played  the 
part  of  a  son  in  a  family  accused  of  forgery,  in  order  to  observe 
closely  Jacques  Collin,  who  pretended  to  be  Carlos  Herrera. 
[Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Narzicof  (Princess),  a  Russian;  had  left  to  the  merchant 
Fritot,  according  to  his  own  account,  as  payment  for  sup- 
plies, the  carriage  in  which  Mistress  Noswell,  wrapped  in  the 
shawl  called  Se"lim,  returned  to  the  Hotel  Lawson.  [Gaudis- 
sart  II.] 

Nathan  (Raoul),  son  of  a  Jew  pawn-broker,  who  died  in 
bankruptcy  a  short  while  after  marrying  a  Catholic,  was  for 
twenty-five  years  (1820-45)  one  of  the  best  known  writers  in 
Paris.  Raoul  Nathan  touched  upon  many  branches:  the 
journal,  romance,  poetry  and  the  stage.  In  1821,  Dauriat 
published  for  him  an  imaginative  work  which  Lucien  de 
Rubempre"  alternately  praised  and  criticized.  The  harsh 
criticism  was  meant  for  the  publisher  only.  Nathan  then 
put  on  the  stage  the  "Alcade  dans  PEmbarras" — a  comedie 
called  an  "imbroglio"  and  presented  at  the  Panorama- 
Dramatique.  He  signed  himself  simply  "Raoul";  he  had 
as  collaborator  Cursy — M.  du  Bruel.  The  play  was  a 
distinct  success.  About  the  same  time,  he  supplanted 
Lousteau,  lover  of  Florine,  one  of  his  leading  actresses. 
About  this  time  also  Raoul  was  on  terms  of  intimacy  with 
Emile  Blondet,  who  wrote  him  a  letter  dated  from  Aigues 
(Bourgogne)  in  which  he  described  the  Montcornets,  and 
related  their  local  difficulties.  Raoul  Nathan,  a  member  of 
all  the  giddy  and  dissipated  social  circles,  was  with  Giroudeau, 
Finot  and  Bixiou,  a  witness  of  Philip  Bridau's  wedding  to 
Madame  J.-J.  Rouget.  He  visited  Florentine  Cabirolle, 
when  the  Marests  and  Oscar  Husson  were  there,  and  ap- 
peared often  on  the  rue  Saint-Georges,  at  the  home  of  Esther 
van  Gobseck,  who  was  already  much  visited  by  Blondet, 
Bixiou  and  Lousteau.  Raoul,  at  this  time,  was  much  oc- 
cupied with  the  press,  and  made  a  great  parade  of  Royaliwn. 
The  accession  of  Louis  Philippe  did  not  diminish  the  extended 


344  EEPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

circle  of  his  relations.  The  Marquise  d'Espard  received 
him.  It  was  at  her  house  that  he  heard  evil  reports  of 
Diane  de  Cadignan,  greatly  to  the  dissatisfaction  of  Daniel 
d'Arthez,  also  present.  Marie  de  Vandenesse,  just  married, 
noticed  Nathan,  who  was  handsome  by  reason  of  an  artistic, 
uncouth  ugliness,  and  elegant  irregularity  of  features,  and 
in  the  full  glory  of  his  renown  as  a  writer  and  a  gallant. 
Raoul  resolved  to  make  the  most  of  the  situation.  Al- 
though turned  Republican,  he  took  very  readily  to  the  idea  of 
winning  a  lady  of  the  aristocracy.  The  conquest  of  Madame 
the  Comtesse  de  Vandenesse  would  have  revenged  him  for 
the  contempt  shown  him  by  Lady  Dudley,  but,  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  usurers,  fascinated  with  Florine,  living  in  pitiable 
style  in  a  passage  between  the  rue  Basse-du-Rempart  and 
the  rue  Neuve-des-Mathurins,  and  being  often  detained 
on  the  rue  Feydau,  in  the  offices  of  a  paper  he  had  founded, 
Raoul  failed  in  his  scheme  in  connection  with  the  countess, 
whom  Vandenesse  even  succeeded  in  restoring  to  his  own 
affections,  by  very  skilful  play  with  Florine.  During  the 
first  years  of  Louis  Philippe's  reign,  Nathan  presented  a 
flaming  and  brilliant  drama,  the  two  collaborators  in  which 
were  Monsieur  and  Madame  Marie  Gaston,  whose  names  were 
indicated  on  the  hand-bills  by  stars  only.  In  his  younger 
days  he  had  had  a  play  of  his  put  on  at  the  Odeon,  a  romantic 
work  after  the  style  of  "Pinto,"1  at  a  time  when  the  classic 
was  dominant,  and  the  stage  had  been  so  greatly  stirred 
up  for  three  days  that  the  play  was  prohibited.  At  another 
time  he  presented  at  the  Theatre-Francais  a  great  drama 
that  fell  "with  all  the  honors  of  war,  amid  the  roar  of  news- 
paper cannon."  In  the  winter  of  1837-38,  Vanda  de  Mergi 
read  a  new  romance  of  Nathan's,  entitled  "La  Perle  de  Dol." 
The  memory  of  his  social  intrigues  still  haunted  Nathan 
when  he  returned  so  reluctantly  to  M.  de  Clagny,  who  de- 
manded it  of  him,  a  printed  note,  announcing  the  birth  of 
Melchior  de  la  Baudraye,  as  follows:  "Madame  la  Baronne  de 
la  Baudraye  is  happily  delivered  of  a  child;  M.  Etienne 
Lousteau  has  the  honor  of  announcing  it  to  you."  Nathan 

1  A  drama  by  Nc'-pomucene  Lemercier;  according  to  Labitte,  "the  first,  work  of 
the  renovated  stage." 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  345 

sought  the  society  of  Madame  de  la  Baudraye,  who  got  from 
him,  in  the  rue  de  Chartres-du-Roule,  at  the  home  of  Beatrix 
de  Rochefide,  a  certain  story,  to  be  arranged  as  a  novel, 
related  more  or  less  after  the  style  of  Sainte-Beuve,  concerning 
the  Bohemians  and  their  prince,  Rusticoli  de  la  Palfe"rine. 
Raoul  cultivated  likewise  the  society  of  the  Marquise  de 
Rochefide,  and,  one  evening  of  October,  1840,  a  proscenium 
box  at  the  Varie'te's  was  the  means  of  bringing  together 
Canalis,  Nathan  and  Beatrix.  Received  everywhere,  per- 
fectly at  home  in  Marguerite  Turquet's  boudoir,  Raoul,  as 
a  member  of  a  group  composed  of  Bixiou,  La  Palferine  and 
Maitre  Cardot,  heard  Maitre  Desroches  tell  how  Ce"rizet 
made  use  of  Antonia  Chocardelle,  to  "  get  even  "  with  Maxime 
de  Trailles.  Nathan  afterwards  married  his  mistress,  Florine, 
whose  maiden  name  was  really  Sophie  Grignault.  [Lost  Il- 
lusions. A  Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.  Scenes  from 
a  Courtesan's  Life.  The  Secrets  of  a  Princess.  A  Daughter 
of  Eve.  Letters  of  Two  Brides.  The  Seamy  Side  of  History. 
The  Muse  of  the  Department.  A  Prince  of  Bohemia.  A 
Man  of  Business.  The  Unconscious  Humorists.] 

Nathan1  (Madame  Raoul),  wife  of  the  preceding,  born  Sophie 
Grignault,  in  1805,  in  Bretagne.  She  was  a  perfect  beauty, 
her  foot  alone  left  something  to  be  desired.  When  very 
young  she  tried  the  double  career  of  pleasure  and  the  stage, 
under  the  now  famous  name  of  Florine.  The  details  of  her  early 
life  are  rather  obscure:  Madame  Nathan,  as  supernumerary 
of  the  Gaite,  had  six  lovers,  before  choosing  Etienne  Lousteau 
in  that  relation  in  1821.  She  was  at  that  time  closely  con- 
nected with  Florentine  Cabirolle,  Claudine  Chaffaroux, 
Coralie  and  Marie  Godeschal.  She  had  also  a  supporter  in 
Matifat,  the  druggist,  and  lodged  on  the  rue  de  Bondy, 
where,  after  a  brilliant  success  at  the  Panorama-Dramatique, 
with  Coralie  and  Bouff^,  she  received  in  magnificent  style 
the  diplomatists,  Lucien  de  Rubempre',  Camusot  and  others. 
Florine  soon  made  an  advantageous  change  in  lover,  home, 
theatre  and  protector; Nathan,  whom  she  afterwards  married, 

i  On  the  stage  of  the  Boulevard  du  Temple  Madame  Nathan  (Florine)  henceforth 
made  a  salary  of  eight  thousand  francs. 


346  EEPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

supplanted  Lousteau  about  the  middle  of  Louis  Philippe's 
reign.  Her  home  was  on  rue  Hauteville  instead  of  rue  de 
Bondy;  and  she  had  moved  from  the  stage  of  the  Panorama 
to  that  of  the  Gymnase.  Having  made  an  engagement  at 
the  theatre  of  the  Boulevard  Bonne-Nouvelle,  she  met  there 
her  old  rival,  Coralie,  against  whom  she  organized  a  cabal; 
she  was  distinguished  for  the  brilliancy  of  her  costumes, 
and  brought  into  her  train  of  followers  successively  the  opulent 
Dudley,  De*sire  Minoret,  M.  des  Grassins,  the  banker 
of  Saumur,  and  M.  du  Rouvre;  she  even  ruined  the  last  two. 
Florine's  fortune  rose  during  the  monarchy  of  July.  Her 
association  with  Nathan  subserved,  moreover,  their  mutual 
interests;  the  poet  won  respect  for  the  actress,  who  knew 
moreover  how  to  make  herself  formidable  by  her  spirit  of 
intrigue  and  the  tartness  of  her  sallies  of  wit.  Who  did  not 
know  her  mansion  on  the  rue  Pigalle?  Indeed,  Madame 
Nathan  was  an  intimate  acquaintance  of  Coralie,  Esther 
la  Torpille,  Claudine  du  Bruel,  Euphrasie,  Aquilina,  Madame 
Theodore  Gaillard,  and  Marie  Godeschal;  entertained  Emile 
Blondet,  Andoche  Finot,  Etienne  Lousteau,  Felicien  Vernou, 
Couture,  Bixiou,  Rastignac,  Vignon,  F.  du  Tillet,  Nucingen, 
and  Conti.  Her  apartments  were  embellished  with  the  works 
of  Bixiou,  F.  Souchet,  Joseph  Bridau,  and  H.  Schinner. 
Madame  de  Vandenesse,  being  somewhat  enamored  of  Nathan, 
would  have  destroyed  these  joys  and  this  splendor,  without 
heeding  the  devotion  of  the  writer's  mistress,  on  the  one 
hand,  or  the  interference  of  Vandenesse  on  the  other.  Florine, 
having  entirely  won  back  Nathan,  made  no  delay  in  marrying 
him.  The  Muse  of  the  Department.  Lost  Illusions.  A 
Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.  Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's 
Life.  The  Government  Clerks.  A  Bachelor's  Establishment 
Ursule  Mirouet.  Eugenie  Grandet.  The  Imaginary  Mistress. 
A  Prince  of  Bohemia.  A  Daughter  of  Eve.  The  Unconscious 
Humorists.] 

Navarreins  (Due  de),  born  about  1767,  son-in-law  of  the 
Prince  de  Cadignan,  through  his  first  marriage;  father  of 
Antoinette  de  Langeais,  kinsman  of  Madame  d'Espard,  and 
cousin  of  Valentin;  accused  of  "  haughtiness."  He  was  patron 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HTJMAINE  347 

of  M.  du  Bruel — Cursy — on  his  entrance  into  the  government 
service;  had  a  lawsuit  against  the  hospitals,  which  he  en- 
trusted to  the  care  of  Maitre  Derville.  He  had  Polydore  de 
la  Baudraye  dignified  to  the  appointment  of  collector,  in 
consideration  of  his  having  released  him  from  a  debt 
contracted  during  the  emigration;  held  a  family  council 
with  the  Grandlieus  and  Chaulieus  when  his  daughter  com- 
promised her  reputation  by  accepting  an  invitation  to  the 
house  of  Montriveau;  was  the  patron  of  Victurnien  d'Esgrig- 
non ;  owned  near  Ville-aux-Fayes,  in  the  sub-prefecture  of 
Auxerrois,  extensive  estates,  which  were  respected  by  Mont- 
cornet's  enemies,  the  Gaubertins,  the  Rigous,  the  Soudrys, 
the  Fourchons,  and  the  Tonsards;  accompanied  Madame 
d'Espard  to  the  Opera  ball,  when  Jacques  Collin  and  Lucien  de 
Rubempre  mystified  the  marchioness;  for  five  hundred  thou- 
sand francs  sold  to  the  Graslins  his  estates  and  his  Montegnac 
forest,  near  Limoges ;  was  an  acquaintance  of  Foedora  through 
Valentin;  was  a  visitor  of  the  Princesse  de  Cadignan,  after 
the  death  of  their  common  father-in-law,  of  whom  he  had 
little  to  make  boast,  especially  in  matters  of  finance.  The 
Due  de  Navarrein's  mansion  at  Paris  was  on  the  rue  du  Bac. 
[A  Bachelor's  Establishment.  Colonel  Chabert.  The  Muse 
of  the  Department.  The  Thirteen.  Jealousies  of  a  Country 
Town.  The  Peasantry.  Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life. 
The  Country  Parson.  The  Magic  Skin.  The  Gondreville 
Mystery.  The  Secrets  of  a  Princess.  Cousin  Betty.] 

Ne*grepelisse  (De),  a  family  dating  back  to  the  Crusades, 
already  famous  in  the  times  of  Saint-Louis,  the  name  of  the 
younger  branch  of  the  "renowned  family"  of  Espard,  borne 
during  the  Restoration  in  Angoumois,  by  M.  de  Bargeton's 
father-in-law,  M.  de  Ne"grepelisse,  an  imposing  looking  old 
country  gentleman,  and  one  of  the  last  representatives  of 
the  old  French  nobility,  mayor  of  Escarbes,  peer  of  France, 
and  commander  of  the  Order  of  Saint^Louis.  Ne"grepelisse 
survived  by  several  years  his  son-in-law,  whom  he  took  under 
his  roof  when  Anais  de  Bargeton  went  to  Paris  in  the  summer 
of  1821.  [The  Commission  in  Lunacy.  Lost  Illusions.  A 
Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.] 


348  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Ne*grepelisse  (Comte  Clement  de),  born  in  1812;  cousin 
of  the  preceding,  who  left  him  his  title.  He  was  the  elder  of 
the  two  legitimate  sons  of  the  Marquis  d'Espard.  He  studied 
at  College  Henri  IV.,  and  lived  in  Paris  during  the  Restora- 
tion, as  did  also  his  brother,  under  their  father's  roof,  on  the 
rue  de  la  Montagne-Sainte-Genevieve.  The  Comte  de 
Negrepelisse  seldom  visited  his  mother,  the  Marquise  d'Espard, 
who  lived  apart  from  her  family  in  the  Faubourg  Saint- 
Honore.  [The  Commission  in  Lunacy.] 

Negro  (Marquis  di),  a  Genoese  noble,  "Knight  Hospitaller 
endowed  with  all  known  talents,"  was  a  visitor,  in  1836,  of 
the  consul-general  of  France,  at  Genoa,  when  Maurice  de 
1'Hostal  gave  before  Damaso  Pareto,  Claude  Vignon,  Leon 
de  Lora,  and  Felicite"  des  Touches,  a  full  account  of  the 
separation,  the  reconciliation,  and,  in  short,  the  whole  his- 
tory of  Octave  de  Bauvan  and  his  wife.  [Honorine.] 

N^pomucene,  a  foundling;  servani>-boy  of  Madame  Vau- 
thier,  manager  and  door-keeper  of  the  house  on  the  Boulevard 
Montparnasse,  which  was  occupied  by  the  families  of  Bourlac 
and  Mergi.  Ne"pomucene  usually  wore  a  ragged  blouse  and, 
instead  of  shoes,  gaiters  or  wooden  clogs.  To  his  work  with 
Madame  Vauthier  was  added  daily  work  in  the  wood-yards 
of  the  vicinity,  and,  on  Sundays  and  Mondays,  during  the 
summer,  he  worked  also  with  the  wine-merchants  at  the 
barrier.  [The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Ne"raud,  a  physician  at  Provins  during  the  Restoration. 
He  ruined  his  wife,  who  was  the  widow  of  a  grocer  named 
Auffray,  and  who  had  married  him  for  love.  He  survived  her. 
Being  a  man  of  doubtful  character  and  a  rival  of  Dr.  Martener, 
Ne"raud  attached  himself  to  the  party  of  Gouraud  and  Vinet, 
who  represented  Liberal  ideas ;  he  failed  to  uphold  Pierrette 
Lorrain,  the  granddaughter  of  Auffray,  against  her  guard- 
ians, the  Rogrons.  [Pierrette.] 

NeYaud  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding.  Married  first 
to  Auffray,  the  grocer,  who  was  sixty  years  old ;  she  was  only 
thirty-eight  at  the  beginning  of  her  widowhood;  she  married 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  349 

Dr.  Ne>aud  almost  immediately  after  the  death  of  her  first 
husband.  By  her  first  marriage  she  had  a  daughter,  who 
was  the  wife  of  Major  Lorrain,  and  the  mother  of  Pierrette. 
Madame  Neraud  died  of  grief,  amid  squalid  surroundings, 
two  years  after  her  second  marriage.  The  Rogrons,  descended 
from  old  Auffray  by  his  first  marriage,  had  stripped  her  of 
almost  all  she  had.  [Pierrette.] 

Nicolas.     (See  Montauran,  Marquis  de.) 

Ninette,  born  in  1832,  "rat"  at  the  Ope*ra  in  Paris,  was 
acquainted  with  Leon  de  Lora  and  J.-J.  Bixiou,  who  called 
Gazonal's  attention  to  her  in  1845.  [The  Unconscious  Humor- 
ists.] 

Niolland  (Abbe),  the  promising  pupil  of  Abbe*  Roze.  Con- 
cealed during  the  Revolution  at  the  house  of  M.  de  Ne"gre- 
pelisse,  near  Barbezieux,  he  had  in  charge  the  education  of 
Marie- Louise- Anais  (afterwards  Madame  de  Ba'rgeton),  and 
taught  her  music,  Italian  and  German.  He  died  in  1802. 
[Lost  Illusions.] 

Niseron,  curate  of  Blangy  (Bourgogne)  before  the  Revolu- 
tion; predecessor  of  Abbe"  Brossette  in  this  curacy;  uncle 
of  Jean-Frangois  Niseron.  He  was  led  by  a  childish  but 
innocent  indiscretion  on  the  part  of  his  great-niece,  as  well 
as  by  the  influence  of  Dom  Rigou,  to  disinherit  the  Niserons 
in  the  interests  of  the  Mesdemoiselles  Pichard,  house-keepers 
in  his  family.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Niseron  ( Jean-Fran  gois),  beadle,  sacristan,  chorister,  bell- 
ringer,  and  grave-digger  of  the  parish  of  Blangy  (Bourgogne), 
during  the  Restoration;  nephew  and  only  heir  of  Niseron 
the  cure";  born  in  1751.  He  was  delighted  at  the  Revolution, 
was  the  ideal  type  of  the  Republican,  a  sort  of  Michel  Chrestien 
of  the  fields;  treated  with  cold  disdain  the  Pichard  family, 
who  took  from  him  the  inheritance,  to  which  he  alone  had 
any  right;  lived  a  life  of  poverty  and  sequestration;  was  none 
the  less  respected;  was  of  Montcornet's  party  represented  by 
Brossette;  their  opponent,  Gmroire  Rigou,  felt  for  him  both 
esteem  and  fear.  Jean-Frangois  Niseron  lost,  one  after  an- 


350  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

other,  his  wife  and  his  two  children,  and  had  by  his  side, 
in  his  old  days,  only  Genevieve,  natural  daughter  of  his 
deceased  son,  Auguste.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Niseron  (Auguste),  son  of  the  preceding;  soldier  of  the 
Republic  and  of  the  Empire;  while  an  artilleryman  in  1809, 
he  seduced,  at  Zahara,  a  young  Montenegrin,  Zena  Kropoli, 
who  died,  at  Vincennes,  early  in  the  year  1810,  leaving  him 
an  infant  daughter.  Thus  he  could  not  realize  his  purpose 
of  marrying  her.  He  himself  was  killed,  before  Montereau, 
during  the  year  1814,  by  the  bursting  of  a  shell.  [The  Peas- 
antry.] 

Niseron  (Genevieve),  natural  daughter  of  the  preceding 
and  the  Montenegrin  woman,  Zena  Kropoli;  born  in  1810, 
and  named  Genevieve  after  a  paternal  aunt;  an  orphan  from 
the  age  of  four,  she  was  reared  in  Bourgogne  by  her  grand- 
father, Jean-Frangois  Niseron.  She  had  her  father's  beauty 
and  her  mother's  peculiarities.  Her  patronesses,  Madame 
de  Montcornet  and  Madame  de  Michaud,  bestowed  upon  her 
the  surname  Pechina,  and,  to  guard  her  against  Nicholas  Ton- 
sard's  attentions,  placed  her  in  a  convent  at  Auxerre,  where 
she  might  acquire  skill  in  sewing  and  forget  Justin  Michaud, 
whom  she  loved  unconsciously.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Noel,  book-keeper  for  Jean-Jules  Popinot  of  Paris,  in  1828, 
at  the  time  that  the  judge  questioned  the  Marquis  d'Espard, 
whose  wife  tried  to  deprive  him  of  the  right  to  manage  his 
property.  [The  Commission  in  Lunacy.] 

Noswell  (Mistress),  a  rich  and  eccentric  Englishwoman, 
who  was  in  Paris  at  the  Hotel  Lawson  about  the  middle  of 
Louis  Philippe's  reign ;  after  much  mental  debate  she  bought 
of  Fritot  the  shawl  called  Selim,  which  he  said  at  first  it  was 
"impossible"  for  him  to  sell.  [Gaudissart  II.] 

Nouastre  (Baron  de),  a  refugee  of  the  purest  noble  blood. 
A  ruined  man,  he  returned  to  Alengon  in  1800,  with  his 
daughter,  who  was  twenty-two  years  of  age,  and  found 
a  home  with  the  Marquis  d'Esgrignon,  and  died  of  grief  two 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDTE  HUMAINE  351 

months  later.     Shortly  afterwards  the  marquis  married  the 
orphan  daughter.     [Jealousies  of  a  Country  Town.] 

Nourrisson  (Madame),  was  formerly,  under  the  Empire, 
attached  to  the  service  of  the  Prince  d'Ysembourg  in  Paris. 
The  sight  of  the  disorderly  life  of  a  "great  lady  "  of  the  times 
decided  Madame  Nourrisson's  profession.  She  set  up  shop 
as  a  dealer  in  old  clothes,  and  was  also  known  as  mistress  of 
various  houses  of  shame.  Intimate  relations  with  Jacqueline 
Collin,  continued  for  more  than  twenty  years,  made  this  two- 
fold business  profitable.  The  two  matrons  willingly  ex- 
changed, at  times,  names  and  business  signs,  resources  and 
profits.  It  was  in  the  old  clothes  shop,  on  the  rue  Neuve- 
Saint-Marc,  that  Frederic  de  Nucingen  bargained  for  Esther 
van  Gobseck.  Towards  the  end  of  Charles  X.'s  reign,  one 
of  Madame  Nourrisson's  establishments,  on  the  rue  Saint- 
Barbe,  was  managed  by  La  Gonore;  in  the  time  of  Louis 
Philippe  another — a  secret  affair — existed  at  the  so-called 
"Pate  des  Italiens";  Valerie  Marneffe  and  Wenceslas  Stein- 
bock  were  once  caught  there  together.  Madame  Nourrisson, 
first  of  the  name,  evidently  continued  to  conduct  her  business 
on  the  rue  Saint-Marc,  since,  in  1845,  she  narrated  the  minu- 
tiae of  it  to  Madame  Mahuchet  before  an  audience  composed 
of  the  well-known  trio,  Bixiou,  Lora  and  Gazonal,  and  re- 
lated to  them  her  own  history,  disclosing  to  them  the  secrets 
of  her  own  long  past  beginnings  in  life.  [Scenes  from  a  Cour- 
tesan's Life.  Cousin  Betty.  The  Unconscious  Humorists.] 

Nouvion  (Comte  de),  a  noble  refugee,  who  had  returned  in 
utter  poverty;  chevalier  of  the  Order  of  Sainfc-Louis;  lived  in 
Paris  in  1828,  subsisting  on  the  delicately  disguised  charity 
of  his  friend,  the  Marquis  d'Espard,  who  made  him  super- 
intendent of  the  publication,  at  No.  22  rue  de  la  Montagne- 
Sainte-Genevieve,  of  the  ''Picturesque  History  of  China," 
and  offered  him  a  share  in  the  possible  profits  of  the  work. 
[The  Commission  in  Lunacy.] 

Noverre,  a  celebrated  dancer,  born  in  Paris  1727;  died  in 
1807 ;  was  the  rather  unreliable  customer  of  Chevrel  the  draper, 
father-in-law  and  predecessor  of  Guillaume  at  the  Cat  and 
Racket.  [At  the  Sign  of  the  Cat  and  Racket.] 


352  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDTE  HUMAINE 

Nucingen  (Baron  Frederic  de),  born,  probably  at  Stras- 
bourg, about  1767.  At  that  place  he  was  formerly  clerk 
to  M.  d'Aldrigger,  an  Alsatian  banker.  Of  better  judgment 
than  his  employer,  he  did  not  believe  in  the  success  of  the 
Emperor  in  1815  and  speculated  very  skilfully  on  the  battle  of 
Waterloo.  Nucingen  now  carried  on  business  alone,  and  on 
his  own  account,  in  Paris  and  elsewhere ;  he  thus  prepared  by 
degrees  the  famous  house  of  the  rue  Saint-Lazare,  and  laid 
the  foundation  of  a  fortune,  which,  under  Louis  Philippe, 
reached  almost  eighteen  million  francs.  At  this  period  he 
married  one  of  the  two  daughters  of  a  rich  vermicelli-maker, 
Mademoiselle  Delphine  Goriot,  by  whom  he  had  a  daughter, 
Augusta,  eventually  the  wife  of  Eugene  de  Rastignac. 
From  the  first  years  of  the  Restoration  may  be  dated  the 
real  brilliancy  of  his  career,  the  result  of  a  combination  with 
the  Kellers,  Ferdinand  du  Tillet,  and  Eugene  de  Rastignac 
in  the  successful  manipulation  of  schemes  in  connection  with 
the  Wortschin  mines,  followed  by  opportune  assignments 
and  adroitly  managed  cases  of  bankruptcy.  These  various 
combinations  ruined  the  Ragons,  the  Aiglemonts,  the  Aid- 
riggers,  and  the  Beaudenords.  At  this  time,  too,  Nucingen, 
though  clamorously  declaring  himself  an  out-and-out  Bour- 
bonist,  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  Ce"sar  Birotteau's  appeals  for 
credit,  in  spite  of  knowing  of  the  latter's  consistent  Royalism. 
There  was  a  time  in  the  baron's  life  when  he  seemed  to  change 
his  nature;  it  was  when,  after  giving  up  his  hired  dancer, 
he  madly  entered  upon  an  amour  with  Esther  van  Gobseck, 
alarmed  his  physician,  Horace  Bianchon,  employed  Corentin, 
Georges,  Louchard,  and  Peyrade,  and  became  especially  the 
prey  of  Jacques  Collin.  After  Esther's  suicide,  in  May,  1830, 
Nucingen  abandoned  "Cythera,"  as  Chardin  des  Lupeaulx 
had  done  before,  and  became  again  a  man  of  figures,  and  was 
overwhelmed  with  favors:  insignia,  the  peerage,  and  the 
cross  of  grand  officer  of  the  Legion  of  Honor.  Nucingen, 
being  respected  and  esteemed,  in  spite  of  his  blunt  ways 
and  his  German  accent,  was  a  patron  of  Beaudenord,  and  a 
frequent  guest  of  Cointet,  the  minister;  he  went  everywhere, 
and,  at  the  mansion  of  Mademoiselle  des  Touches,  heard  Mar- 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  353 

say  give  an  account  of  some  of  his  old  love-affairs ;  witnessed, 
before  Daniel  d' Arthez,  the  calumniation  of  Diane  de  Cadignan 
by  every  one  present  in  Madame  d'Espard's  parlor;  guided 
Maxime  de  Trailles  between  the  hands,  or,  rather,  the  clutches 
of  Claparon-Cerizet ;  accepted  the  invitation  of  Jose'pha  Mirah 
to  her  reception  on  the  rue  Ville-l'Eveque.  When  Wenceslas 
Steinbock  married  Hortense  Hulot,  Nucingen  and  Cottin  de 
Wissembourg  were  the  bride's  witnesses.  Furthermore,  their 
father,  Hector  Hulot  d'Ervy,  borrowed  of  him  more  than 
a  hundred  thousand  francs.  The  Baron  de  Nucingen  acted 
as  sponsor  to  Polydore  de  la  Baudraye  when  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  French  peerage.  As  a  friend  of  Ferdinand 
du  Tillet,  he  was  admitted  on  most  intimate  terms  to  the 
boudoir  of  Carabine,  and  he  was  seen  there,  one  evening  in 
1845,  along  with  Jenny  Cadine,  Gazonal,  Bixiou,  Le*on  de 
Lora,  Massol,  Claude  Vignon,  Trailles,  F.  du  Bruel,  Vauvinet, 
Marguerite  Turquet,  and  the  Gaillards  of  the  rue  Me"nars. 
[The  Firm  of  Nucingen.  Father  Goriot.  Pierrette.  C&sar 
Birotteau.  Lost  Illusions.  A  Distinguished  Provincial  at 
Paris.  Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.  Another  Study  of 
Woman.  The  Secrets  of  a  Princess.  A  Man  of  Business. 
Cousin  Betty.  The  Muse  of  the  Department.  The  Uncon- 
scious Humorists.] 

Nucingen  (Baronne  Delphine  de),  wife  of  the  preceding; 
born  in  1792;  of  fair  complexion;  the  spoiled  daughter  of 
the  opulent  vermicelli-maker,  Jean-Joachim  Goriot;  on  the 
side  of  her  mother,  who  died  young,  the  granddaughter  of 
a  farmer.     In  the  latter  period  of  the  Empire  she  contracted, 
greatly  to  her  taste,  a  marriage  for  money.     Madame  de 
Nucingen  formerly  had  as  her  lover  Henri  de  Marsay,  who 
finally  abandoned  her  most  cruelly.    Reduced,  at  the  time 
of  Louis  XVIII.,  to  the  society  of  the  Chausse'e-d'Antin, 
she  was  ambitious  to  be  admitted  to  the  Faubourg  Saint- 
Germain,  a  circle  of  which  her  elder  sister,  Madame  de  Restaud, 
was  a  member.    Eugene  de  Rastignac  opened  to  her  the  pai 
of  Madame  de  BeausSant,  his  cousin,  rue  de  Greville,  m  1! 
and,   at   about  the  same  time,  became  her  lover, 
liaison  lasted  more  than  fifteen  years.    An  apartment  on  the 


354  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

rue  d'Artois,  fitted  up  by  Jean-Joachim  Goriot,  sheltered 
their  early  love.  Having  entrusted  to  Rastignac  a  certain 
sum  for  play  at  the  Palais-Royal,  the  baroness  was  able 
with  the  proceeds  -to  free  herself  of  a  humiliating  debt  to 
Marsay.  Meanwhile  she  lost  her  father.  The  Nucingen 
carriage,  without  an  occupant,  however,  followed  the  hearse. 
[Father  Goriot.]  Madame  de  Nucingen  entertained  a  great 
deal  on  the  rue  Saint-Lazare.  It  was  there  that  Auguste 
de  Maulincour  saw  Clemence  Desmarets,  and  Adolphe  des 
Grassins  met  Charles  Grandet.  [The  Thirteen.  Eugenie 
Grandet.]  Cesar  Birotteau,  on  coming  to  beg  credit  of 
Nucingen,  as  also  did  Rodolphe  Castanier,  immediately  after 
his  forgery,  found  themselves  face  to  face  with  the  baroness. 
[Cesar  Birotteau.  Melmoth  Reconciled.]  At  this  period, 
Madame  de  Nucingen  took  the  box  at  the  Ope"ra  which  An- 
toinette de  Langeais  had  occupied,  believing  undoubtedly, 
said  Madame  d'Espard,  that  she  would  inherit  her  charms, 
wit  and  success.  [Lost  Illusions.  A  Distinguished  Provin- 
cial at  Paris.  The  Commission  in  Lunacy.]  According  to 
Diane  de  Cadignan,  Delphine  had  a  horrible  journey  when 
she  went  to  Naples  by  sea,  of  which  she  brought  back  a 
most  painful  reminder.  The  baroness  showed  a  haughty 
and  scornful  indulgence  when  her  husband  became  enamored 
of  Esther  van  Gobseck.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 
Forgetting  her  origin  she  dreamed  of  seeing  her  daughter 
Augusta  become  Duchesse  d'Herouville;  but  the  He"rouvilles, 
knowing  the  muddy  source  of  Nucingen's  millions,  declined 
this  alliance.  [Modeste  Mignon.  The  Firm  of  Nucingen.] 
Shortly  after  the  year  1830,  the  baroness  was  invited  to  the 
house  of  Felicite  des  Touches,  where  she  saw  Marsay  once 
more,  and  heard  him  give  an  account  of  an  old  love-affair. 
[Another  Study  of  Woman.]  Delphine  aided  Marie  de 
Vandenesse  and  Nathan  to  the  extent  of  forty  thousand  francs 
during  the  checkered  course  of  their  intrigues.  She  remem- 
bered indeed  having  gone  through  with  similar  experiences. 
[A  Daughter  of  Eve.]  About  the  middle  of  the  monarchy  of 
July,  Madame  de  Nucingen,  as  mother-in-law  of  Eugene 
de  Rastignac,  visited  Madame  d'Espard  and  met  Maxime 


REPERTOP.Y  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  355 

de  Trailles  and  Ferdinand  du  Tillet  in  the  Faubourg  Saint- 
Germain.     [The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Nueil  (De),  proprietor  of  the  domain  of  the  Manervilles, 
which,  doubtless,  descended  to  the  younger  son,  Gaston. 
[The  Deserted  Woman.] 

Nueil  (Madame  de),  wife  of  the  preceding,  survived  her 
husband,  and  her  eldest  son,  became  the  dowager  Comtesse 
de  Nueil,  and  afterwards  owned  the  domain  of  Manerville, 
to  which  she  withdrew  in  retirement.  She  was  the  type  of 
the  scheming  mother,  careful  and  correct,  but  worldly.  She 
matched  off  Gaston,  and  was  thereby  involuntarily  the  cause 
of  his  death.  [The  Deserted  Woman.] 

Nueil  (De),  eldest  son  of  the  preceding,  died  of  con- 
sumption in  the  reign  of  Louis  XVIII.,  leaving  the  title 
of  Comte  de  Nueil  to  his  younger  brother,  Baron  Gaston. 
cThe  Deserted  Woman.] 

Nueil  (Gaston  de),  son  of  the  Nueils  and  brother  of  the 
oreceding,  born  about  1799,  of  good  extraction  and  with 
fortune  suitable  to  his  rank.  He  went,  in  1822,  to  Bayeux, 
where  he  had  family  connect!  ms,  in  order  to  recuperate 
from  the  wearing  fatigues  of  arisian  life;  had  an  opportunity 
to  force  open  the  closed  d  or  of  Claire  de  Beause"ant,  who  had 
been  living  in  retirement  in  that  vicinity  ever  since  the  mar- 
riage of  Miguel  d'Ajuda-Pinto  to  Berthe  de  Rochefide;  he  fell 
in  love  with  her,  his  love  was  reciprocated,  and  for  nearly  ten 
years  he  lived  with  her  as  her  husband  in  Nonnandie  and 
Switzerland.  Albert  Savarus,  in  his  autobiographical  novel, 
"L'Ambitieux  par  Amour,"  made  a  vague  reference  to  them 
as  living  together  on  the  shore  of  Lake  Geneva.  After  the 
Revolution  of  1830,  Gaston  de  Nueil,  already  rich  from  his 
Norman  estates  that  afforded  an  income  of  eighteen  thousand 
francs,  married  Mademoiselle  Stephanie  de  la  _ 
Wearying  of  the  marriage  tie,  he  wished  to  renew  his  former 
relations  with  Madame  de  Beause^ant.  Exasperated  by 
haughty  repulse  at  the  hands  of  his  former  mistress,  ! 
killed  himself.  [The  Deserted  Woman.  Albert  Savarus.] 


356  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Nueil  (Madame  Gaston  de),  born  Stephanie  de  la  Rodi&re, 
about  1812,  a  very  insignificant  character,  married,  at  the 
beginning  of  Louis  Philippe's  reign,  Gaston  de  Nueil,  to  whom 
she  brought  an  income  of  forty  thousand  francs  a  year. 
She  was  enceinte  after  the  first  month  of  her  marriage. 
Having  become  Comtesse  de  Nueil,  by  succession,  upon  the 
death  of  her  brother-in-law,  and  being  deserted  by  Gaston, 
she  continued  to  live  in  Normandie.  Madame  Gaston  de 
Nueil  survived  her  husband.  [The  Deserted  Woman.] 


O'Flaharty  (Major),  maternal  uncle  of  Raphael  de  Valentin, 
to  whom  he  bequeathed  ten  millions  upon  his  death  in  Cal- 
cutta, August,  1828.  [The  Magic  Skin.] 

Oignard,  in  1806  was  chief  clerk  to  Maitre  Bordin,  a 
Parisian  lawyer.  [A  Start  in  Life.] 

Olga,  daughter  of  the  Topinards,  born  in  1840.  She  was 
not  a  legitimate  child,  as  "'  parents  were  not  married  at 
the  time  when  Schmucke  saw  her  with  them  in  1845.  He 
loved  her  for  the  beauty  of  her  light  Teutonic  hair.  [Cousin 
Pons.] 

Olivet,  an  Angouleme  lawyer,  succeeded  by  Petit-Claud. 
[Lost  Illusions.] 

Olivier  was  in  the  service  of  the  policemen,  Corentin  and 
Peyrade,  when  they  found  the  Hauteserres  and  the  Simeuses 
with  the  Cinq-Cygne  family  in  1803.  [The  Gondreville 
Mystery.] 

Olivier  (Monsieur  and  Madame), first  in  the  employ  of  Charles 
X.  as  outrider  and  laundress;  had  charge  of  three  children, 
of  whom  the  eldest  became  an  under  notary's  clerk;  were 
finally,  under  Louis  Philippe,  servants  of  the  Marneffes 
and  of  Mademoiselle  Fischer,  to  whom,  through  craftiness 
or  gratitude,  they  devoted  themselves  exclusively  [Cousin 
Betty.] 

Orfano  (Due  d'),  title  of  Marshal  Cottin. 


REPERTORY  OF  THE   COMEDIE  HUMAINK  357 

Orgemont  (D'),  wealthy  and  avaricious  banker,  proprietor 
at  Fougeres,  bought  the  Abbaye  de  Juvigny's  estate.  He 
remained  neutral  during  the  Chouan  insurrection  of  1799 
and  came  into  contact  with  Coupiau,  Galope-Chopine,  and 
Mesdames  du  Gua-Saint-Cyr  and  de  Montauran.  [The 
Chouans.] 

Orgemont  (D'),  brother  of  the  preceding,  a  Breton  priest 
who  took  the  oath  of  allegiance.  He  died  in  1795  and  was 
buried  in  a  secluded  spot,  discovered  and  preserved  by  M. 
d'  Orgemont,  the  banker,  as  a  place  of  hiding  from  the  fury 
of  the  Vendeans.  [The  Chouans.] 

Origet,  famous  Tours  physician;  known  to  the  Mortsaufs, 
chatelains  of  Clochegourde.  [The  Lily  of  the  Valley.] 

Orsonval  (Madame  d'),  frequently  visited  the  Cruchot 
and  Grandet  f  milies  at  Saumur.  [Eugenie  Grandet. 

Ossian,  valet  in  the  service  of  Mougin,  the  well-known 
hair-dresser  on  the  Place  de  la  Bourse,  in  1845.  Ossian's 
duty  was  to  show  the  patrons  out,  and  in  this  capacity  he 
attended  Bixiou,  Lora  and  Gazonal.  [The  Unconscious 
Humorists.] 

Ottoboni,  an  Italian  conspirator  who  hid  in  Paris.  In  1831, 
on  dining  at  the  Giardinis  on  rue  Froidmanteau,  he  became 
acquainted  with  the  Gambaras.  [Gambara.] 


Paccard,  released  convict,  in  Jacques  Collin's  clutches, 
well  known  as  a  thief  and  drunkard.  He  was  Prudence 
Servien's  lover,  and  both  were  employed  by  Esther  van 
Gobseck  at  the  same  time,  Paccard  being  a  footman;  lived 
with  a  carriage-maker  on  rue  de  Provence,  in  1829.  After 
stealing  seven  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  francs,  which 
had  been  left  by  Esther  van  Gobseck,  he  was  obliged  to  give 
up  seven  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  of  them.  [Scenes 
from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Paccard   (Mademoiselle),  sister  of  the  preceding,  in  the 


358  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

power   of   Jacqueline   Collin.    [Scenes  from   a   Courtesan's 
Life.] 

Palma,  Parisian  banker  of  the  Poissoniere  suburbs;  had, 
during  the  regime  of  the  Restoration  and  of  July,  great  fame 
as  a  financier.  He  was  "private  counsel  for  the  Keller  es- 
tablishment." Birotteau,  the  perfumer,  at  the  time  of 
his  financial  troubles,  vainly  asked  him  for  help.  [The  Finn 
of  Nucingen.  Ce"sar  Birotteau.]  With  Werbrust  as  a  partner 
he  dealt  in  discounts  as  shrewdly  as  did  Gobseck  and  Bidault, 
and  thus  was  in  a  position  to  help  Lucien  de  Rubempre". 
[Gobseck.  Lost  Illusions.  A  Distinguished  Provincial  at 
Paris.]  He  was  also  M.  Werbrust's  associate  in  the  muslin, 
calico  and  oil-cloth  establishment  at  No.  5  rue  du  Sen  tier, 
when  Maximilien  was  so  friendly  with  the  Fontaines.  [The 
Ball  at  Sgeaux.] 

Pamiers  (Vidame  de),  "oracle  of  Faubourg  Saint-Germain 
at  the  time  of  the  Restoration,"  a  member  of  the  family 
council  dealing  with  Antoinette  de  Langeais,  who  was  ac- 
cused of  compromising  herself  with  Montriveau.  Past- 
commander  of  the  Order  of  Malta,  prominent  in  both  the 
eighteenth  and  nineteenth  centuries,  old  and  confidential 
friend  of  the  Baronne  de  Maulincour.  Palmiers  reared  the 
young  Baron  Auguste  de  Maulincour,  defending  him  with 
all  his  power  against  Bourignard's  hatred.  [The  Thirteen.] 
As  a  former  intimate  friend  of  the  Marquis  d'Esgrignon,  the 
vidame  introduced  the  Vicomte  d'Esgrignon — Victurnien — to 
Diane  de  Maufrigneuse.  An  intimate  friendship  between 
the  young  man  and  the  future  Princess  de  Cadignan  was  the 
result.  [Jealousies  of  a  Country  Town.] 

Pannier,  merchant  and  banker  after  1794;  treasurer  of  tie 
"brigands";  connected  with  the  uprising  of  the  Chauffeurs 
of  Mortagne  in  1809.  Having  been  condemned  to  twenty 
years  of  hard  labor,  Pannier  was  branded  and  placed  in 
the  galleys.  Appointed  lieutenant-general  under  Louis 
XVIII.,  he  governed  a  royal  castle.  He  died  without  chil- 
dren. [The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  359 

Paradis,  born  in  1830;  Maxime  de  Trailles'  servant-bo  j 
or  "tiger";  quick  and  bold;  made  a  tour,  during  the  election 
period  in  the  spring  of  1839,  through  the  Arcis-sur-Aube 
district,  with  his  master,  meeting  Goulard,  the  sub-prefect, 
Poupart,  the  tavern-keeper,  and  the  Maufrigneuses  and  Mol- 
lots  of  Cinq-Cygne.  [The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Parquoi  (Francois),  one  of  the  Chouans,  for  whom  Abbe" 
Gudin  held  a  funeral  mass  in  the  heart  of  the  forest,  not  far 
from  Fougeres,  in  the  autumn  of  1799.  Frangois  Parquoi 
died,  as  did  Nicolas  Laferte,  Joseph  Brouet  and  Sulpice 
Coupiau,  of  injuries  received  at  the  battle  of  La  Pelerine 
and  at  the  siege  of  Fougeres.  [The  Chouans.] 

Pascal,  porter  of  the  Thuilliers  in  their  Place  de  la  Madeleine 
house;  acted  also  as  beadle  at  La  Madeleine  church.  [The 
Middle  Classes.] 

Pascal  (Abbe),  chaplain  at  Limoges  prison  in  1829;  gentle 
old  man.  He  tried  vainly  to  obtain  a  confession  from  Jean- 
Frangois  Tascheron,  who  had  been  imprisoned  for  robbery 
followed  by  murder.  [The  Country  Parson.] 

Pastelot,  priest  in  1845,  in  the  Saint-Frangois  church  in 
the  Marais,  on  the  street  now  called  rue  Chariot;  watched  over 
the  dead  body  of  Sylvain  Pons.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Pastureau  (Jean  Frangois),  in  1829,  owner  of  an  estate  in 
Isere,  the  value  of  which  was  said  to  have  been  impaired 
by  the  passing  by  of  Doctor  Benassis'  patients.  [The 
Country  Doctor] 

Patrat  (Maltre),  notary  at  Fougeres  in  1799,  an  acquaint- 
ance of  D'Orgemont,  the  banker,  and  introduced  to  Marie 
de  Verneuil  by  the  old  miser.  [The  Chouans.] 

Patriote,  a  monkey,  which  Marie  de  Verneuil,  its  owner, 
had  taught  to  counterfeit  Danton.  The  craftiness  of  this 
animal  reminded  Marie  of  Corentin.  [The  Chouans.] 

Pauline,  for  a  long  time  Julie  d'Aiglemont's  waiting-maid. 
[A  Woman  of  Thirty.] 

Paulmier,  employed  under  the  Restoration  in  the  Ministry 


360  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

of  Finance  in  Isidore  Baudoyer's  bureau  of  Flamet  de  la 
Billardiere's  division.  Paulmier  was  a  bachelor,  but  quarreled 
continually  with  his  married  colleague,  Chazelles.  [The  Gov- 
ernment Clerks.] 

Paz  (Thaddee),  Polish  descendant  of  a  distinguished 
Florentine  family,  the  Pazzi,  one  of  whose  members  had  be- 
come a  refugee  in  Poland.  Living  contemporaneously 
with  his  fellow-citizen  and  friend,  the  Comte  Adam  Mitgislas 
Laginski,  like  him  Thaddee  Paz  fought  for  his  country, 
later  on  following  him  into  exile  in  Paris,  during  the  reign 
of  Louis  Philippe.  Bearing  up  bravely  in  his  poverty,  he 
was  willing  to  become  steward  to  the  count,  and  he  made 
an  able  manager  of  the  Laginski  mansion.  He  gave  up 
this  position,  when,  having  become  enamored  of  Clementine 
Laginska,  he  saw  that  he  could  no  longer  control  his  passion 
by  means  of  a  pretended  mistress,  Marguerite  Turquet, 
the  horsewoman.  Paz  (pronounced  Pac),  who  had  willingly 
assumed  the  title  of  captain,  had  seen  the  Steinbocks  mar- 
ried. His  departure  from  France  was  only  feigned,  and  he 
once  more  saw  the  Comtesse  Laginska,  during  the  winter 
of  1842.  At  Rusticoli  he  took  her  from  La  Palfe"rine,  who 
was  on  the  point  of  carrying  her  away.  [The  Imaginary 
Mistress.  Cousin  Betty.] 

P€china   (La),   nick-name  of  GeneviSve  Niseron. 

Pederotti  (Signor),  father  of  Madame  Maurice  de  1'Hostal. 
He  was  a  Genoa  banker;  gave  his  only  daughter  a  dowry  of  a 
million;  married  her  to  the  French  consul,  and  left  her,  on  dy- 
ing six  months  later  in  January,  1831,  a  fortune  made  in  grain 
and  amounting  to  two  millions.  Pederotti  had  been  made 
count  by  the  King  of  Sardinia,  but,  as  he  left  no  male  heir, 
the  title  became  extinct.  [Honorine.] 

Pelletier,  one  of  Benassis'  patients  in  Isere,  who  died  in 
1829,  was  buried  on  the  same  day  as  the  last  "  cretin,"  which 
had  been  kept  on  account  of  popular  superstition.  Pelletier 
left  a  wife,  who  saw  Genestas,  and  several  children,  of  whom 
the  eldest,  Jacques,  was  born  about  1807.  [The  Country 
Doctor.] 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  361 

Pen-Hoel  (Jacqueline  de),  of  a  very  old  Breton  family, 
lived  at  Guerande,  where  she  was  born  about  1780.  Sister- 
in-law  of  the  Kergarouets  of  Nantes,  the  patrons  of  Major 
Brigaut,  who,  despite  the  displeasure  of  the  people,  did  not 
themselves  hesitate  to  assume  the  name  of  Pen-Hoel.  Jacque- 
line protected  the  daughters  of  her  younger  sister,  the 
Vicomtesse  de  Kergarouet.  She  was  especially  attracted  to 
her  eldest  niece,  Charlotte,  to  whom  she  intended  to  give  a 
dowry,  as  she  desired  the  girl  to  marry  Calyste  du  Gue"nic, 
who  was  in  love  with  Felicite  des  Touches.  [Beatrix.] 

Pe*roux  (Abbe),  brother  of  Madame  Julliard;  vicar  of 
Provins  during  the  Restoration.  [Pierrette.] 

Perrache,  small  hunchback,  shoemaker  by  trade,  and, 
in  1840,  porter  in  a  house  belonging  to  Corentin  on  rue  Honore"- 
Chevalier,  Paris.  [The  Middle  Classes.] 

Perrache  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding,  often  visited 
Madame  Cardinal,  niece  of  Toupillier,  one  of  Corentin's 
renters.  [The  Middle  Classes.] 

Perret,  with  his  partner,  Grosstete,  preceded  Pierre  Graslin 
in  a  banking-house  at  Limoges,  in  the  early  part  of  the  nine- 
teenth century.  [The  Country  Parson.] 

Perret  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding,  an  old  woman 
in  1829,  disturbed  herself,  as  did  every  one  in  Limoges, 
over  the  assassination  committed  by  Jean-Frangois  Tascheron. 
[The  Country  Parson.] 

Perrotet,  in  1819,  laborer  on  Fe"lix  Grandet's  farm  in  the 
suburbs  of  Saumur.  [Eugenie  Grandet.] 

Petit-Claud,  son  of  a  very  poor  tailor  of  L'Houmeau, 
a  suburb  of  Angouleme,  where  he  pursued  his  studies  in  the 
town  lyceum,  becoming  acquainted  at  the  same  time  with 
Lucien  de  Rubcmpre.  He  studied  law  at  Poitiers.  On 
going  back  to  the  chief  city  of  La  Charente,  he  became  clerk 
to  Maitre  Olivet,  an  attorney  whom  he  succeeded.  Now 
began  Petit-Claud's  period  of  revenge  for  the  insults  which 
his  poverty  and  homeliness  had  brought  on.  He  met 


362  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Cointet,  the  printer,  &nd  went  into  his  employ,  although  at 
the  same  time  he  feigned  allegiance  to  the  younger  Sechard, 
also  a  printer.  This  conduct  paved  the  way  for  his  accession 
to  the  magistracy.  He  was  in  turn  deputy  and' king's  pro- 
cureur.  Petit-Claud  did  not  leave  Angouleme,  but  made  a 
profitable  marriage  in  1822  with  Mademoiselle  Frangoise 
de  la  Haye,  natural  daughter  of  Francis  du  Hautoy  and 
of  Madame  de  Senonches.  [Lost  Illusions.] 

Petit-Claud  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding,  natural  daugh- 
ter of  Francis  du  Hautoy  and  of  Madame  de  Senonches; 
born  Frangoise  de  la  Haye,  given  into  the  keeping  of  old 
Madame  Cointet;  married  through  the  instrumentality 
of  Madame  Cointet's  son,  the  printer,  known  as  Cointet  the 
Great.  Madame  Petit-Claud,  though  insignificant  and  for- 
ward, was  provided  with  a  very  substantial  dowry.  [Lost 
Illusions.] 

Peyrade,  born  about  1758  in  Provence,  Comtat,  in  a  large 
family  of  poor  people  who  eked  out  a  scant  subsistence  on 
a  small  estate  called  Canquoelle.  Peyrade,  paternal  uncle 
of  The'odose  de  la  Peyrade,  was  of  noble  birth,  but  kept  the 
fact  secret.  He  went  from  Avignon  to  Paris  in  1776,  where 
he  entered  the  police  force  two  years  later.  Lenoir  thought 
well  of  him.  Peyrade's  success  in  life  was  impaired  only  by 
his  immoralities;  otherwise  it  would  have  been  much  more 
brilliant  and  lasting.  He  had  a  genius  for  spying,  also 
much  executive  ability.  Fouche  employed  him  and  Corentin 
in  connection  with  the  affair  of  Gondreville's  imaginary 
abduction.  A  kind  of  police  ministry  was  given  to  him 
in  Holland.  Louis  XVIII.  counseled  with  him  and  gave  him 
employment,  but  Charles  X.  held  aloof  from  this  shrewd  em- 
ploye". Peyrade  lived  in  poverty  on  rue  des  Moineaux  with 
an  adored  daughter,  Lydie,  the  child  of  La  Beaumesnil  of  the 
Come'die-Frangaise.  Certain  events  brought  him  into  the 
notice  of  Nucingen,  who  employed  him  in  the  search  for 
Esther  Gobseck,  at  the  same  time  warning  him  against 
the  courtesan's  followers.  The  police  department,  having 
been  told  of  this  arrangement  by  the  so-called  Abbe  Carlos 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMED1E  HUMAINE  363 

Herrera,  would  not  permit  him  to  enter  into  the  employ 
of  a  private  individual.  Despite  the  protection  of  his  friend, 
Corentin,  and  the  talent  as  a  policeman,  which  he  had  shown 
under  the  assumed  names  of  Canquoelle  and  Saint-Germain, 
especially  in  connection  with  F.  Gaudissart's  seizure,  Peyrade 
failed  in  his  struggle  with  Jacques  Collin.  His  excellent 
transformation  into  a  nabob  defender  of  Madame  Theodore 
Gainard  made  the  former  convict  so  angry  that,  during  the 
last  years  of  the  Restoration,  he  took  revenge  on  him  by 
making  way  with  him.  Peyrade's  daughter  was  abducted 
and  he  died  from  the  effects  of  poison.  [The  Gondreville 
Mystery.  Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Peyrade    (Lydie).1     (See    La    Peyrade,    Madame    Theo- 

dose  de.) 

Phellion,  born  in  1780,  husband  of  a  Le  Perche  woman, 
who  bore  him  three  children,  two  of  whom  were  sons,  Felix 
and  Marie-Theodore,  and  one  a  daughter,  who  became  Madame 
Barniol;  derk  in  the  Ministry  of  Finance,  Xavier  Rabourdin 's 
bureau,  division  of  Flamet  de  la  Billardiere,  a  position  which 
he  held   until   the   close  of   1824.     He  upheld  Rabourdin, 
who,   in   turn,   often   defended   him.     While  living  on  rue 
du  Faubourg-Saint-Jacques  near  the  Sourds-Muets,  he  taught 
history,  literature  and  elementary  ethics  to  the  students  of 
Mesdemoiseiles    La    Grave.     The    Revolution   of   July    did 
not  affect  him ;  even  his  retirement  from  service  did  not  cause 
him  to  give  xip  the  home  in  which  he  remained  for  at  least 
thirty  years.     He    bought   for   eighteen  thousand  francs  a 
small  house  on  Feuillantines  lane,  now  rue  des  Feuillantines, 
which  he  occupied,  after  he  had  improved  it,  in  a  serious 
Bourgeois  manner.     Phellion  was  a  major  in  the  National 
Guard.     For  the  most  part  he  still  had  the  same  friends, 
meeting  and  visiting  frequently  Baudoyer,  Dutocq,  Kin  TV. 
Godard,  Laudigeois,  Rabourdin,  Madame  Poiret  the  i-Klrr. 
and  especially  the  Colleville,  Thuillier  and  Minard  families. 
His  leisure  time  was  occupied  with  politics  and  art.     At  the 

1  Under  the  title  of  "Lydie"  a  portion  of  the  life  of  Poyrade's  daughter  wan  ui*d 
in  a  play  presented  at  the  Theatre  des  Nations,  now  Theatre  de  Paria.  but  the 
author  did  not  publish  his  play. 


364  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Ode"on  he  was  on  a  committee  of  classical  reading.  His 
political  influence  and  vote  were  sought  by  Theodose  de 
la  Peyrade  in  the  interest  of  Je'rome  Thuillier's  candidacy 
for  the  General  Council;  for  Phellion  favored  another  candi- 
date, Horace  Bianchon,  relative  of  the  highly-honored  J.-J. 
Popinot.  [The  Government  Clerks.  The  Middle  Classes.] 

Phellion  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding;  belonged  to  a 
family  who  lived  in  a  western  province.  Her  family  being 
so  large  that  the  income  of  more  than  nine  thousand  francs, 
pension  and  rentals,  was  insufficient,  she  continued,  under 
Louis  Philippe,  to  give  lessons  in  harmony  to  Mesdemoiselles 
La  Grave,  as  in  the  Restoration,  with  the  strictness  observed 
in  her  every-day  life. 

Phellion  (Felix),  eldest  son  of  the  preceding  couple, 
born  in  1817;  professor  of  mathematics  in  a  Royal  college  at 
Paris,then  a  member  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences,  and  chevalier 
of  the  Legion  of  Honor.  By  his  remarkable  works  and  his 
discovery  of  a  star,  he  was  thus  made  famous  before  he  was 
twenty-five  years  old,  and  married,  after  this  fame  had  come  to 
him,  Celeste-Louise-Caroline-Brigitte  Colleville,  the  sister  of 
one  of  his  pupils  and  a  woman  for  whom  his  love  was  so 
strong  that  he  gave  up  Voltairism  for  Catholicism.  [The 
Middle  Classes.] 

Phellion  (Madame  Felix), wife  of  the  preceding ;  born  Celeste- 
Louise-Caroline-Brigitte  Colleville.  Although  M.  and  Madame 
Colleville's  daughter,  she  was  reared  almost  entirely  by  the 
Thuilliers.  Indeed,  M.  L.-J.  Thuillier,  who  had  been  one  of 
Madame  Flavie  Colleville's  lovers,  passed  for  Celeste's  father. 
M.,  Madame  and  Mademoiselle  Thuillier  were  all  deter- 
mined to  give  her  their  Christian  names  and  to  make,  up  a 
large  dowry  for  her.  Olivier  Vinet,  Godeschal,  Theodose 
de  la  Peyrade,  all  wished  to  marry  Mademoiselle  Colleville. 
Nevertheless,  although  she  was  a  devoted  Christian,  she 
loved  Felix  Phellion.  the  Voltairean,  and  married  him  after 
his  conversion  to  Catholicism.  [The  Middle  Classes.] 

Phellion  (Marie-Theodore),  Felix  Phellion's  younger  brother, 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  365 

in  1840  pupil  at  the  Ecole  des  Fonts  et  Chausse"es.    [The 
Middle  Classes.] 

Philippart  (Messieurs),  owners  of  a  porcelain  manufactory 
at  Limoges,  in  which  was  employed  Jean-Francois  Tascheron, 
the  murderer  of  Pingret  and  Jeanne  Malassis.  [The  Country 
Parson.] 

Philippe,  employed  in  Madame  Marie  Gaston's  family; 
formerly  an  attendant  of  the  Princesse  de  Vaure"mont; 
later  became  the  Due  Henri  de  Chaulieu's  servant;  finally 
entered  Marie  Gaston's  household,  where  he  was  employed 
after  his  wife's  decease.  [Letters  of  Two  Brides.  The  Mem- 
ber for  Arcis.] 

Pichard  (Mademoiselle),  house-keeper  of  Niseron,  vicar 
of  Blangy  in  Bourgogne..  Prior  to  1789  she  brought  her 
niece,  Mademoiselle  Arsene  Pichard,  to  his  house.  [The 
Peasantry.] 

Pichard  (Arsene),  niece  of  the  preceding.  (See  Rigou, 
Madame  Gregoire.)  [The  Peasantry.] 

Picot  (Nepomucene),  astronomer  and  mathematician, 
friend  of  Biot  after  1807,  author  of  a  "Treatise on  Differential 
Logarithms,"  and  especially  of  a  "Theory  of  Perpetual 
Motion,"  four  volumes,  quarto,  with  engravings,  Paris, 
1825;  lived,  in  1840,  No.  9  rue  du  Val-de-Grace.  Being  very 
near-sighted  and  erratic,  the  prey  of  his  thieving  servant, 
Madame  Lambert,  his  family  thought  that  he  needed  a  pro- 
tector. Being  instructor  of  Fe"lix  Phellion,  with  whom  he 
took  a  trip  to  England,  Picot  made  known  his  pupil's  great 
ability,  which  the  boy  had  modestly  kept  secret,  at  the  home 
of  the  Thuilliers,  Place  de  la  Madeleine,  before  an  audience 
composed  of  the  Collevilles,  Minards  and  Phellions.  Celeste 
Colleville's  future  was  thus  determined.  As  Picot  was  deco- 
rated late  in  life,  his  marriage  to  a  wealthy  and  eccentric 
Englishwoman  of  forty  was  correspondingly  late.  After 
passing  through  a  successful  operation  for  a  cancer,  he  re- 
turned, "a  new  man,"  to  the  home  of  the  Thuilliers.  He 
was  led  through  gratitude  to  leave  to  the  Felix  Phellions  the 
wealth  brought  him  by  Madame  Picot.  [The  Middle  Classes.] 


366  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Picquoiseau  (Comtesse),  widow  of  a  colonel.  She  and 
Madame  de  Vaumerland  boarded  with  one  of  Madame 
Vauquer's  rivals,  according  to  Madame  de  PAmbermesnil. 
[Father  Goriot.] 

Pius  VII.  (Barnabas  Chiaramonti),  lived  from  1740  till 
1823;  pope.  Having  been  asked  by  letter  in  1806,  if  a  woman 
might  go  decolkte  to  the  ball  or  to  the  theatre,  without 
endangering  her  welfare,  he  answered  his  correspondent, 
Madame  Angelique  de  Granville,  in  a  manner  befitting  the 
gentle  Fenelon.  [A  Second  Home.] 

PiSdefer  (Abraham),  descendant  of  a  middle  class  Cal- 
vinist  family  of  Sancerre,  whose  ancestors  in  the  sixteenth 
century  were  skilled  workmen,  and  subsequently  woolen- 
drapers;  failed  in  business  during  the  reign  of  Louis  XVI.; 
died  about  1786,  leaving  two  sons,  Moiise  and  Silas,  in  poverty. 
[The  Muse  of  the  Department.] 

Pi^defer  (Moiise),  elder  son  of  the  preceding,  profited  by 
the  Revolution  in  imitating  his  forefathers ;  tore  down  abbeys 
and  churches;  married  the  only  daughter  of  a  Convention 
member  who  had  been  guillotined,  and  by  her  had  a  child, 
Dinah,  later  Madame  Milaud  de  la  Baudraye ;  compromised  his 
fortune  by  his  agricultural  speculations;  died  in  1819.  [The 
Muse  of  the  Department.] 

Pi^defer  (Silas),  son  of  Abraham  Pie"defer,  and  younger 
brother  of  the  preceding;  did  not  receive,  as  did  Moiise  Piedefer, 
his  part  of  the  small  paternal  fortune;  went  to  the  Indies; 
died,  about  1837,  in  New  York,  with  a  fortune  of  twelve 
hundred  thousand  francs.  This  money  was  inherited  by 
his  niece,  Madame  de  la  Baudraye,  but  was  seized  by  her 
husband.  [The  Muse  of  the  Department.] 

Pie"defer  (Madame  Moi'se),  sister-in-law  of  the  preceding, 
unaffable  and  excessively  pious;  pensioned  by  her  son-in- 
law;  lived  successively  in  Sancerre  and  at  Paris  with  her 
daughter,  Madame  de  la  Baudraye,  whom  she  manage  <1  to 
separate  from  Etienne  Lousteau.  [The  Muse  of  the  Depart- 
ment.] 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  367 

Pierquin,  born  about  1786,  successor  to  his  father  as  notary 
in  Douai ;  distant  cousin  of  the  Molina-Claes  of  rue  de  Paris, 
through  the  Pierquins  of  Antwerp;  self-interested  and  positive 
by  nature;  aspired  to  the  hand  of  Marguerite  Claes,  eldest 
daughter  of  Balthazar,  who  afterwards  became  Madame 
Emmanuel  de  Solis;  finally  married  Felicie,  a  younger  sister 
of  his  first  choice,  in  the  second  year  of  Charles  X.'s  reign. 
[The  Quest  of  the  Absolute.] 

Pierquin  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding,  born  Fdlicie 
Claes,  found,  as  a  young  girl,  a  second  mother  in  her  elder 
sister,  Marguerite.  [The  Quest  of  the  Absolute.] 

Pierquin,  brother-in-law  of  the  preceding;  physician  who 
attended  the  Claes  at  Douai.  [The  Quest  of  the  Absolute.] 

Pierrot,  assumed  name  of  Charles-Am^de'e-Louis-Joseph 
Rifoel,  Chevalier  du  Vissard.  [The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Pierrotin,  born  in  1781.  After  having  served  in  the  cavalry, 
he  left  the  service  in  1815  to  succeed  his  father  as  manager 
of  a  stage-line  between  Paris  and  Isle-Adam — an  undertaking 
which,  though  only  moderately  successful,  finally  flourished. 
One  morning  in  the  autumn  of  1822,  he  received  as  pas- 
sengers, at  the  Lion  d'Argent,  some  people,  either  famous  or 
of  rising  fame,  the  Comte  Hugret  de  Se*rizy,  Leon  de  Lora 
and  Joseph  Bridau,  and  took  them  to  Presles,  a  place  near 
Beaumont.  Having  become  "coach-proprietor  of  Oise," 
in  1838  he  married  his  daughter,  Georgette,  to  Oscar  Husson,  a 
high  officer,  who,  upon  retiring,  had  been  appointed  to  a 
collectorship  in  Beaumont,  and  who,  like  the  Canalises  and 
the  Moreaus,  had  for  a  long  time  been  one  of  Pierrotin's 
customers.  [A  Start  in  Life.] 

Pietro,  Corsican  servant  of  the  Bartolomeo  di  Piombos, 
kinsmen  of  Madame  Luigi  Porta.  [The  Vendetta.] 

Pigeau,  during  the  Restoration,  at  one  time  head-carrier 
and  afterwards  owner  of  a  small  house,  which  he  had  built 
with  his  own  hands  and  on  a  very  economical  basis,  at 
terre  (between  Paris   and  Saint-Germain-in-Laye.)     [Scenes 
from  a  Courtesan's  Life.j 


368  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Pigeau  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding;  belonged  to  a 
family  of  wine  merchants.  After  her  husband's  death, 
about  the  end  of  the  Restoration,  she  inherited  a  little 
property,  which  caused  her  much  unhappiness,  in  consequence 
of  her  avarice  and  distrust.  Madame  Pigeau  was  planning 
to  remove  from  Nanterre  to  Saint-Germain  with  a  view 
to  living  there  on  her  annuity,  when  she  was  murdered, 
with  her  servant  and  her  dogs,  by  Theodore  Calvi,  in  the 
winter  of  1828-29.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Pigeron,  of  Auxerre,  was  murdered,  it  is  said,  by  his  wife; 
be  that  as  it  may,  the  autopsy,  entrusted  to  Vermut,  a  drug- 
gist of  Soulanges,  in  Bourgogne,  proved  the  use  of  poison. 
[The  Peasantry.] 

Pigoult,  was  head  clerk  in  the  office  where  Malin  de  Gondre- 
ville  and  GreVin  studied  pettifogging;  was,  about  1806, 
first  justice  of  the  peace  at  Arcis,  and  then  president  of  the 
tribunal  of  the  same  town,  at  the  time  of  the  lawsuit  in 
connection  with  the  abduction  of  Malin,  when  he  and  Grevin 
were  the  p'rosecuting  attorneys.  [The  Gondreville  Mystery.] 
In  the  neighborhood  of  1839,  Pigoult  was  still  living,  having 
his  home  in  the  ward.  At  that  time  he  made  public  recog- 
nition of  Pantaleon,  Marquis  de  Sallenauve,  and  supposed 
father  of  Charles  Dorlange,  Comte  de  Sallenauve,  thus  serving 
the  interests,  or  rather  the  ambitions,  of  the  deputy.  [The 
Member  for  Arcis.] 

Pigoult,  son  of  the  preceding,  acquired  the  hat  manufac- 
tory of  Phileas  Beauvisage,  made  a  failure  of  the  undertaking, 
and  committed  suicide ;  but  appeared  to  have  had  a  natural, 
though  sudden,  death.  [The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Pigoult  (Achille),  son  of  the  preceding  and  grandson  of 
the  next  preceding,  born  in  1801.  A  man  of  unattractive 
personality,  but  of  great  intelligence,  he  supplanted  Grevin, 
and,  in  1819,  was  the  busiest  notary  of  Arcis.  Gondreville's 
influence,  and  his  intimacy  with  Beauvisage  and  Giguet, 
were  the  causes  of  his  taking  a  prominent  part  in  the  political 
contests  of  that  period;  he  opposed  Simon  Giguet's  candidacy, 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  3C.9 

and  successfully  supported  the  Comte  de  Sallenauve.  The 
introduction  of  the  Marquis  Pantaloon  de  Sallenauve  to 
old  Pigoult  was  brought  about  through  Achille  Pigoult, 
and  assured  a  triumph  for  the  sculptor,  Sallenauve-Dorlange. 
[The  Member  for  Arcis.J 

Pillerault  (Claude- Joseph),  a  very  upright  Parisian  trader, 
proprietor  of  the  Cloche  d'Or,  a  hardware  establishment 
on  the  Quai  de  la  Ferraille ;  made  a  modest  fortune,  and  re- 
tired from  business  in  1814.  After  losing,  one  after  another, 
his  wife,  his  son,  and  an  adopted  child,  Pillerault  devoted 
his  life  to  his  niece,  Constance-Barbe-Jose"phine,  of  whom 
he  was  guardian  and  only  relative.  Pillerault  lived  on  the 
rue  des  Bourdonnais,  in  1818,  occupying  a  small  apartment 
let  to  him  by  Camusot  of  the  Cocon  d'Or.  During  that  period, 
Pillerault  was  remarkable  for  the  intelligence,  energy  and 
courage  displayed  in  connection  with  the  unfortunate  Birot- 
teaus,  who  were  falling  into  bad  repute.  He  found  out 
Claparon,  and  terrified  Molineux,  both  enemies  of  the  Birot- 
teaus.  Politics  and  the  Cafe  David,  situated  between  the 
rue  de  la  Monnaie  and  the  rue  Saint-Honor^,  consumed  the 
leisure  hours  of  Pillerault,  who  was  a  stoical  and  staunch 
Republican;  he  was  exceedingly  considerate  of  Madame 
Vaillant,  his  house-keeper,  and  treated  Manuel,  Foy,  Perier, 
Lafayette  and  Courier  as  gods.  [Ce"sar  Birotteau.]  Pil- 
lerault lived  to  a  very  advanced  age.  The  Anselme  Popinots, 
his  grand-nephew  and  grand-niece,  paid  him  a  visit  in  1844. 
Poulain  cured  the  old  man  of  an  illness  when  he  was  more 
than  eighty  years  of  age;  he  then  owned  an  establishment 
(rue  de  Normandie,  in  the  Marais),  managed  by  the  CUw-N. 
and  counting  among  its  occupants  the  Chapoulot  family, 
Schmucke  and  Sylvain  Pons.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Pillerault  (Constance-Barbe- Josephine).  (See  Birotteau, 
Madame  Cesar.) 

Pimentel  (Marquis  and  Marquise  de),  enjoyed  extended  in- 
fluence during  the  Restoration,  not  only  with  the  society 
element  of  Paris,  but  especially  in  the  department  of  Charente, 
where  they  spent  their  summers.  They  were  reputed  to  be 


370  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HTJMAINE 

the  wealthiest  land-owners  around  Angouleme,  were  on  in- 
timate terms  with  their  peers,  the  Rastignacs,  together  with 
whom  they  composed  the  shining  lights  of  the  Bargeton 
circle.  [Lost  Illusions.] 

Pinaud  (Jacques),  a  "poor  linen-merchant,"  the  name 
under  which  M.  d'Orgemont,  a  wealthy  broker  of  Fougeres, 
tried  to  conceal  his  identity  from  the  Chouans,  in  1799,  to 
avoid  being  a  victim  of  their  robbery.  [The  Chouans.] 

Pingret,  uncle  of  Monsieur  and  Madame  des  Vauneaulx; 
a  miser,  who  lived  in  an  isolated  house  in  the  Faubourg 
Saint-Etienne,  near  Limoges ;  robbed  and  murdered,  with  his 
servant  Jeanne  Malassis,  one  night  in  March,  1829,  by  Jean- 
Frangois  Tascheron.  [The  Country  Parson.] 

Pinson,  long  a  famous  Parisian  restaurant-keeper  of  the  rue 
de  1'Ancienne-Comedie,  at  whose  establishment  Theodose 
de  la  Peyrade,  reduced,  in  the  time  of  Louis  Philippe,  to  the 
uttermost  depths  of  poverty,  dined,  at  the  expense  of  Cerizet 
and  Dutocq,  at  a  cost  of  forty-seven  francs;  there  also  these 
three  men  concluded  a  compact  to  further  their  mutual  in- 
terests. [The  Middle  Classes.] 

Piombo  (Baron  Bartolomeo  di),  born  in  1738,  a  fellow- 
countryman  and  friend  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  whose  mother 
he  had  protected  during  the  Corsican  troubles.  After  a  ter- 
rible vendetta,  carried  out  in  Corsica  against  all  the  Portas 
except  one,  he  had  to  leave  his  country,  and  went  in  great 
poverty  to  Paris  with  his  family.  Through  the  intercession 
of  Lucien  Bonaparte,  he  saw  the  First  Consul  (October, 
1800)  and  obtained  property,  titles  and  employment. 
Piombo  was  not  without  gratitude;  the  friend  of  Daru,  Drouot, 
and  Carnot,  he  gave  evidence  of  devotion  to  his  benefactor 
until  the  latter 's  death.  The  return  of  the  Bourbons  did 
not  deprive  him  entirely  of  the  resources  that  he  had  ac- 
quired. For  his  Corsican  property  Bartolomeo  received 
of  Madame  Letitia  Bonaparte  a  sum  which  allowed  him 
to  purchase  and  occupy  the  Portenduere  mansion.  The 
marriage  of  his  adored  daughter,  Ginevra,  who,  against  her 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMED1E  HUMAINB  371 

father's  will,  became  the  wife  of  the  last  of  the  Portas,  was 
a  source  of  vexation  and  grief  to  Piombo,  that  nothing  could 
diminish.  [The  Vendetta.] 

Piombo  (Baronne  Elisa  di),  born  in  1745,  wife  of  the  pre- 
ceding and  mother  of  Madame  Porta,  was  unable  to  obtain 
from  Bartolomeo  the  pardon  of  Ginevra,  whom  he  would 
not  see  after  her  marriage.  [The  Vendetta.] 

Piombo  (Ginevra  di).     (See  Porta,  Madame  Luigi.) 

Piombo  (Gregorio  di),  brother  of  the  preceding,  and  son 
of  Bartolomeo  and  Elisa  di  Piombo;  died  in  his  infancy, 
a  victim  of  the  Portas,  in  the  vendetta  against  the  Piombos. 
[The  Vendetta.] 

Piquetard  (Agathe).     (See  Hulot  d'Ervy,  Baronne  Hector.) 

Piquoizeau,  porter  of  Frederic  de  Nucingen,  when  Rodolphe 
Castanier  was  cashier  at  the  baron's  bank.  [Melmoth  Recon- 
ciled.] 

Plaisir,  an  "illustrious  hair-dresser"  of  Paris;  in  September, 
1816,  on  the  rue  Taitbout,  he  waited  on  Caroline  Crochard 
de  Bellefeuille,  at  that  time  mistress  of  the  Comte  de  Gran- 
ville.  [A  Second  Home.] 

Planchette,  an  eminent  professor  of  mechanics,  consulted 
by  Raphael  de  Valentin  on  the  subject  of  the  wonderful 
piece  of  shagreen  that  the  young  man  had  in  his  possession ; 
he  took  him  to  Spieghalter,  the  mechanician,  and  to  Baron 
Japhet,  the  chemist,  who  tried  in  vain  to  stretch  this  skin. 
The  failure  of  science  in  this  effort  was  a  cause  of  amazement 
to  Planchette  and  Japhet.  "They  were  like  Christians 
come  from  the  tomb  without  finding  a  God  in  heaven." 
Planchette  was  a  tall,  thin  man,  and  a  sort  of  poet  always 
in  deep  contemplation.  [The  Magic  Skin.] 

Plantin,  a  Parisian  publicist,  was,  in  1834,  editor  of  a  re- 
view, and  aspired  to  the  position  of  master  of  requests  in 
the  Council  of  State,  when  Blondet  recommended  him  to 
Raoul  Nathan,  who  was  starting  a  great  newspaper.  [A 
Daughter  of  Eve.] 


372  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Plissoud,  like  Brunet,  court-crier  at  Soulanges  (Bour- 
gogne),  and  afterwards  Brunet's  unfortunate  competitor. 
He  belonged,  during  the  Restoration,  to  the  "second"  so- 
ciety of  his  village,  witnessed  his  exclusion  from  the  "first" 
by  reason  of  the  misconduct  of  his  wife,  who  was  •  born 
Euphemie  Wattebled.  Being  a  gambler  and  a  drinker, 
Plissoud  did  not  save  any  money ;  for,  though  he  was  appointed 
to  many  offices,  they  were  all  lacking  in  lucrativeness ;  he 
was  insurance  agent,  as  well  as  agent  for  a  society  that  in- 
sured against  the  chances  for  conscription.  Being  an  enemy 
of  Soudry's  party,  Maitre  Plissoud  might  readily  have  served, 
especially  for  pecuniary  considerations,  the  interests  of 
Montcornet,  proprietor  at  Aigues.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Plissoud  (Madame  Euphernie),  wife  of  the  preceding  and 
daughter  of  Wattebled ;  ruled  the  "  second  "  society  of  Soulan- 
ges, as  Madame  Soudry  did  the  first,  and  though  married  to 
Plissoud,  lived  with  Lupin  as  if  she  were  his  wife.  [The 
Peasantry.] 

Poidevin  was,  in  the  month  of  November,  1806,  second 
clerk  of  Maitre  Bordin,  a  Paris  attorney.  [A  Start  in  Life.] 

Poincet,  an  old  and  unfortunate  public  scribe,  and  in- 
terpreter at  the  Palais  de  Justice  of  Paris;  about  1815,  he 
went  with  Christemio  to  see  Henri  de  Marsay,  in  order  to 
translate  the  words  of  the  messenger  of  Paquita  Valdes. 
[The  Thirteen.] 

Poirel  (Abbe"),  a  priest  of  Tours;  advanced  to  the  canonry 
at  the  time  that  Monseigneur  Troubert  and  Mademoiselle 
Gamard  persecuted  Abbe"  Francois  Birrotteau.  [The  Vicar 
of  Tours.] 

Poiret,  the  elder,  born  at  Troyes.  He  was  the  son  of  a 
cTerk  and  of  a  woman  whose  wicked  ways  were  notorious, 
and  who  died  in  a  hospital.  Going  to  Paris  with  a  younger 
brother,  they  became  clerks  in  the  Department  of  Finance 
under  Robert  Lindet;  there  he  met  Antoine,  the  office  boy; 
he  left  this  department,  in  1816,  with  a  retiring  pension, 
and  was  replaced  by  Saillard.  [The  Government  Clerks.j 


EEPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  373 

Afflicted  with  cretinism  he  remained  a  bachelor  because  of  the 
horror  inspired  by  the  memory  of  his  mother's  immoral  life ;  he 
was  a  confirmed  idemiste,  repeating,  with  slight  variation,  the 
words  of  those  with  whom  he  was  conversing.  Poiret  estab- 
lished himself  on  the  rue  Neuve-Sainte-Genevieve,  at  Madame 
Vauquer's  private  boarding-house;  he  occupied  the  second 
story  at  the  widow's  house,  became  intimate  with  Christine- 
Michelle  Michonneau  and  married  her,  when  Horace  Bianchon 
demanded  the  exclusion  of  this  young  woman  from  the  house 
for  denouncing  Jacques  Collin  (1819) .  [Father  Goriot.]  Poiret 
often  afterwards  met  M.  Clapart,  an  old  comrade  whom  he  had 
found  again  on  the  rue  de  la  Cerisaie ;  had  apartments  on  the 
rue  des  Poules  and  lost  his  health.  [A  Start  in  Life.  Scenes 
from  a  Courtesan's  Life.]  He  died  during  the  reign  of  Louis 
Philippe.  [The  Middle  Classes.] 

Poiret  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding,  born  Christine- 
Michelle  Michonneau,  in  1779,  doubtless  had  a  stormy  youth. 
Pretending  to  have  been  persecuted  by  the  heirs  of  a  rich  old 
man  for  whom  she  had  cared,  Christine-Michelle  Michonneau 
went,  during  the  Restoration,  to  board  with  Madame  Vauquer, 
the  third  floor  of  the  house  on  rue  Neuve-Sainte-Genevieve; 
made  Poiret  her  squire;  made  a  deal  with  Bibi-Lupin— Gon- 
dureau — to  betray  Jacques  Collin,  one  of  Madame  Vauquer's 
guests.  Having  thus  sated  her  cupidity  and  her  bitter  feel- 
ings, Mademoiselle  Michonneau  was  forced  to  leave  the  house 
on  rue  Neuve-Sainte-Genevieve,  at  the  formal  demand  of  Bian- 
chon, another  of  the  guests.  [Father  Goriot.]  Accompanied 
by  Poiret,  whom  she  afterwards  married,  she  moved  to  the  rue 
des  Poules  and  rented  furnished  rooms.  Being  summoned  1  Be- 
fore the  examining  magistrate  Camusot  (May,  1830),  she  recog- 
nized Jacques  Collin  in  the  pseudo  Abbe"  Carlos  Herrera. 
[Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.]  Ten  years  later,  Madumr 
Poiret,  now  a  widow,  was  living  on  a  corner  of  the  rue  dee 
Postes,  and  numbered  Ce'rizet  among  her  lodgers.  [The  Middle 
Classes.] 

Poiret  the  younger,  brother  of  Poiret  the  elder,  and  brother- 
in-law  of  the  preceding,  born  in  1771 ;  had  the  same  start,  the 


374  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

same  instincts,  and  the  same  weakness  of  intellect  as  the  elder; 
ran  the  same  career,  overwhelmed  with  work  under  Lindet ;  re- 
mained at  the  Treasury  as  copying  clerk  ten  years  longer  than 
Poiret  the  elder ;  was  also  book-keeper  for  two  merchants,  one 
of  whom  was  Camusot  of  the  Cocon  d'Or ;  he  lived  on  the  rue 
du  Martroi;  dined  regularly  at  the  Veau  qui  Tette,  on  the 
Place  du  Chatelet;  bought  his  hats  of  Tournan,  on  rue  Saint- 
Martin;  and,  a  victim  of  J.-J.  Bixiou's  practical  jokes,  he 
wound  up  by  being  business  clerk  in  the  office  of  Xavier 
Rabourdin.  Being  retired  on  January  1,  1825,  Poiret  the 
younger  counted  on  living  at  Madame  Vauquer's  boarding- 
house.  [The  Government  Clerks.] 

Polissard,  appraiser  of  the  wood  of  the  Ronquerolles  estate 
in  1821 ;  at  this  time,  probably  on  the  recommendation  of  Gau- 
bertin,  he  employed  as  agent  for  the  wood-merchant,  Vau- 
doyer,  a  peasant  of  Ronquerolles,  who  had  shortly  before  been 
discharged  from  the  post  of  forest-keeper  of  Blangy  (Bour- 
gogne).  [The  Peasantry.] 

Pollet,  book-publisher  in  Paris,  in  1821;  a  rival  of  Dogue- 
reau;  published  "Leonide  ou  La  Vieille  de  Suresnes,"  a  ro- 
mance by  Victor  Ducange;  had  business  relations  with  Por- 
chon  and  Vidal;  was  at  their  establishment,  when  Lucien  de 
Rubempre"  presented  to  them  his  "  Archer  de  Charles  IX."  [A 
Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.] 

Pombreton  (Marquis  de),  a  genuine  anomaly;  lieutenant  of 
the  black  musketeers  under  the  old  regime,  friend  of  the  Che- 
valier de  Valois,  who  prided  himself  on  having  lent  him  for 
assistance  in  leaving  the  country,  twelve  hundred  pistoles. 
Pombreton  returned  this  loan  afterwards,  almost  beyond  a 
question  of  doubt,  but  the  fact  of  the  case  always  remained 
unknown,  for  M.  de  Valois,  an  unusually  successful  gamester, 
was  interested  in  spreading  a  report  of  the  return  of  this  loan, 
to  shadow  the  resources  that  he  derived  from  the  gaming  table ; 
and  so,  five  years  later,  about  1821,  Etienne  Lousteau  declared 
that  the  Pombreton  succession  and  the  Maubreuil1  affair  were 

1  Maubreuil  died  at  the  end  of  the  Second  Empire. 


REPERTORY   OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  375 

among  the  most  profitable  "stereotypes"  of  journalism.  Fi- 
nally, Le  Courrier  de  TOrne  of  M.  du  Bousquier  published, 
about  1830,  these  lines :  "  A  certificate  for  an  income  of  a  thou- 
sand francs  a  year  will  be  awarded  to  the  person  who  can  show 
the  existence  of  a  M.  de  Pombreton  before,  during,  or  after  the 
emigration."  [Lost  Illusions.  A  Distinguished  Provincial  at 
Paris.  Jealousies  of  a  Country  Town.] 

Pomponne  (La).     (See  Toupinet,  Madame.) 

Pons  (Sylvain)1,  born  about  1785;  son  of  the  old  age  of 
Monsieur  and  Madame  Pons,  who,  before  1789,  founded  the 
famous  Parisian  house  for  the  embroidery  of  uniforms  that 
was  bought,  in  1815,  by  M.  Rivet,  first  cousin  of  the  first 
Madame  Camusot  of  the  Cocon  d'Or,  sole  heir  of  the  famous 
Pons  brothers,  embroiderers  to  the  Court;  under  the  Empire, 
he  won  the  Prix  de  Rome  for  musical  composition,  returned 
to  Paris  about  1810,  and  was  for  many  years  famous  for  his 
romances  and  melodies  which  were  full  of  delicacy  and  good 
taste.  From  his  stay  in  Italy,  Pons  brought  back  the  tastes 
of  the  bibliomaniac  and  a  love  for  works  of  art.  His  passion 
for  collecting  consumed  almost  his  entire  patrimony.  Pons 
became  Sauvageot's  rival.  Monistrol  and  Elie  Magus  felt 
a  hidden  but  envious  appreciation  of  the  artistic  treasures 
ingeniously  and  economically  collected  by  the  musician. 
Being  ignorant  of  the  rare  value  of  his  museum,  he  went 
from  house  to  house,  giving  private  lessons  in  harmony. 
This  lack  of  knowledge  proved  his  ruin  afterwards,  for  he 
became  all  the  more  fond  of  paintings,  stones  and  furniture, 
as  lyric  glory  was  denied  him,  and  his  ugliness,  coupled  with 
his  supposed  poverty,  kept  him  from  getting  married.  'Jhe 
pleasures  of  a  gourmand  replaced  those  of  the  lover;  he  like- 
wise found  some  consolation  for  his  isolation  in  his  friendship 
with  Schmucke.  Pons  suffered  from  his  taste  for  high  living ; 
he  grew  old,  like  a  parasitic  plant,  outside  the  circle  of  his 
family,  only  tolerated  by  his  distant  cousins,  the  Camwot 
de  Marvilles,  and  their  connections,  Cardot,  Berthier  and 

'M.  Alphonse  de  Launay  has  derived  from  the  life  of  Sylvain   1'onB  a  drama 
that  was  presented  at  the  Cluny  theatre,  Paris,  about  187J. 


376  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Popinot.  In  1834,  at  the  awarding  of  prizes  to  the  young 
ladies  of  a  boarding-school,  he  met  the  pianist  Schmucke, 
a  teacher  as  well  as  himself,  and -in  the  strong  intimacy  that 
grew  up  between  them,  he  found  some  compensation  for 
the  blighted  hopes  of  his  existence.  Sylvain  Pons  was 
director  of  the  orchestra  at  the  theatre  of  which  Felix  Gaudis- 
sart  was  manager  during  the  monarchy  of  July.  He  had 
Schmucke  admitted  there,  with  whom  he  passed  several 
happy  years,  in  a  house,  on  the  rue  de  Normandie,  belonging 
to  C.-J.  Pillerault.  The  bitterness  of  Madeleine  Vivet  and 
Amelie  Camusot  de  Marville,  and  the  covetousness  of  Madame 
Cibot,  the  door-keeper,  and  Fraisier,  Magus,  Poulain  and 
Re"monencq  were  perhaps  the  indirect  causes  of  the  case 
of  hepatitis  of  which  Pons  died  (in  April,  1845),  appoint- 
ing Schmucke  his  residuary  legatee  before  Maitre  Leopold 
Mannequin,  who  had  been  hastily  summoned  by  Helo'ise 
Brisetout.  Pons  was  on  the  point  of  being  employed  to  com- 
pose a  piece  of  ballet  music,  entitled  "Les  Mohicans."  This 
work  most  likely  fell  to  his  successor,  Garangeot.  [Cousin 
Pons.] 

Popinot,  alderman  of  Sancerre  in  the  eighteenth  century; 
father  of  Jean-Jules  Popinot  and  Madame  Ragon  (born 
Popinot).  He  was  the  officer  whose  portrait,  painted  by 
Latour,  adorned  the  walls  of  Madame  Ragon's  parlor,  during 
the  Restoration,  at  her  home  in  the  Quartier  Saint-Sulpice, 
Paris.  [Ce"sar  Birotteau.] 

Popinot  (Jean- Jules),  son  of  the  preceding,  brother  of 
Madame  Ragon,  and  husband  of  Mademoiselle  Bianchon 
— of  Sancerre — embraced  the  profession  of  law,  but  did  not 
attain  promptly  the  rank  which  his  powers  and  integrity 
deserved.  Jean-Jules  Popinot  remained  for  a  long  time  a 
judge  of  a  lower  court  in  Paris.  He  took  a  deep  interest  in 
the  fate  of  the  young  orphan  Anselme  Popinot,  his  nephew, 
and  a  clerk  of  Cesar  Birotteau ;  and  was  invited  with  Madame 
Jean-Jules  Popinot  to  the  perfumer's  famous  ball,  on  Sunday, 
December  17,  1818.  Nearly  eighteen  months  later,  Jean- 
Jules  Popinot  once  more  saw  Anselme,  who  was  set  up  as  a 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  377 

druggist  on  the  rue  des  Cinq-Diama'nts,  and  met  Felix  Gaudis- 
sart,  the  commercial-traveler,  and  tried  to  excuse  certain 
imprudent  utterances  of  his  on  the  political  situation,  that 
had  been  reported  by  Canquoelle-Peyrade,  the  police-agent. 
[Cesar  Birotteau.]  Three  years  later  he  lost  his  wife,  who 
had  brought  him,  for  dowry,  an  income  of  six  thousand  francs, 
representing  exactly  twice  his  personal  assets.  Living  from 
this  time  at  the  rue  du  Fouarre,  Popinot  was  able  to  give 
free  rein  to  the  exercise  of  charity,  a  virtue  that  had  become 
a  passion  with  him.  At  the  urgent  instance  of  Octave  de 
Bauvan,  Jean-Jules  Popinot,  in  order  to  aid  Honorine,  the 
count's  wife,  sent  her  a  pretended  commission-merchant, 
probably  Felix  Gaudissart,  offering  a  more  than  generous 
price  for  the  flowers  she  made.  [Honorine.]  Jean-Jules 
Popinot  eventually  established  a  sort  of  benevolent  agency. 
Lavienne,  his  servant,  and  Horace  Bianchon,  his  wife's  nephew 
aided  him.  He  relieved  Madame  Toupinet,  a  poor  woman 
on  the  rue  du  Petit-Banquier,  from  want  (1828).  Madame 
d'Espard's  request  for  a  guardian  for  her  husband  served  to 
divert  Popinot  from  his  role  of  Saint  Vincent  de  Paul ;  a  man 
of  rare  delicacy  hidden  beneath  a  rough  and  uncultured 
exterior,  he  immediately  discovered  the  injustice  of  the  wrongs 
alleged  by  the  marchioness,  and  recognized  the  real  victim 
in  M.  d'Espard,  when  he  cross-questioned  him  at  No.  22 
rue  de  la  Montagne-Sainte-Genevieve,  in  an  apartment,  the 
good  management  of  which  he  seemed  to  envy,  though  the 
rooms  were  simply  furnished,  and  in  striking  contrast  with  the 
splendor  of  which  he  had  been  a  witness,  at  the  home  of 
the  marchioness  in  the  Faubourg  Saint-Honore*.  A  delay 
caused  by  a  cold  in  the  head,  and  especially  the  influence 
of  Madame  d'Espard's  intrigues,  removed  Popinot  from 
the  cause,  in  which  Camusot  was  substituted.  [The  Commis- 
sion in  Lunacy.]  We  have  varying  accounts  of  Jean-Jules 
Popinot's  last  years.  Madame  de  la  Chanterie's  circle 
mourned  the  death  of  the  judge  in  1833  [The  Seamy  Side 
of  History]  and  Phellion  in  1840.  J.-J.  Popinot  probabl; 
died  at  No.  22  rue  de  la  Montagne-Sainte-Genevieve,  in  the 
apartment  that  he  had  already  coveted,  being  the  counselor 


378  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

to  the  court,  municipal  counselor  of  Paris,  and  a  member 
of  the  General  Council  of  the  Seine.     [The  Middle  Classes.] 

Popinot  (Anselme),  a  poor  orphan,  and  nephew  of  the 
preceding  and  of  Madame  Ragon  (born  Popinot),  who  took 
charge  of  him  in  his  infancy.  Small  of  stature,  red-haired, 
and  lame,  he  gladly  became  clerk  to  Ce"sar  Birotteau,  the 
Paris  perfumer  of  the  Reine  des  Roses,  the  successor  of 
Ragon,  with  whom  he  did  a  great  deal  of  work,  in  order  to 
be  able  to  show  appreciation  for  the  favor  shown  a  part  of 
his  family,  that  was  well-nigh  ruined  as  a  result  of  some 
bad  investments  (the  vVbrtschin  mines,  1818-19).  Anselme 
Popinot,  being  secretly  in  love  with  Cesarine  Birotteau,  his 
employer's  daughter — the  feeling  being  reciprocated,  more- 
over— brought  about,  as  far  as  his  means  allowed,  the  re- 
habilitation of  Cesar,  thanks  to  the  profits  of  his  drug  busi- 
ness, established  on  the  rue  des  Cinq-Diamants,  between 
1819  and  1820.  The  beginning  of  his  great  fortune  and  of 
his  domestic  happiness  dated  from  this  time.  [Cesar  Birot- 
teau.] After  Birotteau's  death,  about  1822,  Popinot  mar- 
ried Mademoiselle  Birotteau,  by  whom  he  had  three  children, 
two  sons  and  a  daughter.  The  consequences  of  the  Revo- 
lution of  1830  brought  Anselme  Popinot  in  the  way  of  power 
and  honors;  he  was  twice  deputy  after  the  beginning  of 
Louis  Philippe's  reign,  and  was  also  minister  of  commerce. 
[Gaudissart  the  Great.]  Anselme  Popinot,  twice  secretary 
of  state,  had  finally  been  made  a  count,  and  a  peer  of  France. 
He  owned  a  mansion  on  the  rue  Basse  du  Rempart.  In  1834 
he  rewarded  Felix  Gaudissart  for  services  formerly  ren- 
dered on  the  rue  des  Cinq-Diamants,  and  entrusted  to  him 
the  management  of  a  boulevard  theatre,  where  the  opera,  the 
drama,  the  fairy  spectacle,  and  the  ballet  took  turn  and  turn. 
[Cousin  Pons.]  Four  years  later  the  Comte  Popinot,  again 
minister  of  commerce  and  agriculture,  a  lover  of  the  arts  and 
one  who  gladly  acted  the  part  of  the  refined  Maecenas,  bought 
for  two  thousand  francs  a  copy  of  Steinbeck's  "Groupe  de 
Samson"  and  stipulated  that  the  mould  should  be  destroyed 
that  there  might  be  only  two  copies,  his  own  and  the  one  be- 
longing to  Mademoiselle  Hortense  Hulot,  the  artist's  fiancee. 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  379 

When  Wenceslas  married  Mademoiselle  Hulot,  Popinot  and 
Eugene  de  Rastignac  were  the  Pole's  witnesses.  [Cousin 
Betty.] 

Popinot  (Madame  Anselme),  wife  of  the  preceding,  born 
Ce'sarine  Birotteau,  in  1801.  Beautiful  and  attractive, 
though,  at  one  time,  almost  promised  to  Alexandre  Crottat, 
she  married,  about  1822,  Anselme  Popinot,  whom  she  loved 
and  by  whom  she  was  loved.  [Cesar  Birotteau.]  After  her 
marriage,  though  in  the  midst  of  splendor,  she  remained 
the  simple,  open,  and  even  artless  character  that  she  was  in 
the  modest  days  of  her  youth.1  The  transformation  of  the 
dancer  Claudine  du  Bruel,  the  whilom  Tullia  of  the  Royal 
Academy  of  Music,  to  a  moral  bourgeois  matron,  surprised 
Madame  Anselme,  who  became  intimate  with  her.  [A  Prince 
of  Bohemia.]  The  Comtesse  Popinot  rendered  aid,  in  a 
delicate  way,  in  1841,  to  Adeline  Hulot  d'Ervy.  Her  in- 
fluence, with  that  of  Mesdames  de  Rastignac,  de  Navar- 
reins,  d'Espard,  de  Grandlieu,  de  Carigliano,  de  Lenoncourt, 
and  de  la  Bastie,  procured  Adeline's  appointment  as  salaried 
inspector  of  charities.  [Cousin  Betty.]  Three  years  later, 
when  one.  of  her  three  children  married  Mademoiselle  Camusot 
de  Marville,  Madame  Popinot,  although  she  appeared  at  the 
most  exclusive  social  gatherings,  imitated  modest  Anselme, 
and,  unlike  Amelie  Camusot,  received  Pons,  a  tenant  of  her 
maternal  great-uncle,  C.-J.  Pillerault.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Popinot  (Vicomte),  the  eldest  of  the  three  children  of  the 
preceding  couple,  married,  in  1845,  C£cile  Camusot  de  Mar- 
ville. [Cousin  Pons.]  During  the  course  of  the  year  1846, 
he  questioned  Victorin  Hulot  about  the  remarkable  second 
marriage  of  Baron  Hector  Hulot  d'Ervy,  which  was  solemnized 
on  the  first  of  February  of  that  year.  [Cousin  Betty.] 

Popinot  (Vicomtesse),  wife  of  the  preceding;  born  C6cile 
Camusot  in  1821,  before  the  name  Marville  was  added  to 
Camusot  through  the  acquisition  of  a  Norman  estate.  Red- 
haired  and  insignificant  looking,  but  very  pretentious,  she 

i  In  1838,  the  little  theatre  Pantheon  destroye;!  in  1846  eave  a  ™deville  play, 
by  M.  Eugene  Cormon,  entitled  "Cdsar  Birotteau,"  of  which  Madame  Anielaae  I  op, 
inot  was  one  of  the  heroines. 


380  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

persecuted  her  distant  kinsman  Pons,  from  whom  she  after- 
wards inherited;  from  lack  of  sufficient  fortune  she  failed  of 
more  than  one  marriage,  and  was  treated  with  scorn  by  the 
wealthy  Frederic  Brunner,  especially  because  of  her  being 
an  only  daughter  and  the  spoiled  child.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Popinot-Chandier  (Madame  and  Mademoiselle),  mother 
and  daughter;  of  the  family  of  Madame  Boirouge;  hailing 
from  Sancerre ;  frequent  visitors  of  Madame  de  la  Baudraye, 
whose  superiority  of  manner  they  ridiculed  in  genuine  bour- 
geois fashion.  [The  Muse  of  the  Department.] 

Porchon.     (See  Vidal.) 

Porraberil  (Euphemie).     (See  San-Real,  Marquise  de.) 

Porriquet,  an  elderly  student  of  the  classics,  was  teacher 
of  Raphael  de  Valentin,  whom  he  had  as  a  pupil  in  the  sixth 
class,  in  the  third  class,  and  in  rhetoric.  Retired  from  the 
university  without  a  pension  after  the  Revolution  of  July, 
on  suspicion  of  Carlism,  seventy  years  of  age,  without  means, 
and  with  a  nephew  whose  expenses  he  was  paying  at  the 
seminary  of  Saint-Sulpice,  he  went  to  solicit  the  aid  of  his 
dear  "  foster-child,"  to  obtain  the  position  of  principal  of  a 
provincial  school,  and  suffered  rough  treatment  at  the 
hands  of  the  earns  alumnus,  every  act  of  whose  shortened  Val- 
entin's existence.  [The  Magic  Skin.] 

Porta  (Luigi),  born  in  1793,  strikingly  like  his  sister  Nina. 
He  was  the  last  member  that  remained,  at  the  beginning 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  of  the  Corsican  family  of  Porta, 
by  reason  of  a  bloody  vendetta  between  his  kinspeople  and 
the  Piombos.  Luigi  Porta  alone  was  saved,  by  Elisa  Vanni, 
according  to  Giacomo;  he  lived  at  Genoa,  where  he  enlisted, 
and  found  himself,  when  quite  young,  in  the  affair  of  the 
Be're'sina.  Under  the  Restoration  -he  was  already  an  officer 
of  high  rank;  he  put  an  end  to  his  military  career  and  was 
hunted  by  the  authorities  at  the  same  time  as  Labedoyere. 
Luigi  Porta  found  Paris  a  safe  place  of  refuge.  Servin, 
the  Bonapartist  painter,  who  had  opened  a  studio  of  drawing, 
where  he  taught  his  art  to  young  ladies,  concealed  the  officer. 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMED1E  HUMAINE  381 

One  of  his  pupils,  Ginevra  di  Piombo,  discovered  the  outlaw's 
hiding-place,  aided  him,  fell  in  love  with  him,  made  him  fall 
in  love  with  her,  and  married  him,  despite  the  opposition  of 
her  father,  Bartolomeo  di  Piombo.  Luigi  Porta  chose  as  a 
witness,  when  he  was  married,  his  former  comrade,  Louis 
Vergniaud,  also  known  to  Hyacinthe-Chabert.  He  lived 
from  hand  to  mouth  by  doing  secretary's  work,  lost  his  wife, 
and,  crushed  by  his  poverty,  went  to  tell  the  Piombos  of  her 
death.  He  died  almost  immediately  after  her  (1820).  [The 
Vendetta.] 

Porta  (Madame  Luigi),  wife  of  the  preceding,  born  Ginevra 
di  Piombo  about  1790;  shared,  in  Corsica  as  in  Paris,  the 
stormy  life  of  her  father  and  mother,  whose  adored  child  she 
was.  In  Servin's,  the  painter's,  studio,  wrhere  with  her  talent 
she  shone  above  the  whole  class,  Ginevra  knew  Mesdames 
Tiphaine  and  Camusot  de  Marville,  at  that  time  Mesde- 
moiselles  Roguin  and  Thirion.  Defended  by  Laure  alone, 
she  endured  the  cruelly  planned  persecution  of  Ame'lie 
Thirion,  a  Royalist,  and  an  envious  woman,  especially  when 
the  favorite  drawing  pupil  discovered  and  aided  Luigi  Porta, 
whom  she  married  shortly  afterwards,  against  the  will  of 
Bartolomeo  di  Piombo.  Madame  Porta  lived  most  wretch- 
edly; she  resorted  to  Magus  to  dispose  of  copies  of  paintings 
at  a  meagre  price;  brought  a  son  into  the  world,  Barthe'lemy ; 
could  not  nurse  him,  lost  him,  and  died  of  grief  and  exhaustion 
in  the  year  1820.  [The  Vendetta.] 

•  Portail  (Du),  name  assumed  by  Corentin,  when  as  "prefect 
of  secret  police  of  diplomacy  and  political  affairs,"  he  lived 
on  the  rue  Honors-Chevalier,  in  the  reign  of  Louis  Philippe. 
[The  Government  Clerks.] 

Portenduere  (Comte  Luc-Savinien  de),  grandson  of  Ad- 
miral de  Portenduere,  born  about  1788,  represented  the 
elder  branch  of  the  Portendueres,  of  whom  Madame  do 
Portenduere  and  her  son  Savinien  represented  the  younger 
branch.  Under  the  Restoration,  being  the  husband  of  a 
rich  wife,  the  father  of  three  children  and  member  for  I- 
he  lived,  according  to  the  season  of  the  year,  in  the  chateau 


382  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMED1E  HUMAINE 

of  Portenduere  or  the  Portenduere  mansion,  which  were 
situated,  the  one  in  Dauphine",  and  the  other  in  Paris,  and  ex- 
tended no  aid  to  the  Vicomte  Savinien,  though  he  was  ha- 
rassed by  his  creditors.  [Ursule  Mirouet.] 

Portendufcre  (Madame  de),  born  Kergarouet,  a  Breton, 
proud  of  her  noble  descent  and  of  her  race.  She  married  a 
post-captain,  nephew  of  the  famous  Admiral  de  Portenduere, 
the  rival  of  the  Suffrens,  the  Kergarouets,  and  the  Simeuses; 
bore  him  a  son,  Savinien ;  she  survived  her  husband ;  was  on 
intimate  terms  with  the  Rouvres,  her  country  neighbors; 
for,  having  but  little  means,  she  lived,  during  the  Restora- 
tion, in  the  little  village  of  Nemours,  on  the  me  des  Bourgeois, 
where  Denis  Minoret  was  domiciled.  Savinien's  prodigal 
dissipation  and  the  long  opposition  to  his  marriage  to  Ursule 
Mirouet  saddened,  or  at  least  disturbed,  Madame  de  Por- 
tenduere's  last  days.  [Ursule  Mirouet.] 

Portendufere  (Vicomte  Savinien  de),  son  of  preceding,  born 
in  1806;  cousin  of  the  Comte  de  Portenduere,  who  was  de- 
scended from  the  famous  admiral  of  this  name,  and  great- 
nephew  of  Vice-Admiral  Kergarouet.  During  the  Restora- 
tion he  left  the  little  town  of  Nemours  and  his  mother's 
society  to  go  and  try  the  life  of  Paris,  where,  in  spite  of  his 
relationship  with  the  Fontaines,  he  fell  in  love  with  Emilie 
de  Fontaine,  who  did  not  reciprocate  his  love,  but  married 
first  Admiral  de  Kergarouet,  and  afterwards  the  Marquis 
de  Vandenesse.  [The  Ball  at  Sgeaux.]  Savinien  also  be- 
came enamored  of  Le"ontine  de  Se*rizy ;  was  on  intimate  terms 
with  Marsay,  Rastignac,  Rubempre",  Maxime  de  Trailles, 
Blondet  and  Finot;  soon  lost  a  considerable  sum  of  money, 
and,  laden  with  debts,  became  a  boarder  at  Sainte-Pelagic; 
he  then  received  Marsay,  Rastignac  and  Rubempre,  the 
latter  wishing  to  relieve  his  distress,  much  to  the  amuse- 
ment of  Florine,  afterwards  Madame,  Nathan.  [Scenes 
from  a  Courtesan's  Life.]  Urged  by  Ursule  Mirouet,  his 
ward,  Denis  Minoret,  who  was  one  of  Savinien's  neighbors 
at  Nemours,  raised  the  sum  necessary  to  liquidate  young 
Portendu£re's  debt,  and  freed  him  of  its  burden.  The 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMED1E  HUMAINE  383 

viscount  enlisted  in  the  marine  service,  and  retired  with  the 
rank  and  insignia  of  an  ensign,  two  years  after  the  Revolution 
of  July,  and  five  years  before  being  able  to  marry  Ursule 
Mirouet.  [Ursule  Mirouet.]  The  Vicomte  and  Vicomtesse 
de  Portenduere  made  a  charming  couple,  recalling  two  other 
happy  families  of  Paris,  the  Laginskis  and  the  Ernest  de  la 
Basties.  In  1840  they  lived  on  the  rue  Saint-Peres,  became 
the  intimate  friends  of  the  Calyste  du  Gunnies,  and  shared 
their  box  at  the  Italiens.  [Beatrix.] 

Portendufere  (Vicomtesse  Savinien  de),  wife  of  the  preceding, 
born  in  1814.  The  orphan  daughter  of  an  unfortunate 
artist,  Joseph  Mirouet,  the  military  musician,  and  Dinah 
Grollman,  a  German;  natural  granddaughter  of  Valentin 
Mirouet,  the  famous  harpsichordist,  and  consequently  niece 
of  the  rich  Dr.  Denis  Minoret;  she  was  adopted  by  the  last- 
named,  and  became  his  ward,  so  much  the  more  adored 
as,  in  appearance  and  character,  she  recalled  Madame  Denis 
Minoret,  deceased.  Ursule's  girlhood  and  youth,  passed 
at  Nemours,  were  marked  alternately  by  joy  and  bitterness. 
Her  guardian's  servants,  as  well  as  his  intimate  friends, 
overwhelmed  her  with  indications  of  interest.  A  distinguished 
performer,  the  future  viscountess  received  lessons  in  harmony 
from  Schmucke,  the  pianist,  who  was  summoned  from  Paris. 
Being  of  a  religious  nature,  she  converted  Denis  Minoret, 
who  was  an  adherent  of  Voltaire's  teachings;  but  the  in- 
fluence she  acquired  over  him  called  forth  against  the  young 
girl  the  fierce  animosity  of  Minoret-Levrault,  Massin,  Oe'miere, 
Dionis  and  Goupil,  who,  foreseeing  that  she  would  be  the 
doctor's  residuary  legatee,  abused  her,  slandered  her,  and 
persecuted  her  most  cruelly.  Ursule  was  also  scornfully 
treated  by  Madame  de  Portenduere,  with  whose  son,  Savinien, 
she  was  in  love.  Later,  the  relenting  of  Minoret-Levrault 
and  Goupil,  shown  in  various  ways,  and  her  marriage  to  the 
Vicomte  de  Portenduere,  at  last  approved  by  his  mother, 
offered  Ursule  some  consolation  for  the  loss  of  Denis  Minoret. 
[Ursule  Mirouet.]  Paris  adopted  her,  and  made  much  of  her; 
she  made  a  glorious  success  in  society  as  a  singer.  [Another 
Study  of  Woman.]  Amid  her  own  great  happiness,  the  vis- 


384  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

countess  showed  herself  the  devoted  friend,  in  1840,  of  Madame 
Calyste  du  Guenie,  just  after  her  confinement,  who  was  al- 
most dying  of  grief  over  the  treachery  of  her  husband. 
[Beatrix.] 

Postel  was  pupil  and  clerk  of  Chardon  the  druggist  of 
L'Houmeau,  a  suburb  of  Angouleme;  succeeded  Chardon 
after  his  death;  was  kind  to  his  former  patron's  unfortunate 
family;  desired,  but  without  success,  to  marry  Eve,  who 
was  afterwards  Madame  David  Sechard,  and  became  the 
husband  of  Leonie  Marron,  by  whom  he  had  several  sickly 
children.  [Lost  Illusions.] 

Postel  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding,  born  Leonie 
Marron,  daughter  of  Doctor  Marron,  a  practitioner  in  Marsac 
(Charente);  through  jealousy  she  was  disagreeable  to  the 
beautiful  Madame  Se"chard ;  through  cupidity  she  fawned  upon 
the  Abbe  Marron,  from  whom  she  hoped  to  inherit.  [Lost 
Illusions.] 

Potasse,  sobriquet  of  the  Protez  family,  manufacturers 
of  chemicals,  as  associates  of  Cochin;  known  by  Minard, 
Phellion,  Thuillier  and  Colleville,  types  of  Parisians  of  the 
middle  class,  about  1840.  [The  Middle  Classes.] 

Potel,  former  officer  of  the  Imperial  forces,  retired,  during 
the  Restoration,  to  Issoudun,  with  Captain  Renard;  he  took 
sides  with  Maxence  Gilet  against  the  officers,  Mignonnet  and 
Carpentier,  declared  enemies  of  the  chief  of  the  "Knights 
of  Idlesse."  [A  Bachelor's  Establishment.] 

Poulain  (Madame),  born  in  1778.  She  married  a  trousers- 
maker,  who  died  in  very  reduced  circumstances ;  for  from  the 
sale  of  his  business  she  received  only  about  eleven  hundred 
francs  for  income.  She  lived  then,  for  twenty  years,  on 
work  which  some  fellow-countrymen  of  the  late  Poulain  gave 
to  her,  and  the  meagre  profits  of  which  afforded  her  the  op- 
portunity of  starting  in  a  professional  career  her  son,  the 
future  physician,  whom  she  dreamed  of  seeing  gain  a  rich 
marriage  settlement.  Madame  Poulain,  though  deprived  of 
an  education,  was  very  tactful,  and  she  was  in  the  habit  of 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  385 

retiring  when  patients  came  to  consult  her  son.  This  she 
did  when  Madame  Cibot  called  at  the  office  on  rue  d'Or- 
leans,  late  in  1844  or  early  in  1845.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Poulain  (Doctor),  born  about  1805,  friendless  and  without 
fortune;  strove  in  vain  to  gain  the  patronage  of  the  Paris 
"four  hundred"  after  1835.  He  kept  constantly  near  him 
his  mother,  widow  of  a  trousers-maker.  As  a  poor-neigh- 
borhood physician  he  afterwards  lived  with  his  mother 
on  rue  d'Orleans  at  the  Marais  He  became  acquainted 
with  Madame  Cibot,  door-keeper  at  a  house  on  rue  de  Nor- 
mandie,  the  proprietor  of  which,  C.-J.  Pillerault,  uncle  of  the 
Popinots  and  ordinarily  under  Horace  Bianchon's  treat- 
ment, he  cured.  By  Madame  Cibot,  Poulain  was  called  also 
to  attend  Pons  in  a  case  of  inflammation  of  the  liver.  Aided 
by  his  friend  Fraisier,  he  arranged  matters  to  suit  the  Camusots 
de  Marville,  the  rightful  heirs  of  the  musician.  Such  a  service 
had  its  reward.  In  1845,  following  the  death  of  Pons,  and 
that  of  his  residuary  legatee,  Schmucke,  soon  after,  Poulain 
was  given  an  appointment  in  the  Quinze-Vingts  hospital  as 
head  physician  of  this  great  infirmary.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Poupart,  or  Poupard,  from  Arcis-sur-Aube,  husband  of 
Gothard's  sister;  one  of  the  heroes  of  the  Simeuse  affair; 
proprietor  of  the  Mulct  tavern.  Being  devoted  to  the  in- 
terest of  the  Cadignans,  the  Cinq-Cygnes  and  the  Hautescnvs, 
in  1839,  during  the  electoral  campaign,  he  gave  lodging 
to  Maxime  de  Trailles,  a  government  envoy,  and  to  Paradis, 
the  count's  servant.  [The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Poutin,  colonel  of  the  Second  lancers,  an  acquaintance 
of  Marechal  Cottin,  minister  of  war  in  1841,  to  whom  he 
told  that  many  years  before  this  one  of  his  men  at  Severne, 
having  stolen  money  to  buy  his  mistress  a  shawl,  repented 
of  his  deed  and  ate  broken  glass  so  as  to  escape  dishonor. 
The  Prince  of  Wissembourg  told  this  story  to  Hulot  d'Ervy, 
while  upbraiding  him  for  his  dishonesty.  [Cousin  Betty.] 

Pre*lard  (Madame),  born  in  1808,  pretty,  at  first  mistress  of 
the  assassin  Auguste,  who  was  executed.  She  remained  coa« 


386  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

stantly  in  the  clutches  of  Jacques  Collin,  and  was  married  by 
Jacqueline  Collin,  aunt  of  the  pseudo-Herrera,  to  the  head 
of  a  Paris  hardware-house  on  Quai  aux  Fleurs,  the  Bouclier 
d'Achille.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Provost  (Madame),  well-known  florist,  whose  store  still 
remains  in  the  Palais-Royal.  Early  in  1830,  Frederic  de 
Nucingen  bought  a  ten  louis  bouquet  there  for  Esther  van 
Gobseck.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Prieur  (Madame),  laundress  at  Angouleme,  for  whom 
Mademoiselle  Chardon,  afterwards  Madame  David  Se'chard, 
worked.  [Lost  Illusions.] 

Pron  (Monsieur  and  Madame),  both  teachers.  M.  Pron 
taught  rhetoric  in  1840  at  a  college  in  Paris  directed  by  priests. 
Madame  Pron,  born  Barniol,  and  therefore  sister-in-law  of 
Madame  Barniol-Phellion,  succeeded  Mesdemoiselles  La  Grave, 
about  the  same  time,  as  director  of  their  young  ladies'  board- 
ing-school. M.  and  Madame  Pron  lived  in  the  Quartier 
Saint- Jacques,  and  frequently  visited  the  Thuilliers.  [The 
Middle  Classes.] 

Protez  and  Chiffreville,  manufactured  chemicals;  sold  a 
hundred  thousand  francs'  worth  to  the  inventor,  Balthazar 
Claes,  about  1812.  [The  Quest  of  the  Absolute.]  On  ac- 
count of  their  friendly  relations  with  Cochin,  of  the  Treasury, 
all  the  Protezes  and  the  Chiffrevilles  were  invited  to  the 
celebrated  ball  given  by  Cesar  Birotteau,  Sunday,  De- 
cember 17,  1818,  on  rue  Saint  Honore.  [Cesar  Birotteau.] 

Proust,  clerk  to  Maitre  Bordin,  a  Paris  attorney,  in  No- 
vember, 1806;  this  fact  became  known  a  few  years  later 
by  Godeschal,  Oscar  Husson  and  Marest,  when  they  re- 
viewed the  books  of  the  attorneys  who  had  been  employed 
in  Bordin's  office.  [A  Start  in  Life.] 

Provengal  (Le),  born  in  1777,  undoubtedly  in  the  vicinity 
of  Aries.  A  common  soldier  during  the  wars  at  the  close 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  he  took  part  in  the  expedition 
of  General  Desaix  into  upper  Egypt.  Having  been  taken 
prisoner  by  the  Maugrabins  he  escaped  only  to  lose  himself 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  387 

in  the  desert,  where  he  found  nothing  to  eat  but  dates.  Re- 
duced to  the  dangerous  friendship  of  a  female  panther,  he 
tamed  her,  singularly  enough,  first  by  his  thoughtless  caresses, 
afterwards  by  premeditation.  He  ironically  named  her 
Mignonne,  as  he  had  previously  called  Virginie,  one  of  his 
mistresses.  Le  Provencal  finally  killed  his  pet,  not  without 
regret,  having  been  moved  to  great  terror  by  the  wild  animal's 
fierce  love.  About  the  same  time  the  soldier  was  discovered 
by  some  of  his  own  company.  Thirty  years  afterwards, 
an  aged  ruin  of  the  Imperial  wars,  his  right  leg  gone,  he  was 
one  day  visiting  the  menagerie  of  Martin  the  trainer,  and 
recalled  his  adventure  for  the  delectation  of  a  young  spec- 
tator. [A  Passion  in  the  Desert.] 


Quelus  (Abbe*),  priest  of  Tours  or  of  its  vicinity,  called 
frequently  on  the  Chessels,  neighbors  of  the  Mortsaufs,  at 
the  beginning  of  the  century.  [The  Lily  of  the  Valley.] 

Queverdo,  faithful  steward  of  the  immense  domain  of 
Baron  de  Macumer,  in  Sardinia.  After  the  defeat  of  the 
Liberals  in  Spain,  in  1823,  he  was  told  to  look  out  for  his 
master's  safety.  Some  fishers  for  coral  agreed  to  pick  him 
up  on  the  coast  of  Andalusia  and  set  him  off  at  Macumer. 
[Letters  of  Two  Brides.] 

Quillet  (Francois),  office-boy  employed  by  Raoul  Nathan's 
journal  on  rue  Feydau,  Paris,  1835.  He  aided  his  employer 
by  lending  him  the  name  of  Francois  Quillet,  Raoul,  in  great 
despair,  while  occupying  a  furnished  room  on  rue  du  Mail, 
threw  several  creditors  off  his  track  by  the  use  of  this  as- 
sumed name.  [A  Daughter  of  Eve.] 

R 

Rabouilleuse  (La),  name  assumed  by  Flore  Brazier,  who 
became  in  turn  Madame  Jean-Jacques  Rouget  and  Madame 
Philippe  Bridau.  (See  this  last  name.) 

Rabourdin  (Xavier),  born  in  1784;  his  father  was  unknown 


388  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDlE  HUMAINE 

to  him.  His  mother,  a  beautiful  and  fastidious  woman, 
who  lived  in  luxury,  left  him  a  penniless  orphan  of  sixteen. 
At  this  time  he  left  the  Lycee  Napoleon  and  became  a  super- 
numerary clerk  in  the  Treasury  Department.  He  was  soon 
promoted,  becoming  second  head  clerk  at  twenty-two  and 
head  clerk  at  twenty-five  An  unknown,  but  influential 
friend,  was  responsible  for  this  progress,  and  also  gave  him 
an  introduction  into  the  home  of  M.  Leprince,  a  wealthy 
widower,  who  had  formerly  been  an  auctioneer.  Rabourdin 
met,  loved  and  married  this  man's  only  daughter.  Beginning 
with  this  time,  when  his  influential  friend  probably  died, 
Rabourdin  saw  the  end  of  his  own  rapid  progress.  Despite 
his  faithful,  intelligent  efforts,  he  occupied  at  forty  the  same 
position.  In  1824  the  death  of  M.  Flamet  de  la  Billardiere 
left  open  the  place  of  division  chief.  This  office,  to  which 
Rabourdin  had  long  aspired,  was  given  to  the  incapable 
Baudoyer,  who  had  been  at  the  head  of  a  bureau,  through 
the  influence  of  money  and  the  Church.  Disgusted,  Rabour- 
din sent  in  his  resignation.  He  had  been  responsible  for  a 
rather  remarkable  plan  for  executive  and  social  reform,  and 
this  possibly  contributed  to  his  overthrow.  During  his 
career  as  a  minister  Rabourdin  lived  on  rue  Duphot.  He 
had  by  his  wife  two  children,  Charles,  born  in  1815,  and  a 
daughter,  born  two  years  later.  About  1830  Rabourdin 
paid  a  visit  to  the  Bureau  of  Finances,  where  he  saw  once 
more  his  former  pages,  nephews  of  Antoine,  who  had  retired 
from  service  by  that  time.  From  these  he  learned  that 
Colleville  and  Baudoyer  were  tax-collectors  in  Paris.  [The 
Government  Clerks.]  Under  the  Empire  he  was  a  guest  at 
the  evening  receptions  given  by  M.  Guillaume,  the  cloth- 
dealer  of  rue  Saint-Denis.  [At  the  Sign  of  the  Cat  and 
Racket.]  Later  he  and  his  wife  were  invited  to  attend 
the  famous  ball  tendered  by  Cesar  Birotteau,  December  17, 
1818.  [Ce'sar  Birotteau.]  In  1840,  being  still  a  widower, 
Rabourdin  was  one  of  the  directors  of  a  proposed  railway. 
At  this  time  he  began  to  lodge  in  a  house  on  the  Place 
de  la  Madeleine,  which  had  been  recently  bought  by  the 
Thuilliers,  whom  he  had  known  in  the  Bureau  of  Finance. 
[The  Middle  Classes.1 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDiE  HUMA1NE  389 

Rabourdin  (Madame),  born  Celestine  Leprince,  in  1796; 
beautiful,  tall  and  of  good  figure;  reared  by  an  artistic  mother; 
a  painter  and  a  good  musician;  spoke  many  tongues 
and  even  had  some  knowledge  of  science.  She  was  married 
when  very  young  through  the  instrumentality  of  her  father, 
who  was  then  a  widower.  Her  reception-rooms  were  not 
open  to  Jean-Jacques  Bixiou,  but  she  was  frequently  visited 
by  the  poet  Canalis,  the  painter  Schinner,  Doctor  Bianchon, 
who  was  especially  fond  of  her  company ;  Lucien  de  Rubem- 
pre",  Octave  de  Camps,  the  Comte  de  Granville,  the  Vicomte  de 
Fontaine,  F.  du  Bruel,  Andoche  Finot,  Derville,  Chatelet, 
then  deputy;  Ferdinand  du  Tillet,  Paul  de  Manerville,  and 
the  Vicomte  de  Portenduere.  A  rival,  Madame  Colleville, 
had  dubbed  Madame  Rabourdin  "The  Celimene  of  rue 
Duphot."  Having  been  over-indulged  by  her  mother,  Ce'les- 
tine  Leprince  thought  herself  entitled  to  a  man  of  high  rank. 
Consequently,  although  M.  Rabourdin  pleased  her,  she 
hesitated  at  first  about  marrying  him,  as  she  did  not  con- 
sider him  of  high  enough  station.  This  did  not  prevent  her 
loving  him  sincerely.  Although  she  was  very  extravagant, 
she  remained  always  strictly  faithful  to  him.  By  listening 
to  the  demands  of  Chardin  des  Lupeaulx,  secretary-general 
in  the  Department  of  Finance,  who  was  in  love  with  her,  she 
might  have  obtained  for  her  husband  the  position  of  division 
chief.  Madame  Rabourdin's  reception  days  were  Wednes- 
days and  Fridays.  She  died  in  1840.  [The  Commission  in 
Lunacy.  The  Government  Clerks.] 

Rabourdin    (Charles),  law-student,  son   of  the  preceding 
couple,  born  in  1815,  lived  from  1836  to  1838  in  a  house  on 
rue   Corneille,   Paris.     There   he    became    acquainted    with 
Z.  Marcas,  helped  him  in  his  distress,  attended  him  on  his 
death-bed,  and,  with  Justi,  a  medical  student,  as  his  only 
companion,  followed  the  body  of  this  great,  but  unknowr 
man  to  the  beggar's  grave  in  Montparnasse  cemetery.    After 
having  told  some  friends  the  short,  but   pitiful   story 
Z    Marcas,  Charles  Rabourdin,  following  the  advice  of 
deceased,  left  the  country,  and  sailed  from  Havre  for  the 


390  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Malayan  islands;  for  he  had  not  been  able  to  gain  a  foothold 
in  France.     [Z.  Marcas.] 

,  Racquets  (Des).     (See  Raquets,  des.) 

Ragon  born  about  1748;  a  perfumer  on  rue  Saint^Honore", 
between  Saint-Roche  and  rue  des  Frondeurs,  Paris,  towards 
the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century;  small  man,  hardly  five 
feet  tall,  with  a  face  like  a  nut-cracker,  self-important  and 
known,  for  his  gallantry.  He  was  succeeded  in  his  business, 
the  "  Reine  des  Roses,"  by  his  chief  clerk,  Cesar  Birotteau, 
after  the  eighteenth  Brumaire.  As  a  fo-mer  perfumer  to  Her 
Majesty  Queen  Marie- Antoinette,  M.  Ragon  always  showed 
Royalist  zeal,  and,  under  the  Republic,  the  Vendeans  used  him 
to  communicate  between  the  princes  and  the  Royalist  com- 
mittee of  Paris.  He  received  at  that  time  the  Abbe  de 
Marolles,  to  whom  he  pointed  out  and  revealed  the  person 
of  Louis  XVI. 's  executioner.  In  1818,  being  a  loser  in  the 
Nucingen  speculation  in  Wortschin  mining  stock,  Ragon 
lived  with  his  wife  in  an  apartment  on  rue  du  Petit-Bourbon- 
Saint-Sulpice.  [Cesar  Birotteau.  An  Episode  under  the 
Terror.] 

Ragon  (Madame),  born  Popinot;  sister  of  Judge  Popi- 
not,  wife  of  the  preceding,  being  very  nearly  the  same  age 
as  her  husband,  was  in  1818  "  a  tall  slender  woman  of  wrinkled 
face,  sharp  nose,  thin  lips,  and  the  artificial  manner  of  a 
marchioness  of  the  old  line."  [Cesar  Birotteau.] 

Ragoulleau1  (Jean-Antoine),  a  Parisian  lawyer,  whose  sig- 
nature the  widow  Morin  tried  to  extort.  She  also  attempted 
his  assassination,  and  was  condemned,  January  11,  1812, 
on  the  evidence  of  a  number  of  witnesses,  among  others 
that  of  Poiret,  to  twenty  years  of  hard  labor.  [Father 
Goriot.] 

Raguet  working  boy  in  the  establishment  of  Cesar 
Birotteau,  the  perfumer,  in  1818.  [Cesar  Birotteau.] 

Raparlier,     a     Douai     notary;    drew  up    marriage    con- 

1  The  real  spelling  of  the  name,  as  shown  by  some  authentic  papers,  is  Ragcu* 
teau. 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  391 

tracts  in  1825  for  Marguerite  Clae's  and  Emmanuel  de  Solis, 
for  Felicie  Clae's  and  Pierquin  the  notary,  and  for  Gabriel 
Clae's  and  Mademoiselle  Conyncks.  [The  Quest  of  the  Abso- 
lute.] 

Raparlier,    a   Douai   auctioneer,   under   the   Restoration; 
nephew  of  the  preceding;  took  an  inventory  at  the  Claes 
house  after  the  death  of  Madame  Balthazar  Clae's  in  1816 
|The  Quest  of  the  Absolute.] 

Rapp,  French  general,  born  at  Colmar  in  1772;  died  in  1821. 
As  aide-de-camp  of  the  First  Consul,  Bonaparte,  he  found 
himself  one  day  in  October  serving  near  his  chief  at  the 
Tmleries,  when  the  proscribed  Corsican,  Bartolomeo  di 
Piombo,  came  up  rather  unexpectedly.  Rapp,  who  was 
suspicious  of  this  man,  as  he  was  of  all  Corsicans,  wished  to 
stay  at  Bonaparte's  side  during  the  interview,  but  the  Consul 
good-naturedly  sent  him  away.  [The  Vendetta.]  On  Octo- 
ber 13,  1806,  the  day  before  the  battle  of  Je"na,  Rapp  had 
just  made  an  important  report  to  the  Emperor  at  the  moment 
when  Napoleon  was  receiving  on  the  next  day's  battle- 
field Mademoiselle  Laurence  de  Cinq-Cygne  and  M.  de  Charge- 
boeuf ,  who  had  come  from  France  to  ask  for  the  pardon  of  the 
two  Hauteserres  and  the  two  Simeuses,  people  affected  by  a 
political  suit  and  condemned  to  hard  labor.  [The  Gondreville 
Mystery.] 

Raquets  (Des),  lived  at  Douai,  of  Flemish  descent,  and 
devoted  to  the  traditions  and  customs  of  his  province;  very 
wealthy  uncle  of  the  notary  Pierquin,  his  only  heir,  who 
received  his  inheritance  towards  the  close  of  the  Restoration. 
[The  Quest  of  the  Absolute.] 

Rastignac  (Chevalier  de),  great-uncle  of  Eugene  de 
Rastignac ;  as  vice-admiral  was  commander  of  the  "Vengeur" 
before  1789,  and  lost  his  entire  fortune  in  the  service 
of  the  king,  as  the  revolutionary  government  did  not 
wish  to  satisfy  his  demands  in  the  adjusting  of  the  Com- 
pagnie  des  Indes  affairs.  [Father  Goriot.] 

Rastignac    (Baron  and   Baronne  de)   had,   near  Ruffec, 


392  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Charente,  an  estate,  where  they  lived  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
eighteenth  and  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  centuries, 
and  where  were  born  to  them  five  children :  Eugene,  Laure- 
Rose,  Agathe,  Gabriel  and  Henri.  They  were  poor,  and  lived 
in  close  retirement,  keeping  a  dignified  silence,  and  like  their 
neighbors,  the  Marquis  and  Marquise  de  Pimentel,  exercised, 
through  their  connection  with  court  circles,  a  strong  influence 
over  the  entire  province,  being  invited  at  various  times 
to.  the  home  of  Madame  de  Bargeton,  at  Angouleme,  where 
they  met  Lucien  de  Rubempre  and  were  able  to  understand 
him.  [Father  Goriot.  Lost  Illusions.] 

Rastignac (Eugene  de),1  eldest  son  of  the  Baron  and  Baronne 
de  Rastignac,  born  at  Rastignac  near  Ruffec  in  1797.  He 
came  to  Paris  in  1819  to  study  law;  lived  at  first  on  the 
third  floor  of  the  Vauquer  lodging-house,  rue  Neuve- 
Sainte-Genevieve,  having  then  some  association  with  Jacques 
Collin,  called  Vautrin,  who  was  especially  interested  in 
him  and  wanted  him  to  marry  Victorine  Taillefer.  Ras- 
tignac became  the  lover  of  Madame  de  Nucingen,  second 
daughter  of  Joachim  Goriot,  an  old  vermicelli-maker,  and, 
in  February,  1820,  lived  on  rue  d'Artois  in  pretty  apart- 
ments, rented  and  furnished  by  the  father  of  his  mistress. 
Goriot  died  in  his  arms.  The  servant,  Christophe,  and  Ras- 
tignac were  the  only  attendants  in  the  good  man's  funeral 
procession.  At  the  Vauquer  lodging-house  he  was  intimate 
with  Horace  Bianchon,  a  medical  student.  [Father  Goriot.] 
In  1821,  at  the  Opera,  young  Rastignac  made  fun  for  the 
occupants  of  two  boxes  over  the  provincialisms  of  Madame 
de  Bargeton  and  Lucien  de  Rubempre1,  '  'young  Chardon." 
This  led  Madame  d'Espard  to  leave  the  theatre  with  her 
relative,  thus  publicly  and  in  a  cowardly  way  abandoning 
the  distinguished  provincial.  Some  months  later  Rastignac 
sought  the  favor  of  this  same  Lucien  de  Rubempre,  who  was 
by  that  time  an  influential  citizen.  He  agreed  to  act  with 
Marsay  as  the  poet's  witness  in  the  duel  which  he  fought 
with  Michel  Chrestien,  in  regard  to  Daniel  d'Arthez.  [A  Dis- 

1  In  a  recent  publication  of  Monsieur  S.   de   Lovenjoul,   he  speaks  of  &  recent 
abridged  biography  of  Eugene  de  Rastignac. 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  393 

tinguished   Provincial    at  Paris.]    At  the  last  masquerade 
ball  of  1824  Rastignac  found  Rubempre",  who  had  disap- 
peared  from    Paris   some   time   before.     Vautrin,   recalling 
his    memories    of   the   Vauquer   lodging-house,    urged    him 
authoritatively  to  treat  Lucien  as  a  friend.     Shortly  after, 
Rastignac  became  a  frequenter  of  the  sumptuous  mansion 
furnished  by  Nucingen  for  Esther  van  Gobseck  on  rue  Saint- 
Georges.     Rastignac  was  present  at  Lucien  de  Rubempr^'s 
funeral  in  May,    1830.     [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 
About  the  same  time  the  Comte  de  Fontaine  asked  his  daughter 
Emilie  what  she  thought  of  Rastignac — among  several  others 
— as  a  possible  husband  for  her.     But,  knowing  the  relations 
of  this  youthful  aspirant  with  Madame  de  Nucingen,  she 
saved  herself  by  replying  maliciously.     [The  Ball  at  Sc.eaux.] 
In  1828  Rastignac  sought  to  become  Madame  d'Espard's  lover, 
but  was  iestrained  by  his  friend,  Doctor  Bianchon.    [The  In- 
terdiction.]    During  the  same  year  Rastignac  was  treated 
slightingly  by  Madame  de  Listomere,  because  he  asked  her  to 
return  a  letter,  which  through  mistake  had  been  sent  to 
her,  but  which  he  had  meant  for  Madame  de  Nucingen. 
[A  Study  of  Woman.]    After  the  Revolution  of  July  he  was  a 
guest  at  Mademoiselle  des  Touches's  evening  party,  where 
Marsay   told   the  story   of  his  first  love.    [Another  Study 
of  Woman.]    At  this   time  he  was  intimate  with  Raphael 
de  Valentin,    and   expected   to   marry   an  Alsatian.     [The 
Magic  Skin.]    In  1832,  Rastignac,  having  been   appointed 
a  baron,  was  under-secretary  of  state  in  the  department  of 
which  Marsay  was  the  minister.    JThe  Secrets  of  a  Prince.^.] 
In  1833-1834,  he  volunteered  as  nurse  at  the  bedside  of  the 
dying  minister,  in  the  hope  of  being  remembered  in  his  will. 
One  evening  about  this  same  time  he  took  Raoul  Nathan 
and  Emile  Blondet,  whom  he  had  met  in  society,  to  supper 
with  him  at  Vary's.     He  then  advised  Nathan  to  profit  by 
the  advances  made  him  by  the  Comtesse  Fe"lix  de  Vandenesse. 
[A  Daughter  of  Eve.]    In  1833,  at  the  Princesse  de  Cadignan's 
home,  in  the  presence   of  the   Marquise  d'Espard,  the  old 
Dues  de  Lenoncourt  and  de  Navarreins,  the  Comte  and  the 
Comtesse  de  Vandenesse,  D'Arthez,    two  ambassadors,  and 


394  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

two  well-known  orators  of  the  Chamber  of  Peers,  Rastignac 
heard  his  minister  reveal  the  secrets  of  the  abduction  of 
Senator  Malin,  an  affair  which  took  place  in  1806.  [The 
Gondreville  Mystery.]  In  1836,  having  become  enriched  by  the 
third  Nucingen  failure,  in  which  he  was  more  or  less  a  willing 
accomplice,  he  became  possessed  of  an  income  of  forty  thou- 
sand francs.  [The  Firm  of  Nucingen.]  In  1838  he  attended 
the  opening  reception  given  at  Josepha's  mansion  on  rue 
de  la  Ville-l'Eve'que.  He  was  also  a  witness  at  Hortense 
Hulot's  marriage  to  Wenceslas  Steinbock.  He  married 
Augusta  de  Nucingen,  daughter  of  Delphine  de  Nucingen, 
his  former  mistress,  whom  he  had  quitted  five  years  pre- 
viously. In  1839,  Rastignac,  minister  once  more,  and 
this  time  of  public  works,  was  made  count  almost  in  spite 
of  himself.  In  1845  he  was,  moreover,  made  a  peer.  He 
had  then  an  income  of  300,000  francs.  He  was  in  the  habit 
of  saying :  "  There  is  no  absolute  virtue,  all  things  are  depen- 
dent on  circumstances."  [Cousin  Betty.  The  Member  for 
Arcis.  The  Unconscious  Humorists.] 

Rastignac  (Laure-Rose  and  Agathe  de),1  sisters  of  Eugene  de 
Rastignac ;  second  and  third  children  of  the  Baron  and  Baronne 
de  Rastignac;  Laure,  the  elder,  born  in  1801;  Agathe,  the 
second,  born  in  1802;  both  were  reared  unostentatiously  in  the 
Rastignac  chateau.  In  1819  they  sent  what  they  had  saved 
by  economy  to  their  brother  Eugene,  then  a  student.  Several 
years  after,  when  he  was  wealthy  and  powerful,  he  married  one 
of  them  to  Martial  de  la  Roche-Hugon,  the  other  to  a  minister. 
In  1821,  Laure,  with  her  father  and  mother,  was  present  at 
a  reception  of  M.  de  Bargeton's,  where  she  admired  Lucien  de 
Rubempre.  [Father  Goriot.  Lost  Illusions.]  Madame  de 
la  Roche-Hugon  in  1839  took  her  several  daughters  to  a 
children's  dance  at  Madame  de  PEstorade's  in  Paris.  [The 
Member  for  Arcis.] 

Rastignac  (Monseigneur  Gabriel  de),  brother  of  Eug&ne 
de  Rastignac ;  one  of  the  youngest  two  children  of  the  Baron 
and  Baronne  de  Rastignac;  was  private  secretary  to  the 

1  The  Mesdemoiselles  de  Rastignac  are  here  placed  together  under  their  maiden 
name,  aa  it  is  not  known  which  one  married  Martial  de  la  Roche-Hugon. 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMED1E  HUMAINE  39ft 

Bishop  of  Limoges  towards  the  end  of  the  Restoration, 
during  the  trial  of  Tascheron.  In  1832  he  became,  when 
only  a  young  man  of  thirty,  a  bishop.  He  was  consecrated 
by  the  Archbishop  Dutheil.  [Father  Goriot.  The  Country 
Parson.  A  Daughter  of  Eve.] 

Rastignac  (Henri  de),  the  fifth  child,  probably,  of  the  Baron 
de  Rastignac  and  his  wife.  Nothing  is  known  of  his  life. 
[Father  Goriot.] 

Ratel,  gendarme  in  the  Orne  district;  in  1809,  along 
with  his  fellow-officer,  Mallet,  was  charged  with  the 
capture  of  "Lady"  Bryond  des  Miniares,  who  was  implicated 
in  the  affair  known  as  the  "  Chauffeurs  de  Mortagne."  He 
found  the  fugitive,  but,  instead  of  arresting  her,  allowed  himself 
to  be  unduly  influenced  by  her,  and  then  protected  her  and  let 
her  escape.  This  action  on  his  part  was  known  to  Mallet. 
Ratel,  when  imprisoned,  confessed  all,  and  committed  suicide 
before  the  time  assigned  for  trial.  [The  Seamy  Side  of  His- 
tory.] 

Ravenouillet,  porter  in  Bixiou's  house,  at  No.  112  rue 
Richelieu,  in  1845;  son  of  a  Carcassonne  grocer;  a  steward 
throughout  his  life  and  owed  his  first  position  to  his  fellow- 
countryman,  Massol.  Ravenouillet,  although  uneducated, 
was  not  unintelligent.  According  to  Bixiou,  he  was  the 
"  Providence  at  thirty  per  cent "  of  the  seventy-one  lodgers 
in  the  house,  through  whom  he  netted  in  the  neighborhood 
of  six  thousand  francs  a  month.  [The  Unconscious  Humorists.] 

Ravenouillet   (Madame),    wife   of   the   preceding.    [The 

Unconscious     Humorists.] 

Ravenouillet  (Luc.en'-e),  daughter  of  the  preceding  couple, 
was  in  1845  a  pupil  '  the  Paris  Conservatory  of  Music. 
[The  Unconscious  Humorists.] 

Regnauld  (Baron)  (1754-1829),  celebrated  artist,  member 
of  the  Institute.  Joseph  Bridau,  when  fourteen,  was  a  fre- 
quent visitor  at  his  studio,  in  1812-1813.  [A  Bachelor's  Es- 
tablishment.] 


396  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Regnault,  former  chief  clerk  to  Maitre  Roguin,  a  Paris 
notary;  came  to  Vendome  in  1816  and  purchased  there  a 
notaryship.  He  was  called  by  Madame  de  Merret  to  hex 
death-bed,  and  was  made  her  executor.  In  this  position, 
some  years  later,  he  urged  Doctor  Bianchon  to  respect  one 
of  the  last  wishes  of  the  deceased  by  discontinuing  his  prom- 
enades in  the  Grande  Breteche  garden,  as  she  had  wished 
this  property  to  remain  entirely  unused  for  half  a  century. 
Maitre  Regnault  married  a  wealthy  cousin  of  Vendome. 
Regnault  was  tall  and  slender,  with  sloping  forehead,  small 
pointed  head  and  wan  complexion.  He  frequently  used 
the  expression,  "  One  moment."  [La  Grande  Breteche.] 

Regnier  (Claude- Antoine),  Due  de  Massa,  born  in  1746, 
died  1814;  an  advocate,  and  afterwards  deputy  to  the  Con- 
stituency; was  high  justice — justice  of  the  peace — during 
the  celebrated  trial  of  the  Simeuses  and  Hauteserres,  accused 
of  the  abduction  of  Senator  Malm.  He  noticed  the  talent 
displayed  by  Granville  for  the  defendants,  and  a  little  later, 
having  met  him  at  Archchancelor  CambacereVs  house,  he 
took  the  young  barrister  into  his  own  carriage,  setting  him 
down  on  the  Quai  des  Augustins,  at  the  young  man's  door, 
after  giving  him  some  practical  advice  and  assuring  him  of 
his  protection.  [The  Gondreville  Mystery.  A  Second  Home.] 

Remonencq,  an  Auvergnat,  dealer  in  old  iron,  established 
on  rue  de  Normandie,  hi  the  house  in  which  Pons  and 
Schmucke  lived,  and  where  the  Cibots  were  porters.  Re*- 
monencq,  who  had  come  to  Paris  with  the  intention  of  being  a 
porter,  ran  errands  between  1825  and  1831  for  the  dealers  in 
curiosities  on  Boulevard  Beaumarchais  and  the  coppersmiths 
on  rue  de  Lappe,  then  opened  in  this  same  quarter  a  small 
shop  for  odds  and  ends.  He  lived  there  in  sordid  economy. 
He  had  been  in  Sylvain  Pons's  house,  and  had  fully  recog- 
niz2d  the  great  value  of  the  aged  collector's  treasures.  His 
greed  urged  him  to  crime,  and  he  instigated  Madame  Cibot 
in  her  theft  at  the  Pons  house.  After  receiving  his  share 
of  the  property,  he  poisoned  the  husband  of  the  portress, 
in  order  to  marry  the  widow,  with  whom  he  established 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  397 

a  curiosity  shop  in  an  excellent  building  on  the  Boulevard 
de  la  Madeleine.  About  1846  he  unwittingly  poisoned  him- 
self with  a  glass  of  vitriol,  which  he  had  placed  near  his  wife. 
[Cousin  Pons.] 

Re"monencq  (Mademoiselle),  sister  of  the  preceding,  "a 
kind  of  idiot  with  a  vacant  stare,  dressed  like  a  Japanese 
idol."  She  was  her  brother's  house-keeper.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Rgmonencq  (Madame),  born  in  1796,  at  one  time  a  beauti- 
ful oyster-woman  of  the  "Cadran  Bleu"  in  Paris;  married  for 
love  the  porter-tailor,  Cibot,  in  1828,  and  lived  with  him  in  the 
porter's  lodge  of  a  house  on  rue  de  Normandie,  belonging  to 
Claude-Joseph  Pillerault.  In  this  house  the  musicians,  Pons 
and  Schmucke,  lived.  She  busied  herself  for  some  time  with 
the  management  of  the  house  and  the  cooking  for  these  two 
celibates.  At  first  she  was  faithful,  but  finally,  moved  by 
Remonencq,  and  encouraged  by  Fontaine,  the  necroman- 
cer, she  robbed  the  ill-fated  Pons.  Her  husband  having 
been  poisoned,  without  her  knowledge,  by  Remonencq, 
she  married  the  second-hand  dealer,  now  a  dealer  in  curiosi- 
ties, and  proprietor  of  the  beautiful  shop  on  the  Boulevard  de 
la  Madeleine.  She  survived  her  second  husband.  [Cousin 
Pons.] 

Re"my  or  Remy  (Jean),  peasant  of  Arcis-sur-Aube,  against 
whom  a  neighbor  lost  a  lawsuit  concerning  a  boundary  line. 
This  neighbor,  who  was  given  to  drink,  used  strong  language 
in  speaking  against  Jean  Re"my  in  a  session  of  the  electors 
who  had  organized  in  the  interest  of  Dorlange-Sallenauve.  a 
candidate,  in  the  month  of  April,  1839.  If  we  may  believe 
this  neighbor,  Jean  R<§my  was  a  wife-beater,  and  had  a 
daughter  who  had  obtained,  through  the  influence  of  a  deputy, 
and  apparently  without  any  claim,  an  excellent  tobacco-stand 
on  rue  Mouffetard.  [The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Renard,  former  captain  in  the  Imperial  army,  withdrew  to 
Issoudun  during  the  Restoration ;  one  of  the  « 
Faubourg  de  Rome,  who  were  hostile  to  the  "prVms" 
partisans  of  Maxence  (Max)  Gilet.     Renard  and  Commandant 


398  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Potel  were  seconds  for  Maxence  in  his  duel  with  Philippe 
Bridau — a  duel  which  resulted  in  the  former's  death.  [A 
Bachelor's  Establishment.] 

Renard,  regimental  quartermaster  in  the  cavalry,  1812. 
Although  educated  as  a  notary  he  became  an  under  officer. 
He  had  the  face  of  a  girl  and  was  considered  a  "  wheedler," 
He  saved  the  life  of  his  friend,  Genestas,  several  times,  but 
enticed  away  from  him  a  Polish  Jewess,  whom  he  loved, 
married  in  Sarmatian  fashion,  and  left  enceinte.  When 
fatally  wounded  in  the  battle  against  the  Russians,  just 
before  the  battle  of  Lutzen,  in  his  last  hours,  to  Genestas, 
he  acknowledged  having  betrayed  the  Jewess,  and  begged 
this  gentleman  to  marry  her  and  claim  the  child,  which 
would  soon  be  born.  This  was  done  by  the  innocent 
officer.  Renard  was  the  son  of  a  Parisian  wholesale 
grocer,  a  "toothless  shark,"  who  would  not  listen  to 
anything  concerning  the  quartermaster's  offspring.  [The 
Country  Doctor.] 

Renard  (Madame).     (See  Genestas,  Madame.) 
Renard  (Adrien).     (See  Genestas,  Adrien.) 

Rene",  the  only  servant  to  M.  du  Bousquier  of  Alengon, 
in  1816;  a  silly  Breton  servant,  who,  although  very  greedy, 
was  perfectly  reliable.  [Jealousies  of  a  Country  Town.] 

Restaud  (Comte  de),  a  man  whose  sad  life  was  first  brought 
to  the  notice  of  Barchou  de  Penhoen,  a  school-mate  of  Dufaure 
and  Lambert; born  about  1780;  husband  of  Anastasie  Goriot, 
by  whom  he  was  ruined;  died  in  December,  1824,  while  trying 
to  adjust  matters  favorably  for  his  eldest  son,  Ernest,  the  only 
one  of  Madame  de  Restaud's  three  children  whom  he  recog- 
nized as  his  own.  To  this  end  he  had  pretended  that,  having 
been  very  extravagant,  he  was  greatly  in  debt  to  Gobseck. 
He  assured  his  son  by  another  letter  of  the  real  condition  of  his 
estate.  M.  de  Restaud  was  similar  in  appearance  to  the 
Due  de  Richelieu,  and  had  the  proud  manners  of  the  states- 
man of  the  aristocratic  faubourg.  [Gobseck.  Father  Goriot.] 

Restaud    (Comtesse    Anastasie    de),    wife    of    the    pre- 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  399 

ceding;  elder  daughter  of  the  vermicelli-maker,  Jean-Joachim 
Goriot ;  a  beautiful  brunette  of  queenly  bearing  and  manners. 
Like  the  fair  and  gentle  Madame  de  Nucingen,  her  sister,  she 
showed  herself  severe  and  ungrateful  towards  the  kindliest 
and  weakest  of  fathers.  She  had  three  children,  two  boys 
and  a  girl ;  Ernest,  the  eldest,  being  the  only  legitimate  one. 
She  ruined  herself  for  Trailles,  her  lover's,  benefit,  selling  her 
jewels  to  Gobseck  and  endangering  her  children's  future.  As 
soon  as  her  husband  had  breathed  his  last,  in  a  moment 
anxiously  awaited,  she  took  from  under  his  pillow  and  burned 
the  papers  which  she  believed  contrary  to  her  own  interests 
and  those  of  her  two  natural  children.  It  thus  followed  that 
Gobseck,  the  fictitious  creditor,  gained  a  claim  on  all  of  the 
remaining  property.  [Gobseck.  Father  Goriot.] 

Restaud  (Ernest  de),  eldest  child  of  the  preceding,  and 
their  only  legitimate  one,  as  the  other  two  were  natural 
children  of  Maxime  de  Trailles.  In  1824,  while  yet  a  child, 
he  received  from  his  dying  father  instruction  to  hand  to  Der- 
ville,  the  attorney,  a  sealed  package  which  contained  his 
will;  but  Madame  de  Restaud,  by  means  of  her  maternal 
authority,  kept  Ernest  from  carrying  out  his  promise.  On 
attaining  his  majority,  after  his  fortune  had  been  restored  to 
him  by  his  father's  fictitious  creditor,  Gobseck,  he  married 
Camille  de  Grandlieu,  who  reciprocated  his  love  for  her.  As 
a  result  of  this  marriage  Ernest  de  Restaud  became  con- 
nected with  the  Legitimists,  while  his  brother  Fe"lix,  who  had 
almost  attained  the  position  of  minister  under  Louis  Philippe, 
followed  the  opposite  party.  [Gobseck.  The  Member  for 
Arc  is.] 

Restaud  (Madame  Ernest  de),  born  Camille  de  Grandlieu 
in  1813,  daughter  of  the  Vicomtesse  de  Grandlieu.  During 
the  first  years  of  Louis  Philippe's  reign,  while  very  younir. 
she  fell  in  love  with  and  married  Ernest  de  Restaud,  who  was 
then  a  minor.  [Gobseck.  The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Restaud  (Felix-Georges  de),  one  of  the  younger  children 
of  the  Comte  and  Comtesse  de  Restaud;  probably  a  Batumi 
son  of  Maxime  de  Trailles.  In  1839,  Felix  de  Restaud  was 


400  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

chief  secretary  to  his  cousin  Eugene  de  Rastignac,  minister 
of  public  works.     [Gobseck.     The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Restaud  (Pauline  de),  legal  daughter  of  the  Comte  and 
Comtesse  de  Restaud,  but  probably  the  natural  daughter 
of  Maxime  de  Trailles.  We  know  nothing  of  her  life.  [Gob- 
seek.] 

Reybert  (De),  captain  in  the  Seventh  regiment  of  artillery 
under  the  Empire;  born  in  the  Messin  country.  During 
the  Restoration  he  lived  in  Presles,  Seine-et-Oise,  with  his 
wife  and  daughter,  on  only  six  hundred  francs  pension.  As  a 
neighbor  of  Moreau,  manager  of  the  Comte  de  Serizy's  estate, 
he  detected  the  steward  in  some  extortions,  and  sending  his 
wife  to  the  count,  denounced  the  guilty  man.  He  was 
chosen  as  Moreau's  successor.  Reybert  married  his  daughter, 
without  furnishing  her  a  dowry,  to  the  wealthy  farmer  Leger. 
[A  Start  in  Life.] 

Reybert  (Madame  de),  born  Corroy,  in  Messin,  wife  of  the 
preceding,  and  like  him  of  noble  family.  Her  face  was  pitted 
by  small-pox  until  it  looked  like  a  skimmer;  her  figure 
was  tall  and  spare;  her  eyes  were  bright  and  clear;  she  was 
as  straight  as  a  stick ;  she  was  a  strict  Puritan,  and  subscribed 
to  the  Courrier  Frangais.  She  paid  a  visit  to  the  Comte  de 
Se"rizy,  and  unfolded  to  him  Moreau's  extortions,  thus  obtain- 
ing for  her  husband  the  stewardship  of  Presles.  [A  Start  in 
Life.] 

Rh&ore"  (Due  Alphonse  de),  eldest  son  of  the  Due  and 
Duchesse  de  Chaulieu,  he  became  an  ambassador  in  the  diplo- 
matic service.  For  many  years  during  the  Restoration  he 
kept  Claudine  Chaffaroux,  called  Tullia,  the  star  dancing- 
girl  at  the  Ope"ra,  who  married  Bruel  in  1824.  He  became 
acquainted  with  Lucien  de  Rubempre1,  both  in  his  own 
circle  of  acquaintance  and  in  the  world  of  gallantry,  and  enter- 
tained him  one  evening  in  his  box  at  a  first  performance  at 
the  Ambigu  in  1821.  He  reproached  his  guest  for  having 
wounded  Chatelet  and  Madame  de  Bargeton  by  his  news- 
paper satire,  and  at  the  same  time,  while  addressing  him. 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HTJMAINE  401 

continually  as  Chardon,  he  counseled  the  young  man  to 
become  a  Royalist,  in  order  that  Louis  XVIII.  might  restore 
to  him  the  title  and  name  of  the  Rubempre's,  his  maternal 
ancestors.  The  Due  de  Rhe'tore',  however,  disliked  Lucien  de 
Rubempre,  and  a  little  later  at  a  performance  in  the  Italiens, 
he  traduced  him  to  Madame  de  Se*rizy,  who  was  really  in  love 
with  the  poet.  [A  Bachelor's  Establishment.  A  Distinguished 
Provincial  at  Paris.  Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.  Letters 
of  Two  Brides.]  In  1835,  he  married  the  Duchesse  d'Argaiolo, 
born  the  Princesse  Soderini,  a  woman  of  great  beauty  and 
fortune.  [Albert  Savarus.]  In  1839,  he  had  a  duel  with  Dor- 
lange-Sallenauve,  having  provoked  the  latter,  by  speaking 
in  a  loud  voice,  which  he  knew  could  be  easily  understood, 
and  slandering  Marie  Gaston,  second  husband  of  Dorlange's 
sister,  Louise  de  Chaulieu.  Dorlange  was  wounded.  [The 
Member  for  Arcis. 

Rhe*tore*  (Duchesse  de),  born  Francesca  Soderini  in  1802; 
a  very  beautiful  and  wealthy  Florentine;  married,  when  very 
young,  by  her  father,  to  the  Due  d'Argaiolo,  who  was  also 
very  rich  and  much  older  than  herself.  In  Switzerland  or 
Italy  she  became  acquainted  with  Albert  Savarus,  when, 
as  a  result  of  political  events,  she  and  her  husband  were 
proscribed  and  deprived  of  their  property.  The  Duchesse 
d'Argaiolo  and  Albert  Savarus  loved  platonically,  and  Fran- 
cesca-like  she  promised  her  hand  to  her  Francois  whenever 
she  should  become  a  widow.  In  1835,  having  been  widowed 
for  some  time,  and,  as  a  result  of  Rosalie  de  Watteville's 
plots,  believing  herself  forgotten  and  betrayed  by  Savarus, 
from  whom  she  had  received  no  news,  she  gave  her  hand  to  the 
Due  de  Rhe'tore',  the  ex-ambassador.  The  marriage  took  place 
in  the  month  of  May  at  Florence  and  was  celebrated  witl 
much  pomp.  The  Duchesse  d'  Argaiolo  is  pictured  under  the 
name  of  the  Princesse  Gandolphini  in  "L'Ambitieux  par 
Amour,"  published  in  1834  by  the  Revue  de  1'Est. 
Louis  Philippe,  the  Duchesse  de  Rhe'torS  became  acquam 
with  Mademoiselle  de  Watteville  at  a  charity  entertainment. 
On  their  second  meeting,  which  took  place  at  the  Opera  ball, 


402  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Mademoiselle  de  Watteville  revealed  her  own  ill-doings  and 
vindicated  Savarus.     [Albert  Savarus.] 

Richard  (Veuve),  a  Nemours  woman  from  whom  Ursule 
Mirouet,  afterwards  Vicomtesse  de  Portenduere,  after  the 
death  of  Doctor  Minoret,  her  guardian,  purchased  a  house  to 
occupy.  [Ursule  Mirouet.] 

Ridal  (Fulgence),  dramatic  author,  member  of  the  Ce*nacle, 
which  held  its  sessions  at  D'Arthez's  home  on  rue  des  Quatre- 
Vents,  during  the  Restoration.  He  disparaged  Le"on  Giraud's 
beliefs,  went  under  a  Rabelaisian  guise,  careless,  lazy  and 
skeptical,  also  inclined  to  be  melancholy  and  happy  at  the 
same  time;  nick-named  by  his  friends  the  "Regimental  Dog." 
Fulgence  Ridal  and  Joseph  Bridau,  with  other  members  of 
the  Cenacle,  were  present  at  an  evening  party  given  by  Madame 
Veuve  Bridau,  in  1819,  to  celebrate  the  return  of  her  son 
Philippe  from  Texas.  [A  Bachelor's  Establishment.  A 
Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.]  In  1845,  having  been  a 
vaudevillist,  he  was  given  the  direction  of  a  theatre  in  associa- 
tion with  Lousteau.  He  had  influential  government  friends. 
[The  Unconscious  Humorists.] 

Riffe,  copying-clerk  in  the  Financial  Bureau,  who  had 
charge  of  the  "  personnel."  [The  Government  Clerks.] 

Rifooel.     (See  Vissard,  Chevalier  du.) 

Riganson,  called  Biffon,  also  Chanoine,  constituted  with  L» 
Biffe,  his  mistress,  one  of  the  most  important  couples  in 
his  class  of  society.  When  a  convict  he  met  Jacques  Collin, 
called  Vautrin,  and  in  May,  1830,  saw  him  once  more  at  the 
Conciergerie,  at  the  time  of  the  judical  investigation  suc- 
ceeding Esther  Gobseck's  death.  Riganson  was  short  of 
stature,  fat,  and  with  livid  skin,  and  an  eye  black  and  sunken. 
[Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Rigou  (Gre"goire),  born  in  1756;  at  one  time  a  Benedictine 
friar.  Under  the  Republic  he  married  Arsene  Pichard, 
only  heir  of  the  rich  Cure*  Niseron.  He  became  a  money- 
lender; filled  the  office  of  mayor  of  Blangy,  Bourgogne,  up  to 
1821,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Montcornet.  On  the 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  405 

arrival  of  the  general  in  the  country  Rigou  endeavored  to  be 
friendly  with  him,  but  having  been  quickly  slighted,  he 
became  one  of  the  Montcornets'  most  dangerous  enemies, 
along  with  Gaubertin,  mayor  of  Ville-aux-Fayes,  and  Soudry, 
mayor  of  Soulanges.  This  triumvirate  succeeded  in  arousing 
the  peasants  against  the  owner  of  Aigues,  and  the  local 
citizens  having  become  more  or  les?  opposed  to  him,  the 
general  sold  his  property,  and  it  fell  *o  the  three  associates. 
Rigou  was  selfish,  avaricious  but  pleasure-loving;  he  looked 
like  a  condor.  His  name  was  often  the  subject  of  a  pun,  and 
he  was  called  Grigou  (G.  Rigou — a  miserly  man).  "  Deep  as  a 
monk,  silent  as  a  Benedictine,  crafty  as  a  priest,  this  man 
would  have  been  a  Tiberius  in  Rome,  a  Richelieu  under  Louis 
XIII.  or  a  Fouche1  under  the  Convention."  [The  Peasantry.] 

Rigou  (Madame),  born  Arsene  Pichard,  wife  of  the  preced- 
ing, niece  of  a  maid  named  Pichard,  who  was  house-keeper  for 
Cure  Niseron  under  the  Revolution,  and  whom  she  succeeded 
as  house-keeper.  She  inherited,  together  with  her  aunt, 
some  money  from  the  wealthy  priest.  She  was  known 
while  young  by  the  name  of  La  Belle  Arsene.  She  had  great 
influence  over  the  cure",  although  she  could  neither  read  nor 
write.  After  her  marriage  with  Rigou,  she  became  the  old 
Benedictine's  slave.  She  lost  her  Rubens-like  freshness, 
her  magical  figure,  her  beautiful  teeth  and  the  lustre  of  her 
eyes  when  she  gave  birth  to  her  daughter,  who  eventually 
became  the  wife  of  Soudry  (fils).  Madame  Rigou  quietly  bore 
the  continued  infidelity  of  her  husband,  who  always  had 
pretty  maids  in  his  household.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Rivaudoult  d'Arschoot,  of  the  Dulmen  branch  of  a  noted 
family  of  Galicia  or  Russie-Rouge ;  heirs,  through  their  grand- 
father, to  this  family,  and  also,  in  default  of  the  direct  heirs, 
successors  to  the  titles.  [The  Thirteen.] 

Rivet  (Achille),  maker  of  lace  and  embroidery  on  rue 
des  Mauvaises-Paroles,  in  the  old  Lun^cuis  house,  built  by 
the  illustrious  family  at  the  time  when  the  greatest  lords  were 
clustered  around  the  Louvre.  In  IS  15  he  succeeded  the 
Pons  Brothers,  embroiderers  to  tbe  Court,  and  was  judge 


404  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

in  the  tribunal  of  commerce.  He  employed  Lisbeth  Fischer, 
and,  despite  their  quarrel,  rendered  this  spinster  some 
service.  Achille  Rivet  worshiped  Louis  Philippe,  who  was 
to  him  the  "  noble  representative  of  the  class  out  of  which  he 
constructed  his  dynasty."  He  loved  the  Poles  less,  at  the 
time  they  were  preventing  European  equilibrium.  He  was 
willing  to  aid  Cousin  Betty  in  the  revenge  against  Wen- 
ceslas,  which  she  once  contemplated,  as  a  result  of  her  jeal- 
ousy. [Cousin  Betty.  Cousin  Pons.] 

Robert,  a  Paris  restaurant-keeper,  near  Frascati.  Early 
in  1822  he  furnished  a  banquet  lasting  nine  hours,  at  the 
time  of  the  founding  of  the  Royalist  journal,  the  "Re1  veil." 
Theodore  Gaillard  and  Hector  Merlin,  founders  of  the  paper, 
Nathan  and  Lucien  de  Rubempre,  Martainville,  Auger, 
Destains  and  many  authors  who  "were  responsible  for 
monarchy  and  religion,"  were  present.  "  We  have  en- 
joyed an  excellent  monarchical  and  r^igious  feast!" 
said  one  of  the  best  known  romanticists  i^  ne  stood  on 
the  threshold.  This  sentence  became  famous  and  appeared 
the  next  morning  in  the  "Miroir."  Its  repetition  was  wrongly 
attributed  to  Rubempre",  although  it  had  been  reported  by 
a  book-seller  who  had  been  invited  to  the  repast.  [A  Dis- 
tinguished Provincial  at  Paris.] 

Rochefide  (Marquis  Arthur  de),  one  of  the  later  nobility; 
married  through  his  father's  instrumentality,  in  1828,  Beatrix 
de  Casteran,  a  descendant  of  the  more  ancient  nobility. 
His  father  thought  that  by  doing  this  his  son  would  obtain 
an  appointment  to  the  peerage,  an  honor  which  he  himself 
had  vainly  sought.  The  Comtesse  de  Montcornet  was  inter- 
ested in  this  marriage.  Arthur  de  Rochefide  served  in  the 
Royal  Guards.  He  was  a  handsome  man,  but  not  especially 
worthy.  He  spent  much  of  his  time  at  his  toilet,  and  it  was 
known  that  he  wore  a  corset.  He  was  everybody's  friend, 
as  he  joined  in  with  the  opinions  and  extravagances  of  every- 
body. His  favorite  amusement  was  horse-racing,  and  he 
supported  a  journal  devoted  to  the  subject  of  horses.  Hav- 
ing been  deserted  by  his  wife,  he  mourned  without  becom- 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  405 

ing  the  object  of  ridicule,  and  passed  for  a  "jolly,  good  fellow." 
Made  rich  by  the  death  of  his  father  and  of  his  elder  sister, 
who  was  the  wife  of  D'Ajuda-Pinto,  he  inherited,  among 
other  things,  a  splendid  mansion  on  rue  d'Anjou-Saint- 
Honore.  He  slept  and  ate  there  only  occasionally  and 
was  very  happy  at  not  having  the  marital  obligations 
and  expense  customary  with  married  men.  At  heart  he 
was  so  well  satisfied  at  having  been  deserted  by  his  wife,  that 
he  said  to  his  friends,  "I  was  born  lucky."  For  a  long  time 
he  supported  Madame  Schontz,  and  then  they  lived  together 
maritally.  She  reared  his  legitimate  son  as  carefully  as 
though  he  were  her  own  child.  After  1840  she  married  Du 
Ronceret,  and  Arthur  de  Rochefide  was  rejoined  by  his  wife. 
He  soon  communicated  to  her  a  peculiar  disease,  which 
Madame  Schontz,  angered  at  having  been  abandoned,  had 
given  to  him,  as  well  as  to  Baron  Calyste  du  Gu6nic. 
[Beatrix.]  In  1838,  Rochefide  was  present  at  the  house- 
warming  given  by  Jose'pha  in  her  mansion  on  rue  de  la 
Ville-l'Eveque.  [Cousin  Betty.] 

Rochefide  (Marquise  de),  wife  of  the  preceding,  younger 
daughter  of  the  Marquis  de  Casteran;  born  Be'atrix-Maxi- 
milienne-Rose  de  Casteran,  about  1808,  in  the  Casteran 
Castle,  department  of  Orne.  After  being  reared  there  she 
became  the  wife  of  the  Marquis  de  Rochefide  in  1828.  She 
was  fair  of  skin,  but  a  flighty,  vain  coquette,  without 
heart  or  brains— a  second  Madame  d'Espard,  except  for  her 
lack  of  intelligence.  About  1832  she  left  her  husband  to 
flee  into  Italy  with  the  musician,  Gennaro  Conti,  whom 
she  took  from  her  friend,  Mademoiselle  des  Touches.  Finally 
she  allowed  Calyste  du  Gu&iic  to  pay  her  court.  She  had 
met  him  also  at  her  friend's  house,  and  at  first  resisted  the 
young  man.  Afterwards,  when  he  was  married,  she  aban- 
doned herself  to  him.  This  liaison  filled  Madame  du  GuSnic 
with  despair,  but  was  ended  after  1840  by  the  crafty  manreu- 
vres  of  the  Abbe"  Brossette.  Madame  de  Rochefide  then 
rejoined  her  husband  in  the  elegant  mansion  on  rue  d'Anjou- 
Saint-Honore",  but  not  until  she  had  retired  with  him  to 
Nogent-sur-Marne,  to  care  for  her  health  which  had  been 


406  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

injured  during  the  resumption  of  marital  relations.  Before 
this  reconciliation  she  lived  in  Paris  on  rue  de  Chartres-du- 
Roule,  near  Monceau  Park.  The  Marquise  de  Rochefide  had, 
by  her  husband,  a  son,  who  was  for  some  time  under  the  care 
of  Madame  Schontz.  [Beatrix.  The  Secrets  of  a  Princess.] 
In  1834,  in  the  presence  of  Madame  Felix  de  Vandenesse, 
then  in  love  with  the  poet  Nathan,  the  Marquise  Charles  de 
Vandenesse,  sister-in-law  of  Madame  Felix,  Lady  Dudley, 
Mademoiselle  des  Touches,  the  Marquise  d'Espard,  Madame 
Moi'na  de  Saint  Hereen  and  Madame  de  Rochefide  expressed 
their  ideas  on  love  and  marriage.  "Love  is  heaven,"  said 
Lady  Dudley.  "It  is  hell!"  cried  Mademoiselle  des  Touches. 
"But  it  is  a  hell  where  there  is  love,"  replied  Madame  de 
Rochefide.  "There  is  often  more  pleasure  in  suffering  than 
in  happiness;  remember  the  martyrs!"  [A  Daughter  of  Eve.] 
The  history  of  Sarrasine  was  told  her  about  1830.  The 
marquise  was  acquainted  with  the  Lantys,  and  at  their  house 
saw  the  strange  Zambinella.  [Sarrasine.]  One  afternoon, 
in  the  year  1836  or  1837,  in  her  house  on  rue  des  Chartres, 
Madame  de  Rochefide  heard  the  story  of  the  "Prince  of 
Bohemia"  told  by  Nathan.  After  this  narrative  she  became 
wild  over  La  Palferine.  [A  Prince  of  Bohemia.] 

Rochegude  (Marquis  de),  an  old  man  in  1821,  possessing 
an  income  of  six  hundred  thousand  francs,  offered  a  brougham 
at  this  time  to  Coralie,  who  was  proud  of  having  refused  it, 
being  "an  artist,  and  not  a  prostitute."  [A  Distinguished 
Provincial  at  Paris.]  This  Rochegude  was  apparently  a 
Rochefide.  The  change  of  names  and  confusion  of  families 
was  corrected  eventually  by  law. 

Rodolphe,  natural  son  of  an  intelligent  and  charming  Paris- 
ian and  of  a  Barbanc.on  gentleman  who  died  before  he  was  able 
to  arrange  satisfactorily  for  his  sweetheart.  Rodolphe  was  a 
fictitious  character  in  "  L'Ambitieux  par  Amour,"  by  Albert 
Savarus  in  the  "  Revue  de  TEst "  in  1834,  where,  under  this 
assumed  name,  he  recounted  his  own  adventures.  [Albert 
Savarus.] 

Roger,  general,  minister  and  director  of  personnel  in  the 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  407 

War  Department  in  1841.  For  thirty  yeare  a  comrade  of 
Baron  Hulot.  At  this  time  he  enlightened  his  friend 
on  the  administrative  situation,  which  was  seriously  en- 
dangered at  the  time  he  asked  for  an  appointment  for  his 
sub-chief,  Marneffe.  This  advancement  was  not  merited, 
but  became  possible  through  the  dismissal  of  Coquet,  the 
chief  of  bureau.  [Cousin  Betty.] 

Rogron,  Provins  tavern-keeper  in  the  last  half  of  the  eight- 
eenth century  and  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth.  He 
was  at  first  a  carter,  and  married  the  daughter  of  M.  Auffray, 
a  Provins  grocer,  by  his  first  wife.  When  his  father-in-law 
died,  Rogron  bought  his  house  from  the  widow  for  a  song, 
retired  from  business  and  lived  there  with  his  wife.  He 
possessed  about  two  thousand  francs  in  rentals,  obtained 
from  twenty-seven  pieces  of  land  and  the  interest  on  the 
twenty  thousand  francs  raised  by  the  sale  of  his  tavern. 
Having  become  in  his  old  age  a  selfish,  avaricious  drunkard 
and  shrewd  as  a  Swiss  tavern-keeper,  he  reared  coarsely  and 
without  affection  the  two  children,  Sylvie  and  Je>6me- 
Denis,  whom  he  had  by  his  wife.  He  died,  in  1822,  a  widower, 
[Pierrette.] 

Rogron  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding;  daughter,  by  his 
first  wife,  of  M.  Auffray,  a  Provins  grocer;  paternal  aunt 
of  Madame  Lorrain,  the  mother  of  Pierrette;  born  in  1743; 
very  homely ;  married  at  the  age  of  sixteen ;  left  her  husband 
a  widower.  [Pierrette.] 

Rogron  (Sylvie),  elder  child  of  the  preceding;  born  be- 
tween 1780  and  1785  at  Provins;  sent  to  the  country  to  be 
nursed.  When  thirteen  years  old  she  was  placed  in  a  store 
on  rue  Saint-Denis,  Paris.  When  twenty  years  old  she 
was  second  clerk  in  a  silk-store,  the  Ver  Chinois,  and  towards 
the  end  of  1815,  bought  with  her  own  savings  and  those  of  her 
brother  the  property  of  the  Soeur  de  Famille,  one  of  the 
best  retail  haberdasher's  establishments  and  then  kopt  by 
Madame  Gue"nee.  Sylvie  and  Jerome-Denis,  partners  in  this 
establishment,  retired  to  Provins  in  1823.  Thoy  lived  there 
in  their  father's  house,  he  having  been  dead  several  months, 


408  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

and  received  their  cousin,  the  young  Pierrette  Lorrain,  a 
fatherless  and  motherless  child  of  a  delicate  nature,  whom 
they  treated  harshly,  and  who  died  as  a  result  of  the  brutal 
treatment  of  Sylvie,  an  envious  spinster.  This  woman  had 
been  sought  in  marriage,  on  account  of  her  dowry,  by 
Colonel  Gouraud,  and  she  believed  herself  deserted  by  him 
for  Pierrette.  [Pierrette.] 

Rogron  (Jerome-Denis),  two  years  younger  than  his 
sister  Sylvie,  and  like  her  sent  to  Paris  by  his  father.  When 
very  young  he  entered  the  establishment  of  one  of  the  leading 
haberdashers  on  rue  Saint-Denis,  the  firm  of  Guepin  at  the 
Trois  Quenouilles.  He  became  first  clerk  there  at  eighteen. 
Finally  associated  with  Sylvie  in  the  haberdasher's  establish- 
ment, the  Sceur  de  Famille,  he  withdrew  with  her  in  1823 
to  Provins.  Je'rome-Denis  Rogron  v/as  ignorant  and  did  not 
amount  to  much,  but  depended  on  his  sister  in  everything, 
for  Sylvie  had  "good  sense  and  was  sharp  at  a  bargain." 
He  allowed  his  sister  to  maltreat  Pierrette  Lorrain,  and,  when 
called  before  the  Provins  court  as  responsible  for  the  young 
girl's  death,  was  acquitted.  In  his  little  city,  Rogron,  through 
the  influence  of  the  attorney,  Vinet,  opposed  the  government 
of  Charles  X.  After  1830  he  was  appointed  receiver-general. 
The  former  Liberal,  who  was  one  of  the  masses,  said  that  Louis 
Philippe  would  not  be  a  real  king  until  he  could  create  noble- 
men. In  1828,  although  homely  and  unintelligent,  he  mar- 
ried the  beautiful  Bathilde  de  Chargeboeuf,  who  inspired 
in  him  an  old  man's  foolish  passion.  [Pierrette.] 

Rogron  (Madame  Denis),  born  Bathilde  de  Chargeboeuf, 
about  1803,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  young  girls  of  Troyes, 
poor  but  noble  and  ambitious.  Her  relative,  Vinet  the  at- 
torney, had  made  "a  little  Catherine  de  Medicis"  of  her, 
and  married  her  to  Denis  Rogron.  Some  years  after  this 
marriage  she  desired  to  become  a  widow  as  soon  as  possible, 
so  that  she  might  marry  General  Marquis  de  Montriveau, 
a  peer  of  France,  who  was  very  attentive  to  her.  Montriveau 
controlled  the  department  in  which  Rogron  had  a  receiver- 
ship. [Pierrette.] 


REPERTORY  OP  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  -;«i-.) 

Roguin,  born  in  1761 ;  for  twenty-five  years  a  Paris  notary; 
tall  and  heavy;  black  hair  and  high  forehead;  of  somewhat 
distinguished  appearance;  affected  with  ozoena.  This  af- 
fection caused  his  ruin,  for,  having  married  the  only  daughter 
of  the  banker,  Chevrel,  he  disgusted  his  wife  very  soon,  and 
she  was  untrue  to  him.  On  the  other  hand,  he  had  paid  mis- 
tresses, and  kept  and  was  fleeced  by  Sarah  van  Gobseck — 
"La  Belle  Hollandaise  " — mother  of  Esther.  He  had  met  her 
about  1815.  In  1818  and  1819  Roguin,  seriously  compro- 
mised by  careless  financial  ventures  as  well  as  by  dissipation, 
disappeared  from  Paris;  and  thus  brought  about  the  ruin 
of  Guillaume  Grandet,  Ce"sar  Birotteau,  and  Mesdames 
Descoings  and  Bridau.  [Cesar  Birotteau.  Eugenie  Grandet. 
A  Bachelor's  Establishment.]  Roguin  had  by  his  wife  a 
daughter,  whom  he  married  to  the  president  of  the  Provins 
tribunal.  She  was  called  in  that  city  "the  beautiful  Madame 
Tiphaine."  [Pierrette.]  In  1816  he  made,  for  Ginevra 
di  Piombo,  a  respectful  request  of  her  father  that  he  would 
allow  his  daughter  to  marry  Luigi  Porta,  an  enemy  of  the 
family.  [The  Vendetta.] 

Roguin  (Madame),  born  Chevrel  between  the  years  1770 
and  1780;  only  daughter  of  Chevrel,  the  banker;  wife  of  the 
preceding;  cousin  of  Madame  Guillaume    of   The   Cat   and 
Racket,  and  fifteen  years  her  junior;  aided    her   relative's 
daughter,  Augustine,  in  her  love  affair  with  the  painter,  Som- 
mervieux ;  pretty  and  coquettish ;  for  a  long  time  the  mistress 
of  Tillet,  the  banker;  was  present  with  her  husband  at  the 
famous  ball  given  by  C6sar  Birotteau,  December  17,  1818. 
She  had   a   country-house  at  Nogent-sur-Marne,   in  which 
she  lived  with  her  lover  after  Roguin's  departure.     [Ce"sar 
Birotteau.     At  the   Sign  of  the  Cat    and    Racket. 
rette.]    In    1815   Caroline  Crochard,   then  an  embroidere 
worked  for  Madame  Roguin,  who  made  her  wait  for  her 
wages.     [A    Second    Home.]    In    1834   and    1835   Madame 
Roguin,  then  more  than  fifty  years  of  age,  still  posed 
young  and  dominated    Du  Tillet,  who  was  married   to  1 
charming    Marie-Eugenie    de    Granville.     [A    Daughter 
Eve.] 


410  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Roguin  (Mathilde-Melanie) .     (See  Tiphaine,  Madame.) 
Romette  (La).     (See  Paccard,  Jeromette.) 

Ronceret  (Du),  president  of  the  Alengon  tribunal  under  the 
Restoration;  was  then  a  tall  man,  very  thin,  with  forehead 
sloping  back  to  his  thin  chestnut  hair;  eyes  of  different  colors, 
and  compressed  lips.  Not  having  been  courted  by  the  no- 
bility, he  turned  his  attention  to  the  middle  classes,  and 
then  in  the  suit  against  Victurnien  d'Esgrignon,  charged 
with  forgery,  he  immediately  took  part  in  the  prosecution. 
That  a  preliminary  trial  might  be  avoided  he  kept  away 
from  Alengon,  but  a  judgment  which  acquitted  Victurnien 
was  rendered  during  his  absence.  M.  du  Ronceret,  in  Machi- 
avelli  fashion,  manoeuvred  to  gain  for  his  son  Fabien 
the  hand  of  a  wealthy  heiress  of  the  city,  Mademoiselle 
Blandureau,  who  had  also  been  sought  by  Judge  Blondet 
for  his  son  Joseph.  In  this  contest  the  judge  won  over  his 
chief.  [Jealousies  of  a  Country  Town.]  M.  du  Ronceret 
died  in  1837,  while  holding  the  presidency  of  chamber  at 
the  Royal  Court  of  Caen.  The  Du  Roncerets,  ennobled  under 
Louis  XV.,  had  arms  bearing  the  word  "  Servir  "  as  a  motto 
and  a  squire's  helmet.  [Beatrix.] 

Ronceret  (Madame  du),  wife  of  the  preceding,  tall  and  ill- 
formed;  of  serious  disposition;  dressed  herself  in  the  most 
absurd  costumes  of  gorgeous  colors;  spent  much  time  at  her 
toilet,  and  never  went  to  a  ball  without  first  decorating  her 
head  with  a  turban,  such  as  the  English  were  then  wearing. 
Madame  du  Ronceret  received  each  week,  and  each  quarter 
gave  a  great  three-course  dinner,  which  was  much  spoken  of 
in  Alengon,  for  the  president  then  endeavored,  with  his  miserly 
abundance,  to  compete  with  M.  du  Bousquier's  elegance.  In 
the  Victurnien  d'Esgrignon  affair,  Madame  du  Ronceret, 
at  the  instigation  of  her  husband,  urged  the  deputy,  Sauvages, 
to  work  against  the  young  nobleman.  [Jealousies  of  a  Coun- 
try Town.] 

Ronceret  (Fabien-Felicien  du),  or  Duronceret,  son  of  the 
preceding  couple;  born  about  1802,  educated  at  Alen9on; 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  411 

was  here  the  companion  in  dissipation  of  Victurnien  d'Esgri- 
gnon,  whose  evil  nature  he  stimulated  at  M.  du  Bousquier's 
instigation.  [Jealousies  of  a  Country  Town.]  At  first  a 
judge  in  Alencon,  Du  Ronceret  resigned  after  the  death  of 
his  father  and  went  to  Paris  in  1838,  with  the  intention 
of  pushing  himself  into  notice  by  first  causing  an  uproar. 
He  became  acquainted  in  Bohemian  circles  where  he  was 
called  "  The  Heir,"  on  account  of  some  prodigalities.  Having 
made  the  acquaintance  of  Couture,  the  journalist,  he  was 
presented  by  him  to  Madame  Schontz,  a  popular  courtesan 
of  the  day,  and  became  his  successor  in  an  elegantly  furnished 
establishment  in  a  first  floor  on  rue  Blanche.  He  there 
began  as  vice-president  of  a  horticultural  society.  After  an 
opening  session,  during  which  he  delivered  an  address  which 
he  had  paid  Lousteau  five  hundred  francs  to  compose,  and 
where  he  made  himself  noticed  by  a  flower  given  him  by 
Judge  Blondet,  he  was  decorated.  Later  he  married  Madame 
Schontz,  who  wished  to  enter  middle-class  society.  Ronceret 
expected,  with  her  influence,  to  become  president  of  the  court 
and  officer  of  the  Legion  of  Honor.  [Beatrix.]  While  pur- 
chasing a  shawl  for  his  wife  at  M.  Fritot's,  in  company  with 
Bixiou,  Fabien  du  Ronceret  was  present  about  1844  at  the 
comedy  which  took  place  when  the  Selim  shawl  was  sold  to 
Mistress  Noswell .  [G  audissart  II .] 

Ronceret   (Madame  Fabien  du),  born  Josephine  Schiltz 
in  1805,  wife  of  the  preceding,  daughter  of  a  colonel  under  the 
Empire;  fatherless  and  motherless,  at  nine  years  of  age  she 
was  sent  to  Saint-Denis  by  Napoleon  in  1814,  and  remained 
in   that  educational  institution,  as  assistant-mistress,  until 
1827.     At  this  time  Joe"sphine  Schiltz,  who  was  a  god-child 
of  the   Empress,   began   the  adventurous  life  of  a  courtesan, 
after  the  example  of  some  of  her  companions  who  were,  '. 
her,  at  the  end  of     their  patience.     She  now  changed  her 
name  from  Schiltz  to  Schontz,  and  she  was  also  known  under 
the  assumed  name  of  Little  Aure*lie.     Animated,  intelhgen 
and  pretty,  after  having  sacrificed  herself  to  true  love,  a 
having  known  "some  poor  but  dishonorable   writers,"   aft* 
having  tried  intimacy  with  several  rich  simpletons,  she  was 


412  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

met  in  a  day  of  distress,  at  Valentino  Mussard's,  by  Arthur  de 
Rochefide,  who  loved  her  madly.  Having  been  abandoned 
by  his  wife  for  two  years,  he  lived  with  her  in  free  union. 
This  evil  state  of  affairs  existed  until  the  time  when  Josephine 
Schiltz  was  married  by  Fabien  du  Ronceret.  In  order  to 
have  revenge  on  the  Marquis  de  Rochefide  for  abandoning  her, 
she  gave  him  a  peculiar  disease,  which  she  had  made  Fabien 
du  Ronceret  contract,  and  which  also  was  conveyed  to 
Calyste  du  Guenic.  During  her  life  as  a  courtesan,  her  rivals 
were  Suzanne  de  Val-Noble,  Fanny  Beaupr4,  Mariette, 
Antonia,  and  Florine.  She  was  intimate  with  Finot,  Nathan, 
Claude  Vignon,  to  whom  she  probably  owed  her  critical 
mind,  Bixiou,  Le*on  de  Lora,  Victor  de  Vernisset,  La  Pal- 
fe"rine,  Gobenheim,  Vermanton  the  cynical  philosopher,  etc. 
She  even  hoped  to  marry  one  of  these.  Tn  1836  she  lived 
on  rue  Flechier,  and  was  the  mistress  of  Lousteau,  to  whom 
she  wished  to  marry  Fe"licie  Cardot,  the  notary's  daughter. 
Later  she  belonged  to  Stidmann.  In  1838  she  was  present  at 
Jose"pha's  house-warming  on  rue  de  la  Ville-l'Eveque.  In 
1840,  at  a  first  performance  at  the  Ambigu,  she  met  Madame 
de  la  Baudraye,  then  Lousteau's  mistress.  Josephine  Schiltz 
finally  became  the  wife  of  President  du  Ronceret.  [Beatrix. 
The  Muse  of  the  Department.  Cousin  Betty.  The  Uncon- 
scious Humorists.] 

Ronquerolles  (Marquis  de),  brother  of  Madame  de  SeYizy; 
uncle  of  the  Comtesse  Laginska;  one  of  "The  Thirteen," 
and  one  of  the  most  efficient  governmental  diplomats  under 
Louis  Philippe;  next  to  the  Prince  de  Talleyrand  the  shrewd- 
est ambassador;  was  of  great  service  to  Marsay  during  his 
service  as  a  minister;  was  sent  to  Russia  in  1838  on  a  secret 
mission.  Having  lost  his  two  children  during  the  cholera 
scourge  of  1832,  he  was  left  without  a  direct  heir.  He  had 
been  a  deputy  on  the  Right  Centre  under  the  Restoration, 
representing  a  department  in  Bourgogne,  where  he  was 
proprietor  of  a  forest  and  of  a  castle  next  to  the  Aigucs  in  the 
commune  of  Blangy.  When  Gaubertin,  the  steward,  was 
discharged  by  the  Comte  de  Montcornet,  Soudry  spoke  as  fol- 
lows: "Patience!  We  have  Messieurs  de  Soulanges  and  de 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMED1E  HUMAINE  413 

Konquerolles."  [The  Imaginary  Mistress.  The  Peasantry. 
Ursule  Mirouet.]  M.  de  Ronquerolles  was  an  intimate 
friend  of  the  Marquis  d' Aiglemont ;  they  even  addressed  each 
other  familiarly  as  thou  instead  of  you.  [A  Woman  of 
Thirty.]  He  alone  knew  of  Marsay's  first  love  and  the  name 
of  "Charlotte's"  husband.  [Another  Study  of  Woman.] 
In  1820  the  Marquis  de  Ronquerolles,  while  at  a  ball  at  the 
Ely  see-Bourbon,  in  the  Duchesse  de  Berri's  house,  provoked 
Auguste  de  Maulincour,  of  whom  Ferragus  Bourignard  had 
complained,  to  a  duel.  Also,  as  a  result  of  his  membership 
in  the  Thirteen,  Ronquerolles,  along  with  Marsay,  helped 
General  de  Montriveau  abduct  the  Duchesse  de  Langeais 
from  the  convent  of  bare-footed  Carmelites,  where  she  had 
taken  refuge.  [The  Thirteen.]  In  1839  he  was  M.  de  Rhet- 
ore's  second  in  a  duel  fought  with  Dorlange-Sallenauve, 
the  sculptor,  in  connection  with  Marie  Gaston.  [The  Member 
for  Arcis.] 

Rosalie,  rosy-cheeked  and  buxom,  waiting-maid  to  Madame 
de  Merret  at  Vendome;  then,  after  the  death  of  her -mistress, 
servant  employed  by  Madame  Lepas,  tavern-keeper  in  that 
town.  She  finally  told  Horace  Bianchon  the  drama  of  La 
Grande  Breteche  and  the  misfortunes  of  the  Merrets.  [An- 
other Study  of  Woman.  La  Grande  Breteche.] 

Rosalie,  chambermaid  to  Madame  Moreau  at  Presles  in 
1822.  [A  Start  in  Life.] 

Rose,  maid  in  the  service  of  Armande-Louise-Marie  de 
Chaulieu  in  1823,  at  the  time  when  this  young  lady,  having 
left  the  Carmelites  of  Blois,  came  to  live  with  her  father 
on  the  Boulevard  des  Invalides  in  Paris.  [Letters  of  Two 
Brides.] 

Rosina,    an   Italian   from   Messina,   wife  of  a   Piedmont 
gentleman,  who  was  captain  in  the  French  army  under  the 
Empire;  mistress  of  her  husband's  colonel, 
her  lover  near  Ber6sina  in  1812,  her  jealous  husband 
set  fire  to  the  hut  which  she  and  the  colonel  were  occupy 
[Another  Study  of  Woman.] 


414  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMED1E  HUMA1NE 

Roubaud,  born  about  1803  was  declared  doctor  by  the 
Paris  medical  school,  a  pupil  of  Desplein;  practiced  medicine 
at  Montegnac,  Haute- Vienne,  under  Louis  Philippe;  small 
man  of  fair  skin  and  very  insipid  appearance,  but  with  gray 
eyes  which  betrayed  the  depth  of  a  physiologist  and  the 
tenacity  of  a  student.  Rubaud  was  introduced  to  Madame 
Graslin  by  the  Cure  Bonnet,  who  was  in  despair  at  Rubaud's 
religious  indifference.  The  young  physician  admired  and 
secretly  loved  this  celebrated  Limousinese,  and  became  con- 
Verted  suddenly  to  Catholicism  on  seeing  the  saintly  death 
of  Madame  Graslin.  When  dying  she  made  him  head- 
physician  in  a  hospital  founded  by  her  at  the  Tascherons 
near  Montegnac.  [The  Country  Parson.] 

Rouget  (Doctor),  an  Issoudun  physician  under  Louis  XVI. 
and  the  Republic:  born  in  1737;  died  in  1805;  married  the 
most  beautiful  girl  of  the  city,  whom,  it  is  said,  he  made  very 
unhappy.  He  had  by  her  two  children:  a  son,  Jean-Jacques; 
and,  ten  years  later,  a  daughter,  Agathe,  who  became  Madame 
Bridau.  The  birth  of  this  daughter  brought  about  a  rupture 
between  the  doctor  and  his  intimate  friend,  the  sub- 
delegate  Lousteau,  whom  Rouget,  doubtless  wrongly,  ac- 
cused of  being  the  girl's  father.  Each  of  these  men  charged 
the  other  with  being  the  father  of  Maxence  Gilet,  who  was 
in  reality  the  son  of  a  dragoon  officer,  stationed  at  Bourges. 
Doctor  Rouget,  who  passed  for  a  very  disagreeable,  unac- 
commodating man,  was  selfish  and  spiteful.  He  quickly 
got  rid  of  his  daughter,  whom  he  hated.  After  his  wife, 
his  mother-in-law  and  his  father-in-law  had  died,  he  was 
very  rich,  and  although  his  life  was  apparently  regular  and 
free  from  scandal,  he  was  in  reality  very  dissipated.  In 
1799,  filled  with  admiration  for  the  beauty  of  the  little  Habou- 
illeuse,  Flore  Brazier,  he  received  her  into  his  own  home, 
where  she  stayed,  becoming  first  the  mistress,  and  after- 
wards the  wife  of  his  son,  Jean-Jacques,  and  eventually 
Madame  Philippe  Bridau,  Comtesse  de  Brambourg.  [A 
Bachelor's  Establishment.] 

Rouget  (Madame),  born  Descoings,  wife  of  the  preceding, 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  415 

daughter  of  rich  and  avaricious  wool-dealers  at  Issoudun, 
elder  sister  of  the  grocer,  Descoings,  who  married  the  widow 
of  M.  Bixiou  and  afterwards  died  with  Andre"  Che"nier,  July 
25,  1794,  on  the  scaffold.  As  a  young  woman,  although  in 
very  poor  health,  she  was  celebrated  for  her  beauty.  Not 
being  gifted  with  a  very  sound  intellect,  when  married  it  was 
thought  that  she  was  very  badly  treated  by  Doctor  Rouget. 
Her  husband  believed  that  she  was  unfaithful  to  him  for 
the  sake  of  the  sub-delegate,  Lousteau.  Madame  Rouget, 
deprived  of  her  dearly-beloved  daughter,  and  finding  her 
son  lacking  altogether  in  affection  for  her,  declined  rapidly 
and  died  early  in  1799,  unwept  by  her  husband,  who  had 
counted  correctly  on  her  early  death.  [A  Bachelor's  Es- 
tablishment.] 

Rouget  (Jean-Jacques),  born  at  Issoudun  in  1768,  son  of 
the  preceding  couple,  brother  of  Madame  Bridau,  who  was  ten 
years  his  junior.  Entirely  lacking  in  intellect,  he  became 
wildly  in  love  with  Flore  Brazier,  whom  he  knew  as  a  child 
in  his  father's  house.  He  made  this  girl  his  servant-mistress 
soon  after  the  doctor's  death,  and  allowed  her  lover,  Maxence 
Gilet,  near  her.  He  finally  married  her  in  1823,  being  urged 
to  do  so  by  his  nephew,  Philippe  Bridau,  who  soon  took 
Rouget  to  Paris,  and  there  arranged  for  the  old  man's  early 
death  by  starting  him  into  dissipation.  [A  Bachelor's  Es- 
tablishment.] After  the  death  of  J.-J.  Rouget,  the  Baudrayes 
of  Sancerre  bought  part  of  his  furniture,  and  had  it  remove  1 
from  Issoudun  to  Anzy,  where  they  placed  it  in  their  castle, 
which  had  formerly  belonged  to  the  Cadignans.  [The  Muse 
of  the  Department.] 

Rouget  (Madame  Jean- Jacques).  (See  Bridau,  Madame 
Philippe.) 

Rousse  (La),  significant  name  given  Madame  Prilard. 
(See  this  last  name.) 

Rousseau,  driver  of  the  public  hack  which  carried  the 
taxes    collected   at   Caen.     This   conveyance   was   attack 
and  plundered  by  robbers  in  May,  1809,  in  the  forest 


416  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Chesnay,  near  Mortagne,  Orne.  Rousseau,  being  looked  upon 
as  an  accomplice  of  the  robbers,  was  included  in  the  prose- 
cution which  took  place  soon  after;  but  he  was  acquitted. 
[The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Houston,  Mameluke,  in  the  service  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte. 
He  was  with  his  master  on  the  eve  of  the  battle  of  Jena,  Oc- 
tober 13,  1806,  when  Laurence  de  Cinq-Cygne  and  M.  de 
Chargeboeuf  observed  him  holding  the  Emperor's  horse  as 
Napoleon  dismounted.  This  was  just  before  these  two  ap- 
proached the  Emperor  to  ask  pardon  for  the  Hauteserres 
and  the  Simeuses,  who  had  been  condemned  as  accomplices 
in  the  abduction  of  Senator  Malin.  [The  Gondreville 
Mystery.] 

Rouville  (de).     (See  Leseigneur,  Madame.) 

Rouvre  (Marquis  du),  father  of  the  Comtesse  Clementine 
Laginska ;  threw  away  a  considerable  fortune,  by  means  of 
which  he  had  brought  about  his  marriage  with  a  Ronquerolles 
maiden.  This  fortune  was  partly  eaten  up  by  Florine,  "one 
of  the  most  charming  actresses  of  Paris."  [The  Imaginary 
Mistress.]  M.  du  Rouvre  was  the  brother-in-law  of  the 
Comte  de  Se"rizy,  who,  like  him,  had  married  a  Ronque- 
rolles. Having  been  a  marquis  under  the  old  regime, 
M.  du  Rouvre  was  created  count  and  made  chamberlain 
by  the  Emperor,  [A  Start  in  Life.]  In  1829,  M.  du  Rouvre, 
then  ruined,  lived  at  Nemours.  He  had  near  this  city  a 
castle  which  he  sold  at  great  loss  to  Minoret-Levrault.  [Ursule 
Mirouet.] 

Rouvre  (Chevalier  du),  younger  brother  of  the  Marquis 
du  Rouvre;  an  eccentric  old  bachelor,  who  became  wealthy 
by  dealing  in  houses  and  real  estate,  and  is  supposed  to 
have  left  his  fortune  to  his  niece,  the  Comtesse  Clementine 
Laginska.  [The  Imaginary  Mistress.  Ursule  Mirouet.] 

Rottzeau,  an  Angouleme  printer,  predecessor  and  master 
of  Jerome-Nicolas  Se*chard,  in  the  eighteenth  century.  [Lost 
Illusions.] 

Rubempre  (Lucien-Chardon  de),  born  in  1800  at  Angoule'me; 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMA1NE  417 

son  of  Chardon,  a  surgeon  in  the  armies  of  the  Republic  who 
became  an  apothecary  in  that  town,  and  of  Mademoiselle 
de  Rubempre,  his  wife,  the  descendant  of  a  very  noble  family. 
He  was  a  journalist,  poet,  romance  writer,  author  of  "Les 
Marguerites,"  a  book  of  sonnets,  and  of  the  "Archer  de  Charles 
IX.,"  a  historical  romance.  He  shone  for  a  time  in  the  salon 
of  Madame  de  Bargeton,  born  Marie-Louise- Anais  de  Ne"grepe- 
lisse,  who  became  enamored  of  him,  enticed  him  to  Paris,  and 
there  deserted  him,  at  the  instigation  of  her  cousin,  Madame 
d'Espard.  He  met  the  members  of  the  Cenacle  on  rue  des 
Quatre- Vents,  and  became  well  acquainted  with  D'Arthez. 
Etienne  Lousteau,  who  revealed  to  him  the  shameful  truth  con- 
cerning literary  life,  introduced  him  to  the  well-known  pub- 
lisher, Dauriat,  and  escorted  him  to  an  opening  night  at  the 
Panorama-Dramatique  theatre,  where  the  poet  saw  the 
charming  Coralie.  She  loved  him  at  first  sight,  and  he  re- 
mained true  to  her  until  her  death  in  1822.  Started  by  Lou- 
steau into  undertaking  Liberal  journalism,  Lucien  de  Ru- 
bempre passed  over  suddenly  to  the  Royalist  side,  founding  the 
"Reveil,"  an  extremely  partisan  organ,  with  the  hope  of  obtain- 
ing from  the  King  the  right  to  adopt  the  name  of  his  mother. 
At  this  time  he  frequented  the  social  world  and  thus  brought 
to  poverty  his  mistress.  He  was  wounded  in  a  duel  by  Michel 
Chrestien,  whom  he  had  made  angry  by  an  article  in  the 
"Reveil,"  which  had  severely  criticised  a  very  excellent  book 
by  Daniel  d'Arthez.  Coralie  having  died,  he  departed  for  Ang- 
ouleme  on  foot,  with  no  resources  except  twenty  francs  that 
Berenice,  the  cousin  and  servant  of  her  mistress,  had  received 
from  chance  lovers.  He  came  near  dying  of  exhaustion  and 
sorrow,  very  near  the  city  of  his  birth.  He  found  there  Madame 
de  Bargeton,  then  the  wife  of  Comte  Sixte  du  Chutelet,  pre- 
fect of  Charente  and  a  state  councilor.  Despite  the  warm 
reception  given  him,  first  by  a  laudatory  article  in  a  local 
newspaper,  and  next  by  a  serenade  from  his  young  fellow- 
citizens,  he  left  Angouleme  hastily,  desperate  at  having  been 
responsible  for  the  ruin  of  his  brother-in-law,  David  Se"chard, 
and  contemplating  suicide.  While  walking  along  he  chanced 
upon  Canon  Carlos  Herrera  (Jacques  Collin— Vautrin),  who 


418  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMED1E  HUMAINE 

took  him  to  Paris  and  became  the  guardian  of  his  future 
career.  In  1824,  while  passing  an  evening  at  the  theatre 
Porte-Saint-Martin,  Rubempre  became  acquainted  with  Esther 
Van  Gobseck,  called  La  Torpille,  a  courtesan.  They  were 
both  seized  at  once  with  a  violent  love.  A  little  later,  at  the 
last  Ope'ra  ball  of  the  winter  of  1824,  they  would  have  com- 
promised their  security  and  pleasure  if  it  had  not  been  for 
the  interference  of  Jacques  Collin,  called  Vautrin,  and  if  Lucien 
had  not  denied  certain  people  the  pleasure  of  satisfying  their  ill- 
willed  curiosity,  by  agreeing  to  take  supper  at  Lointier's.1 
Lucien  de  Rubempre  sought  to  become  the  son-in-law  of  the 
Grandlieus ;  he  was  welcomed  by  the  Rabourdins ;  he  became 
protector  of  Savinien  de  Portenduere;  he  became  the  lover  of 
Mmes.  Maufrigneuse  and  Se"rizy,  and  the  beloved  of  Lydie  Pey- 
rade.  His  life  of  ambition  and  of  pleasure  ended  in  the  Con- 
ciergerie,  where  he  was  imprisoned  unjustly,  charged  with 
robbing  and  murdering  Esther,  or  with  being  an  accomplice. 
He  hanged  himself  while  in  prison,  May  15,  1830.  [Lost  Illu- 
sions. A  Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.  The  Govern- 
ment Clerks.  Ursule  Mirouet.  Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's 
Life.]  Lucien  de  Rubemprd  lived  in  turn  in  Paris  at  the 
Hotel  du  Gaillard-Bois,  rue  de  1'Echelle,  in  a  room  in  the 
Quartier  Latin,  in  the  Hotel  de  Cluny  on  the  street  of  the 
same  name,  in  a  lodging-house  on  rue  Chariot,  in  another 
on  rue  de  la  Lune  in  company  with  Coralie,  in  a  little  apart- 
ment on  rue  Cassette  with  Jacques  Collin,  who  followed  him 
at  least  to  one  of  his  two  houses  on  the  Quai  Malaquais  and 
on  rue  Taitbout,  the  former  home  of  Beaudenord  and  of 
Caroline  de  Bellefeuille.  He  is  buried  in  Pere-Lachaise  in  a 
costly  tomb  which  contains  also  the  body  of  Esther  Gobseck, 
and  in  which  there  is  a  place  reserved  for  Jacques  Collin. 
A  series  of  articles,  sharp  and  pointed,  on  Rubempre  is 
entitled  "Les  Passants  de  Paris." 

Ruffard,  called  Arrachelaine,  a  robber  and  at  the  same 
time  employed  by  Bibi-Lupin,  chief  of  secret  police  in  1830; 
connected,  with  Godet,  in  the  assassination  of  the  Crottats, 

1  The  Lointier  restaurant,  on  rue  Richelieu,  opposite  rue  de  la  Bourse,  wag  very 
popular  about  1846  with  the  "four  hundred." 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  419 

husband    and   wife,    committed   by   Dannepont,  called   La 
Pouraille.     [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Ruffin,  born  in  1815,  the  instructor  of  Francis  Graslin 
after  1840.  Ruffin  was  a  professional  teacher,  and  was  pos- 
sessed of  a  wonderful  amount  of  information.  His  extreme 
tenderness  ''did  not  exclude  from  his  nature  the  severity 
necessary  on  the  part  of  one  who  wishes  to  govern  a  child." 
He  was  of  pleasing  appearance,  known  for  his  patience  and 
piety.  He  was  taken  to  Madame  Graslin  from  his  diocese 
by  the  Archbishop  Dutheil,  and  had,  for  at  least  nine  years, 
the  direction  of  the  young  man  who  had  been  put  in  his 
charge.  [The  Country  Parson.] 

Rusticoli.     (See  La  Palferine.) 


Sabatier,  police-agent;  Corentin  regretted  not  having  had 
his  assistance  in  the  search  with  Peyrade,  at  Gondreville,  in 
1803.  [The  Gondreville  Mystery.] 

Sabatier  (Madame),  born  in  1809.  She  formerly  sold 
slippers  in  the  trade  gallery  of  the  Palais  de  Justice,  in  Paris; 
widow  of  a  man  who  killed  himself  by  excessive  drinking, 
became  a  trained  nurse,  and  married  a  man  whom  she  had 
nursed  and  had  cured  of  an  affection  of  the  urinary  ducts 
("lurinary,"  according  to  Madame  Cibot),  and  by  whom  she 
had  a  fine  child.  She  lived  in  rue  Barre-du-Bec.  Madame 
Bordevin,  a  relative,  wife  of  a  butcher  of  the  rue  Chariot, 
was  god-mother  of  the  child.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Sagredo,  a  very  wealthy  Venetian  senator,  born  in  1730, 
husband   of   Bianca   Vendramini;  was    strangled,   in   1760, 
by  Facino  Cane,  whom  he  had  found  with  Bianca,  convera 
ing  on  the  subject  of  love,  but  in  an  entirely  innocent  way. 
[Facino  Cane.] 

Sagreda  (Bianca),  wife  of  the  preceding,  born  Vendramini, 
nbout  1742';  in    1760,  ."he   undeservingly  incurn-' 
picion,  in  the  eyes  of  her  husband,  of  crimina'.  relations 


420  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

with  Facino  Cane,  and  was  unwilling  to  follow  her  platonic 
friend  away  from  Venice  after  the  murder  of  Sagredo.  [Facino 
Cane.] 

Saillard,  a  clerk  of  mediocre  talent  in  the  Department 
of  Finance,  during  the  reigns  of  Louis  XVIII.  and  of  Charles 
X. ;  formerly  book-keeper  at  the  Treasury,  where  he  is  believed 
to  have  succeeded  the  elder  Poiret;1  he  was  afterwards  ap- 
pointed chief  cashier,  and  held  that  position  a  long  while. 
Saillard  married  Mademoiselle  Bidault,  a  daughter  of  a 
furniture  merchant,  whose  establishment  was  under  the 
pillars  of  the  Paris  market,  and  a  niece  of  the  bill-discounter 
on  rue  Greneta;  he  had  by  her  a  daughter,  Elisabeth,  who 
became  by  marriage  Madame  Isidore  Baudoyer;  owned  an 
old  mansion  on  Place  Royale,  where  he  lived  together  with 
the  family  of  Isidore  Baudoyer ;  he  became  mayor  of  his  ward 
during  the  monarchy  of  July,  and  renewed  then  his  acquaint- 
ance with,  his  old  comrades  of  the  department,  the  Minards 
and  the  Thuilliers.  [The  Government  Clerks.  The  Middle 
Classes.] 

Saillard  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding,  born  Bidault, 
in  1767;  niece  of  the  bill-discounter  called  Gigonnet;  was  the 
leading  spirit  of  the  household  on  Place  Royale,  and,  above 
all,  the  counselor  of  her  husband;  she  reared  her  daughter 
Elisabeth,  who  became  Madame  Baudoyer,  very  strictly. 
[Cesar  Birotteau.  The  Government  Clerks.] 

Sain,  shared  with  Augustin  the  sceptre  of  miniature  paint- 
ing under  the  Empire.  In  1809,  before  the  Wagram  cam- 
paign, he  painted  a  miniature  of  Montcornet,  then  young 
and  handsome ;  this  painting  passed  from  the  hands  of  ME  dame 
Fortin,  mistress  of  the  future  marshal,  to  the  hands  of  their 
daughter,  Madame  Valerie  Crevel  (formerly  Marneffe). 
[Cousin  Betty.] 

Saint-Denis  (De),  assumed  name  of  the  police- agent . 
Corentin. 

Sainte-Beuve    (Charles- Augustin),  born    at   Boulogne-sur- 

xTbe  Compilers  subsequently  dispute  this. 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  421 

Mer  in  1805 ;  died  in  Paris  in  1869 ;  an  academician  and  sena- 
tor under  the  Second  Empire.  An  illustrious  Frenchman  of 
letters  whom  Raoul  Nathan  imitated  poorly  enough  before 
Beatrix  de  Rochfide  in  his  account  of  the  adventures  of 
Charles-Edouard  Rusticoli  de  la  Palfe'rine.  [A  Prince  of 
Bohemia.] 

Sainte-SeVere  (Madame  de),  cousin  to  Gaston  de  Nueil, 
lived  in  Bayeux,  where  she  received,  in  1822,  her  young  kins- 
man, just  convalescing  from  some  inflammatory  disorder 
caused  by  excess  in  study  or  in  pleasure.  [The  Deserted 
Woman.] 

Saint-Esteve  (De),  name  of  Jacques  Collin  as  chief  of  the 
secret  police. 

Saint-Esteve  (Madame  de),  an  assumed  name,  shared  by 
Madame  Jacqueline  Collin  and  Madame  Nourrisson. 

Saint-Foudrille  (De),  a  "brilliant  scholar,"  lived  in  Paris, 
and  most  likely  in  the  Saint-Jacques  district,  at  least  about 
1840,  the  time  when  Thuillier  wished  to  know  him.  [The 
Middle  Classes.] 

Saint-Foudrille  (Madame  de),  wife  of  the  preceding,  re- 
ceived, about  1840,  a  very  attentive  visit  from  the  Thuillier 
family.  [The  Middle  Classes.] 

Saint-Georges  (Chevalier  de),  1745-1801,  a  mulatto,  of  su- 
perb figure  and  features,  son  of  a  former  general;  captain  of 
the   guards    of   the  Due  d'Orteans;  served  with  distinction 
under  Dumouriez;  arrested  in  1794  on  suspicion,  and  released 
after  the  9th  Thermidor;  he  became  distinguished  in  the  pleas- 
ing art  of  music,  and  especially  in  the  art  of  fencing. 
Chevalier  de  Saint-Georges  traded  at  the  Cat  and 
on  the  rue  Saint-Denis,  but  did  not  pay  his  debts.     Monsieur 
Guillaume  had  obtained  a  judgment  of  the  consular  govern- 
ment against  him.     [At  the  Sign  of  the  Cat  and  Racket. 
Later  he  was  made  popular  by  a  production  of  a  comSdie- 
vaudeville  of  Roger  de  Beauvoir,  at  the  Vari- 
Louis  Philippe,  with  the  comedian  Lafont1  as  interprete 

i  Complimented  in  1836,  at  the  chateau  of  Madame  de  la  Baudraye.  by  Etienn. 
Louateau  and  Horace  Bianchon. 


422  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Saint-Germain  (De),  one  of  the  assumed  names  of  police- 
agent  Peyrade. 

Saint-H€reen  (Comte  de),  husband  of  Moina  d'Aiglemont, 
was  heir  of  one  of  the  most  illustrious  houses  of  France. 
He  lived  with  his  wife  and  mother-in-law  in  a  house  belonging 
to  the  former,  on  the  rue  Plumet  (now  rue  Oudinot),  ad- 
joining the  Boulevard  des  Invalides;  about  the  middle  of 
December,  1843,  he  left  this  house  alone  to  go  on  a  political 
mission;  during  this  time  his  wife  received  too  willingly 
the  frequent  and  compromising  visits  of  young  Alfred  de 
Vandenesse,  and  his  mother-in-law  died  suddenly.  [A 
Woman  of  Thirty.] 

Saint-Hdreen  (Comtesse  Moina  de),  wife  of  the  preceding; 
of  five  children  she  was  the  only  one  that  survived  Monsieur 
and  Madame  d'Aiglemont,  in  the  second  half  of  Louis  Phil- 
ippe's reign.  Blindly  spoiled  by  her  mother,  she  repaid  that 
almost  exclusive  affection  by  coldness  only,  or  even  disdain. 
By  a  cruel  word  Moina  caused  the  death  of  her  mother; 
she  dared,  indeed,  to  recall  to  her  mother  her  former  rela- 
tions with  Marquis  Charles  de  Vandenesse,  whose  son  Alfred 
she  herself  was  receiving  with  too  much  pleasure  in  the  ab- 
sence of  Monsieur  de  Saint-Hereen.  [A  Woman  of  Thirty.] 
In  a  conversation  concerning  love  with  the  Marquise  de 
Vandenesse,  Lady  Dudley,  Mademoiselle  des  Touches,  the 
Marquise  of  Rochefide,  and  Madame  d'Espard,  Moi'na  laugh- 
ingly remarked:  "A  lover  is  forbidden  fruit,  a  statement 
that  sums  up  the  whole  case  with  me."  [A  Daughter  of 
Eve.]  Madame  .Octave  de  Camps,  referring  to  Nais  de  1'Es- 
torade,  then  a  child,  made  the  following  cutting  remark: 
"That  little  girl  makes  me  anxious;  she  reminds  me  of  Moina 
d'Aiglemont."  [The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Saint-Martin  (Louis-Claude  de),  called  the  "Unknown 
Philosopher,"  was  born  on  the  18th  of  January,  1743,  at 
Amboise,  and  died  Ocober  13,  1803;  he  was  very  often  re- 
ceived at  Clochegourde  by  Madame  de  Verneuil,  an  aunt  of 
Madame  de  Mortsauf,  who  knew  him  there.  At  Cloche- 
gourde,  Saint-Martin  superintended  the  publication  of  his 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  423 

last    books,   which  were    printed  at  Letourmy's  in  Tours 
[The  Lily  of  the  Valley.] 

Saint-Vier  (Madame  de).     (See  Gentillet.) 

Saintot  (Astolphe  de),  one  of  the  frequenters  of  the  Bargeton 
salon  at  Angouleme;  president  of  the  society  of  agriculture 
of  his  town;  though  "ignorant  as  a  carp,"  he  passed  for  a 
scholar  of  the  first  rank;  and,  though  he  did  nothing,  he 
let  it  be  believed  that  he  had  been  occupied  for  several  years 
with  writing  a  treatise  on  modern  methods  of  cultivation. 
His  success  in  the  world  was  due,  for  the  most  part,  to  quo- 
tations from  Cicero,  learned  by  heart  in  the  morning  and 
recited  in  the  evening.  Though  a  tall,  stout,  red-faced  man, 
Saintot  seemed  to  be  ruled  by  his  wife.  [Lost  Illusions.] 

Saintot  (Madame  de),  wife  of  the  preceding.  Her  Christian 
name  was  Elisa,  and  she  was  usually  called  Lili,  a  childish 
designation  that  was  in  strong  contrast  with  the  character 
of  this  lady,  who  was  dry  and  solemn,  extremely  pious,  and 
a  cross  and  quarrelsome  card-player.  [Lost  Illusions.] 

Sallenauve  (Franc.ois-Henri-Pantale'on-Dumirail,  Marquis 
de),  a  noble  of  Champagne,  lost  and  ruined  by  cards,  in  his 
old  age  was  reduced  to  the  degree  of  a  street-sweep,  under 
the  service  of  Jacques  Bricheteau.  [The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Sallenauve  (Comte  de),  legal  son  of  the  preceding,  was  born 
in  1809  of  the  relations  of  Catherine- Antoinette  Goussard 
and  Jacques  Collin;  grandson  of  Dan  ton  through  his  mother ; 
school-mate  of  Marie  Gaston,  whose  friend  he  continued 
to  be,  and  for  whom  he  fought  a  duel.  For  a  long  time 
he  knew  nothing  of  his  family,  but  lived  almost  to  the  age 
of  thirty  under  the  name  of  Charles  Dorlange.  [The  Member 
for  Arcis.] 

Sallenauve  (Comtesse  de),  wife  of  the  preceding,  born 
Jeanne-Athenais  de  TEstorade  (Nais,  by  familiar  abbrevia- 
tion) in  February,  1827;  the  precocious  and  rather  spoilt 
child  of  the  Comte  and  Comtesse  T/niis  do  1'Estorade.  [Let- 
ters of  Two  Brides.  The  Member  for  Arcis.] 


424  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Salmon,  formerly  expert  in  the  museum  at  Paris.  In 
1826,  while  on  a  visit  at  Tours,  whither  he  had  gone  to  see 
his  mother-in-law,  he  was  engaged  to  assess  a  "  Virgin  "  by 
Valentin  and  a  "  Christ "  by  Lebrun,  paintings  which  Abbe 
Frangois  Birotteau  had  inherited  from  Abbe  Chapeloud, 
having  left  them  in  an  apartment  recently  occupied  by 
himself  at  Mademoiselle  Sophie  Gamard's.  [The  Vicar  of 
Tours.] 

Salomon  (Joseph),  of  Tours,  or  near  Tours,  uncle  and  guar- 
dian to  Pauline  Salomon  de  Villenoix,  a  very  rich  Jewess.  He 
was  deeply  attached'  to  his  niece  and  wished  a  brilliant  match 
for  her.  Louis  Lambert,  who  was  engaged  to  Pauline, 
said:  "This  terrible  Salomon  freezes  me;  this  man  is  not  of 
our  heaven."  [Louis  Lambert.] 

Samanon,  a  squint-eyed  speculator,  followed  the  various 
professions  of  a  money-handler  during  the  reigns  of  Louis 
XVIII.,  Charles  X.,  and  Louis  Philippe.  In  1821,  Lucien 
de  Rubempr6,  still  a  novice,  visited  Samanon's  establish- 
ment in  the  Faubourg  Poissonniere,  where  he  was  then  en- 
gaged in  the  numerous  trades  of  dealing  in  old  books  and  old 
clothes,  of  brokerage,  and  of  discount.  There  he  found  a 
certain  great  man  of  unknown  identity,  a  Bohemian  and 
cynic,  who  had  come  to  borrow  his  own  clothes  that  he  had 
left  in  pawn.  [A  Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.]  Nearly 
three  years  later,  Samanon  was  the  man  of  straw  of  the 
Gobseck-Bidault  (Gigonnet)  combination,  who  were  per- 
secuting Chardin  des  Lupeaulx  for  the  payment  of  debts 
due  them.  [The  Government  Clerks.]  After  1830,  the  usurer 
joined  with  the  Ce'rizets  and  the  Claparons  when  they  tried 
to  circumvent  Maxime  de  Trailles.  [A  Man  of  Business.] 
The  same  Samanon,  about  1844,  had  bills  to  the  value  of 
ten  thousand  francs  against  Baron  Hulot  d'Ervy,  who  was 
seeking  refuge  under  the  name  of  Father  Vyder.  [Cousin 
Betty.] 

San-Esteban  (Marquise  de),  a  foreign  and  aristocratic 
sounding  assumed  name,  under  which  Jacqueline  Collin 
disguised  herself  when  she  visited  the  Conciergerie,  in  May, 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMED1E  HUMAINE  425 

1830,  to  see  Jacques  Collin,  himself  under  the  incognito  of 
Carlos  Herrera.     [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

San-Real  (Don  Hijos,  Marquis  de),  born  about  1735,  a 
powerful  nobleman;  he  enjoyed  the  friendship  of  Ferdinand 
VII.,  King  of  Spain,  and  married  a  natural  daughter  of  Lord 
Dudley,  Margarita-Euphemia  Porraberil  (born  ot  a  Spanish 
mother),  with  whom  he  lived  in  Paris,  in  1815,  in  a  mansion 
on  the  rue  Saint-Lazare,  near  Nucingen.  [The  Thirteen.] 

San-Re"al  (Marquise  de),  wife  of  the  preceding,  born  Mar- 
garita-Euphe'mia  Porraberil,  natural  daughter  of  Lord 
Dudley  and  a  Spanish  woman,  and  sister  of  Henri  de  Mar- 
had  the  restless  energy  of  her  brother,  whom  she  resembled 
also  in  appearance.  Brought  up  at  Havana,  she  was  then 
taken  back  to  Madrid,  accompanied  by  a  Creole  girl  of  the 
Antilles,  Paquita  Valdes,  with  whom  she  maintained  pas- 
sionate unnatural  relations,  that  marriage  did  not  interrupt 
and  which  were  being  continued  in  Paris  in  1815,  when  the 
marquise,  meeting  a  rival  in  her  brother,  Henri  de  Marsay, 
killed  Paquita.  After  this  murder,  Madame  de  San  Re"al 
retired  to  Spain  to  the  convent  of  Los  Dolores.  [The  Thir- 
teen.] 

Sanson  (Charles-Henri),  public  executioner  in  the  period 
of  the  Revolution,  and  beheader  of  Louis  XVI.;  he  attended 
two  masses  commemorating  the  death  of  the  King,  celebrated 
in  1793  and  1794,  by  the  Abb6  de  Marolles,  to  whom  his 
identity  was  afterwards  disclosed  by  Ragon.  [An  Episode 
under  the  Terror.] 

Sanson,  son  of  the  preceding,  born  about  1770,  descended, 
as  was  his  father,  from  headsmen  of  Rouen.  After  having 
been  captain  of  cavalry  he  assisted  his  father  in  the  execution 
of  Louis  XVI.;  was  his  agent  when  scaffolds  were  operated 
at  the  same  time  in  the  Place  Louis  XV.  and  the  Place  du 
Trone,  and  eventually  succeeded  him.  Sanson  was  pre- 
pared to  "accommodate"  Thdodorc  Calvi  in  May,  1830;  he 
awaited  the  condemning  order,  which  was  not  issued. 
had  the  appearance  of  a  rather  distihgtiisnetf  Englishman. 
At  least  Sanson  gave  Jacques  Collin  that  impression,  when  he 


426  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMED1E  HUMAINE 

met  the  ex-convict,'  then  confined  at  the  Conciergerie.  [Scenes 
from  a  Courtesan's  Life.]  Sanson  lived  in  the  rue  des  Marais 
(the  district  of  the  Faubourg  Saint-Martin),  which  is  a  much 
shorter  street  now  than  formerly. 

Sarcus  was  justice  of  the  peace,  in  the  reign  of  Louis  XVIII., 
at  Soulanges  (Bourgogne),  where  he  lived  on  his  fifteen 
hundred  francs,  together  with  the  rent  of  a  house  in  which 
he  lived,  and  three  hundred  francs  from  the  public  funds. 
Sarcus  married  the  elder  sister  of  Vermut,  the  druggist  of 
Soulanges,  by  whom  he  had  a  daughter,  Adeline,  afterwards 
Madame  Adolphe  Sibilet.  This  functionary  of  inferior  order, 
a  handsome  little  old  man  with  iron-gray  hair,  was  none  the 
less  the  politician  of  the  first  order  in  the  society  of  Soulanges, 
which  was  completely  under  Madame  Soudry's  sway,  and 
which  counted  almost  all  Montcornet's  enemies.  [The 
Peasantry.] 

Sarcus,  cousin  in  the  third  degree  of  the  preceding;  called 
Sarcus  the  Rich;  in  1817  a  counselor  at  the  prefecture  of  the 
department  of  Bourgogne,  which  Monsieur  de  la  Roche- 
Hugon  and  Monsieur  de  Casteran  governed  successively 
under  the  Restoration,  and  which  included  as  dependencies 
Ville-aux-Fayes,  Soulanges,  Blangy,  and  Aigues.  He  recom- 
mended Sibilet  as  steward  for  Aigues,  which  was  Montcor- 
net's estate.  Sarcus  the  Rich  was  a  member  of  the  Chamber 
of  Deputies;  he  was  also  said  to  be  right-hand  man  to  the 
prefect.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Sarcus  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding;  born  Vallat, 
in  1778,  of  a  family  connected  with  the  Gaubertins,  was  sup- 
posed in  her  youth  to  have  favored  Monsieur  Lupin,  who, 
in  1823,  was  still  paying  devoted  attentions  to  this  woman 
of  forty-five,  the  mother  of  an  engineer.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Sarcus,  son  of  the  preceding  couple,  became,  in  1823, 
general  engineer  of  bridges  and  causeways  of  Ville-aux- 
Fayes,  thus  completing  the  group  of  powerful  native  families 
hostile  to  the  Montcornets.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Sarcus-Taupin,   a  miller   at   Soulanges,   who   enjoyed   an 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HU.MAINE  427 

income  of  fifty  thousand  francs;  the  Nucingen  of  his  town; 
was  father  of  a  daughter  whose  hand  was  sought  by  Lupin, 
the  notary,  and  by  President  Gendrin  for  their  respective 
sons.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Sarrasine  (Matthieu  or  Mathieu;,  a  laborer  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Saint-Die",  father  of  a  rich  lawyer  of  Franche- 
Comte,  and  grandfather  of  the  sculptor,  Ernest-Jean  Sar- 
rasiue.  [Sarrasine.] 

Sarrasine,  a  rich  lawyer  of  Franche-Comte"  in  the  eighteenth 
century,  father  of  the  sculptor,  Ernest-Jean  Sarrasine.  [Sar- 
rasine.] 

Sarrasine  (Ernest- Jean),  a  famous  French  sculptor,  son 
of  the  preceding  and  grandson  of  Matthieu  Sarrasine.  When 
quite  young  he  showed  a  calling  for  art  strong  enough  to 
combat  the  will  of  his  father,  who  wished  him  to  adopt  the 
legal  profession;  he  went  to  Paris,  entered  Bouchardon's 
studio,  found  a  friend  and  protector  in  this  master;  became 
.  acquainted  with  Madame  Geoffrin,  Sophie  Arnould,  the  Baron 
d'Holbach,  and  J.-J.  Rousseau.  Having  become  the  lover 
of  Clotilde,  the  famous  singer  at  the  Ope"ra,  Sarrasine  won 
the  sculptor's  prize  founded  by  Marigny,  a  brother  of  La 
Pompadour,  and  received  praise  from  Diderot.  He  then  went 
to  Rome  to  live  (1758) ;  became  intimate  with  Vien,  Loutlm- 
bourg,1  Allegrain,  Vitagliani,  Cicognara,  and  Chigi.  He  then 
fell  madly  in  love  with  the  eunuch  Zambinella,  uncle  of  the 
Lanty-Duvignons;  believing  him  to  be  a  woman,  he  made  a 
magnificent  bust  of  the  singular  singer,  who  was  kept  by 
Cicognara,  and,  having  carried  him  off,  was  murdered  at  the 
instigation  of  his  rival  in  the  same  year,  1758.  The  story  of 
Sarrasine's  life  was  related,  during  the  Restoration,  TO 
Beatrix  de  Rochefide.  [Sarrasine.  The  Member  for 
Arcis.] 

Sauteloup,  familiarly  called  "Father  Sauteloup,"  had  the 
task,  in  May,  1830,  of  reading  to  The'odoro  Calvi,  who  was 
condemned  to  death  and  a  prisoner  in  the  Conciergerie,  the 

1  Or  Louthrelx>urg,  and  also  LauterbourR.   intentionally  left  out  in  the  Reper- 
tory because  of  the  various  ways  of  spelling  the  name. 


428  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

denial  of  his  petition  for  appeal.     [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's 
Life.] 

Sauvage  (Madame),  a  person  of  repulsive  appearance, 
and  of  doubtful  morality,  the  servant-mistress  of  Maitre 
Fraisier;  on  the  death  of  Pons,  kept  house  for  Schmucke, 
who  inherited  from  Pons  to  the  prejudice  of  the  Camusot 
de  Marvilles.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Sauvage,  first  deputy  of  the  king's  attorney  at  Alengon; 
a  young  magistrate,  married,  harsh,  stiff,  ambitious,  and 
selfish ;  took  sides  against  Victurnien  d'Esgrignon  in  the  noto- 
rious affair  known  as  the  D'Esgrignon-Du-Bousquier  case; 
after  the  famous  lawsuit  he  was  sent  to  Corsica.  [Jealousies 
of  a  Country  Town.] 

Sauvagnest,  successor  of  the  attorney  Bordin,  and  pre- 
decessor of  Maitre  Desroches;  was  an  attorney  in  Paris. 
[A  Start  in  Life.] 

Sauvaignou  (of  Marseilles),  a  head  carpenter,  had  a  hand 
in  the  sale  of  the  house  on  the  Place  de  la  Madeleine  which 
was  bought  in  1840,  by  the  Thuilliers  at  the  urgent  instance 
of  Ce>izet,  Claparon,  Dutocq,  and  especially  Theodose  de 
la  Peyrade.  [The  Middle  Classes.] 

Sauviat  (Jerome-Baptiste),  born  in  Auvergne,  about 
1747;  a  traveling  tradesman  from  1792  to  1796;  of  commercial 
tastes,  rough,  energetic,  and  avaricious;  of  a  profoundly 
religious  nature;  was  imprisoned  during  the  Terror;  barely 
escaped  being  beheaded  for  abetting  the  escape  of  a  bishop ; 
married  Mademoiselle  Champagnac  at  Limoges  in  1797;  had  by 
her  a  daughter,  V4ronique  (Madame  Pierre  Graslin) ;  after 
the  death  of  his  father-in-law,  he  bought,  in  the  same  town, 
the  house  which  he  was  occupying  as  tenant  and  where  he 
sold  old  iron;  he  continued  his  business  there;  retired  from 
business  in  wealth,  but  still,  at  a  later  period,  went  as 
superintendent  into  a  porcelain  factory  with  J.-F.  Tascheron; 
gave  his  attention  to  that  work  for  at  least  three  years, 
and  died  then  through  an  accident  in  1827.  [The  Country 
Parson.] 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  429 

Sauviat  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding ;  born  Champagnac 
about  1767;  daughter  of  a  coppersmith  of  Limoges,  who 
became  a  widower  in  1797,  and  from  whom  she  afterwards 
inherited.  Madame  Sauviat  lived,  in  turn,  near  the  rue 
de  la  Vieille-Poste,  a  suburb  of  Limoges,  and  at  Montdgnac. 
Like  Sauviat,  she  was  industrious,  rough,  grasping,  econom- 
ical, and  hard,  but  pious  withal;  and  like  him,  too,  she  adored 
Veronique,  whose  terrible  secret  she  knew,— a  sort  of  Mar- 
cellange  affair.1  [The  Country  Parson.] 

Savaron  de  Savarus,  a  noble  and  wealthy  family,  whose 
various  members  known  in  the  eighteenth  century  were  as 
follows:  Savaron  de  Savarus  (of  Tournai),  a  Fleming, 
true  to  Flemish  traditions,  with  whom  the  Claes  and  the 
Pierquins  seem  to  have  had  transactions.  [The  Quest  of  the 
Absolute.]  Mademoiselle  Savarus,  a  native  of  Brabant,  a 
wealthy  unmarried  heiress;  Savarus  (Albert),  a  French  at- 
torney, descended,  but  not  lineally,  from  the  Comte  de 
Savarus.  [Albert  Savarus.] 

Savarus  (Albert  Savaron  de),  of  the  family  of  the  preceding 
list,  but  natural  son  of  the  Comte  de  Savarus,  was  born 
about  1798;  was  secretary  to  a  minister  of  Charles  X.,  and 
was  also  Master  of  Requests.  The  Revolution  of  1830 
fatally  interrupted  a  very  promising  career;  a  deep  love, 
which  was  reciprocated,  for  the  Duchesse  d'Argaiolo  (after- 
wards Madame  Alphonse  de  Rhdtore")  restored  to  Savarus 
his  energetic  and  enterprising  spirit;  he  succeeded  in  being 
admitted  to  the  bar  of  Besancon,  built  up  a  good  practice,  suc- 
ceeded brilliantly,  foun'ded  the  "Revue  de  1'Est,"  in  which  he 
published  an  autobiographic  novel,  "L'Ambitieux  par  Amour," 
and  met  with  warm  support  in  his  candidacy  for  the  Chamber 
of  Deputies  (1834).  Albert  Savarus.  with  his  mask  of  a  deep 
thinker,  might  have  seen  all  his  dreams  realized,  but  for 
the  romantic  and  jealous  fancies  of  Rosalie  de  Watteville, 
who  discovered  and  undid  the  advocate's  plans,  by  bringing 
about  the  second  marriage  of  Madame  d'Argaiolo.  His 
hopes  thus  baffled,  Albert  Savarus  became  a  friar  of  the 

1 A  famous  criminal  case  of  the  time. 


430  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDTE  HUMAINE 

parent  institution  of  the  Carthusians,  which  was 

near   Grenoble,    and   was  known  as  Brother   Albert.     [The 

Quest  of  the  Absolute.     Albert  Savarus.] 

Scherbelloff,  Scherbellof,  or  Sherbelloff  (Princesse),  mater- 
nal grandmother  of  Madame  de  Montcornet.  [The  Peasantry. 
Jealousies  of  a  Country  Town.] 

Schiltz  married  a  Barnheim  (of  Baden),  and  had  by  her  a 
daughter,  Josephine,  afterwards  Madame  Fabien  du  Ron- 
ceret;  was  "an  intrepid  officer,  a  chief  among  those  bold 
Alsatian  partisans  who  almost  saved  the  Emperor  in  the  cam- 
paign of  France."  He  died  at  Metz,  despoiled  and  ruined. 
[Beatrix.] 

Schiltz  (Josephine),  otherwise  known  as  Madame  Schontz. 
(See  Ronceret,  Madame  Fabien  du.) 

Schinner  (Mademoiselle),  mother  of  Hippolyte  Schinner, 
the  painter,  and  daughter  of  an  Alsatian  farmer;  being 
seduced  by  a  coarse  but  wealthy  man,  she  refused  the  money 
offered  as  compensation  for  refusing  to  legitimize  their 
liaison,  and  consoled  herself  in  the  joys  of  maternity,  the 
duties  whereof  she  fulfilled  with  the  most  perfect  devotion. 
At  the  time  of  her  son's  marriage  she  was  living  in  Paris, 
and  shared  with  him  an  apartment  situated  near  the  ar- 
tist's studio,  and  not  far  from  the  Madeleine,  on  the  rue 
des  Champs-Elysees.  [The  Purse.] 

Schinner  (Hippolyte),  a  painter,  natural  son  of  the  pre- 
ceding; of  Alsatian  origin,  and  recognized  by  his  mother 
only;  a  pupil  of  Gros,  in  whose  stildio  he  formed  a  close 
intimacy  with  Joseph  Bridau.  [A  Bachelor's  Establishment.] 
He  was  married  during  the  reign  of  Louis  XVIII.;  he  was  at 
that  time  a  knight  of  the  Legion  of  Honor,  and  was  already  a 
celebrated  character.  While  working  in  Paris,  near  the  Made- 
leine, in  a  house  belonging  to  Molineux,  he  met  the  other  oc- 
cupants, Madame  and  Mademoiselle  Leseigneur  de  Rouville, 
and  seems  to  have  imitated  with  respect  to  them  the  delicate 
conduct  of  their  benefactor  and  friend,  Kergarouet;  was 
touched  by  the  cordiality  extended  to  him  by  the  baroness 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  431 

in  spite  of  his  poverty;  he  loved  Adelaide  de  Rouville,  and, 
the  passion  being  reciprocated,  he  married  her.  [The  Purse.] 
Being  associated  with  Pierre  Grassou,  he  gave  him  excellent 
advice,  which  this  indifferent  artist  was  scarcely  able  to 
profit  by.  [Pierre  Grassou.]  In  1822,  the  Comte  de  Sfrizy 
employed  Schinner  to  decorate  the  chateau  of  Presles;  Joseph 
Bridau,  who  was  trying  his  hand,  completed  the  master's 
work,  and  even,  in  a  passing  fit  of  levity,  appropriated  his 
name.  [A  Start  in  Life.]  Schinner  was  mentioned  in  the 
autobiographical  novel  of  Albert  Savarus,  "L'Ambitieux 
par  Amour.  "  [Albert  Savarus.]  He  was  the  friend  of  Xavier 
Rabourdin.  [The  Government  Clerks.]  He  drew  vignettes 
for  the  works  of  Canalis.  [Modeste  Mignon.]  To  him  we 
owe  the  remarkable  ceilings  of  Adam  Laginski's  house  situated 
on  the  rue  de  la  Pepiniere.  [The  Imaginary  Mistress.] 
About  1845,  Hippolyte  Schinner  lived  not  far  from  the  rue 
de  Berlin,  near  Leon  de  Lora,  to  whom  he  had  been  first  in- 
structor. [The  Unconscious  Humorists.] 

Schinner  (Madame),  wife  of  Hippolyte  Schinner,  born 
Adelaide  Leseigneur  de  Rouville,  daughter  of  the  Baron  and 
Baronne  de  Rouville,  her  father  being  a  naval  officer; 
lived  during  the  Restoration  in  Paris  with  her  mother,  board- 
ing at  a  house  situated  on  the  rue  de  Surene  and  belonging  to 
Molineux.  Bereft  of  her  father,  the  future  Madame  Schinner 
would  then  have  found  it  difficult  to  await  the  slow  adjust- 
ment of  her  father's  pension,  had  not  their  old  friend,  Ad- 
miral de  Kergarouet,  come  in  his  unobtrusive  way  to  the 
assistance  of  herself  and  her  mother.  About  the  same  time 
she  nursed  their  neighbor,  Hippolyte  Schinner,  who  was 
suffering  from  the  effects  of  a  fall,  and  conceived  for  him  a 
love  that  was  returned ;  the  gift  of  a  little  embroidered  purse 
on  the  part  of  the  young  woman  brought  about  the  mar- 
riage. [The  Purse.] 

Schmucke  (Wilhelm),  a  German  Catholic,  and  o  man  of 
great  musical  talent;  open-hearted,  absent-mindeJ,  kind, 
sincere,  of  simple  manners,  of  gentle  and  upright  bearing. 
Originally  he  was  precentor  to  the  Margrave  of  Anspach- 


432  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

he  had  known  Hoffman,  the  eccentric  writer  of  Berlin,  in  whose 
memory  he  afterwards  had  a  cat  named  Miirr.  Schmucke 
then  went  to  Paris;  in  1835-36,  he  lived  there  hi  a  small 
apartment  on  the  Quai  Conti,  at  the  corner  of  the  rue  de 
Nevers.1  Previous  to  this,  in  the  Quartier  du  Marais,  he  gave 
lessons  in  harmony,  that  were  much  appreciated,  to  the 
daughters  of  the  Granvilles,  afterwards  Mesdames  de  Van- 
denesse  and  du  Tillet;  at  a  later  period  the  former  lady 
asked  him  to  endorse  some  notes  of  hand  for  Raoul 
Nathan's  benefit.  [A  Daughter  of  Eve.]  Schmucke  was 
also  instructor  of  Lydie  Peyrade  before  her  marriage 
with  Theodose  de  la  Peyrade.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's 
Life];  but  those  whom  he  regarded  as  his  favorite  pupils 
were  Mesdames  de  Vandenesse  and  du  Tillet,  and  the  future 
Vicomtesse  de  Portendu£re,Mademoiselle  Mirouet  of  Nemours, 
the  three  "  Saint-Cecilias "  who  combined  to  pay  him  an  an- 
nuity. [Ursule  Mirouet.]  The  former  precentor,  now  of 
ugly  and  aged  appearance,  readily  obtained  a  welcome  with 
the  principals  of  boarding-schools  for  young  ladies.  At  a 
distribution  of  prizes  he  was  brought  in  contact  with  Sylvain 
Pons  for  whom  he  immediately  felt  an  affection  that  proved 
to  be  mutual  (1834).  Their  intimacy  brought  them  under 
the  same  roof,  rue  de  Normandie,  as  tenants  of  C.-J.  Pil- 
lerault  (1836).  Schmucke  lived  for  nine  years  in  perfect 
happiness.  Gaudissart,  having  become  manager  of  a  theatre, 
employed  him  in  his  orchestra,  entrusted  him  with  the  work 
of  making  copies  of  the  music,  and  employed  him  to  play  the 
piano  and  various  instruments  that  were  not  used  in  the 
boulevard  theatres:  the  viol  d'amore,  English  horn,  violon- 
cello, harp,  castanets,  bells,  saxhorns,  etc.  Pons  made 
him  his  residuary  legatee  (April,  1845) ;  but  the  innocent  Ger- 
man was  not  strong  enough  to  contend  with  Maitre  Fraisier, 
agent  of  the  Camusot  de  Marvilles,  who  were  ignored  in  this 
will.  In  spite  of  Topinard,  to  whom,  in  despair  at  the  death 
of  his  friend,  he  went  to  demand  hospitality,  in  the  Bordin 
district,  Schmucke  allowed  himself  to  be  swindled,  and  was 
soon  carried  off  by  apoplexy.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

1  Perhaps  the  former  lodging  place  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte. 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  433 

Schontz  (Madame),  name  borne  by  Mademoiselle  Schiltz, 
afterwards  Madam  Fabien  du  Ronceret.  (See  this  last  name.) 

Schwab  (Wilhelm),  born  at  Strasbourg  in  the  early  part 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  of  the  German  family  of  Kehl, 
had  Frederic  (Fritz)  Brunner  as  his  friend,  whose  follies  he 
shared,  whose  poverty  he  relieved,  and  with  whom  he  went 
to  Paris;  there  they  went  to  the  Hotel  du  llhin,  rue  du  Mail, 
kept  by  Johann  Graff,  father  of  Emilie,  and  brother  of  the 
famous  tailor,  Wolfgang  Graff.  Schwab  kept  books  for  this 
rival  of  Humann  and  Staub.  Several  years  later  he  played 
the  flute  at  the  theatre  at  which  Sylvain  Pons  directed  the 
orchestra.  During  an  intermission  at  the  first  brilliant  per- 
formance of  "La  Fiancee  du  Diable,"  presented  in  the  fall  of 
1844,  Schwab  invited  Pons  through  Schmucke  to  his  ap- 
proaching wedding;  he  married  Mademoiselle  Emilie  Graff — 
a  love-match — and  joined  in  business  with  Fr6d£ric  Brunner, 
who  was  a  banker  and  enriched  by  the  inheritance  of  his 
father's  property.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Schwab  (Madame  Wilhelm),  wife  of  the  preceding;  born 
Mademoiselle  Emilie  Graff;  an  accomplished  beauty;  niece 
of  Wolfgang  Graff,  the  wealthy  tailor,  who  provided  her  with 
dowry.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Scio  (Madame),  a  prominent  singer  of  the  The'&tre  Feydeau 
in  1798,  was  very  beautiful  in  "Les  Pe"ruviens,"  a  comic  opera 
by  Mongenod,  produced  with  very  indifferent  success.  [The 
Seamy  Side  of 'History.] 

Sccevola  (Mucius).     Under  this  assumed  name  was  con- 
cealed, during  the  Terror,  a  man  who  had  been  huntsman 
to  the  Prince  de  Conti,  to  whom  he  owed  his  fortune, 
plasterer,  and  proprietor  of  a  small  house  in  Paris,  on  about 
the  highest  point  of  the  Faubourg  Saint-Martin,1  near  the 
rue  d'Allemagne,  he  affected  an  exaggerated  civiMn,  wh 
masked  an  unfailing  fidelity  to  the  Bourbons,  and  he  in  son- 
mysterious  way  afforded  protection  to  Sisters  Marthe 
Agathe    (Mesdernoiselles    de    Beause'ant   and    <le  T.anga 

»  His  parisl.  waa  the  Saint-Laurent  church,  which  for  a  while  during  th*  Revol* 
tion  had  the  name  of  Temple  of  lidehty. 


434  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

nuns  who  had  escaped  from  the  Abbey  of  Chelles,  and  were, 
with  Abbe"  de  Marolles,  taking  refuge  under  his  roof.  [An 
Episode  under  the  Terror'.] 

S€chard  (Jerome-Nicolas),  born  in  1743.  After  having  been 
a  workman  in  a  printer's  shop  of  Angouleme  situated  on  the 
Place  du  Murier,  though  very  illiterate,  he  became  its  owner 
at  the  beginning  of  the  Revolution ;  was  acquainted  at  that 
time  with  the  Marquis  de  Maucombe,  married  a  woman 
that  was  provided  with  a  certain  competency,  but  soon 
lost  her,  after  having  by  her  a  son,  David.  In  the  reign  of 
Louis  XVIII.,  fearing  the  competition  of  Cointet,  J.-N. 
Sechard  retired  from  active  life,  selling  his  business  to  his 
son,  whom  he  intentionally  deceived  in  the  trade,  and  moved 
to  Marsac,  near  Angouleme,  where  he  raised  grapes,  and  drank 
to  excess.  During  all  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  Sechard 
mercilessly  aggravated  the  commercial  difficulties  which 
his  son  David  was  struggling  against.  The  old  miser  died 
about  1829,  leaving  property  of  some  value.  [Lost  Il- 
lusions.] 

Sechard  (David),  only  son  of  the  preceding,  school-mate 
and  friend  of  Lucien  de  Rubempre",  learned  the  art  of  printing 
from  the  Didots  of  Paris.  On  one  occasion,  upon  his  return 
to  his  native  soil,  he  gave  many  evidences  of  his  kindness 
and  delicacy;  having  purchased  his  father's  printing  shop, 
he  allowed  himself  to  be  deliberatly  cheated  and  duped  by 
him;  employed  as  proof-reader  Lucien  de  Rubempre,  whose 
sister,  Eve  Chardon,  he  adored  with  a  passion  that  was  fully 
reciprocated ;  he  married  her  in  spite  of  the  poverty  of  both 
parties,  for  his  business  was  on  the  decline.  The  expense  in- 
volved, the  competition  of  the  Cointets,  and  especially 
his  experiments  as  inventor  in  the  hope  of  finding  the  secret 
of  a  particular  way  of  making  paper,  reduced  him  to  very 
straitened  circumstances.  Indeed,  everything  combined  to 
destroy  Sechard;  the  cunning  and  power  of  the  Cointet 
house,  the  spying  of  the  ungrateful  Cerizet,  formerly  his  ap- 
prentice, the  disorderly  life  of  Lucien  de  Rubempre,  and  the 
jealous  greed  of  his  father.  A  victim  of  the  wiles  of 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  438 

v£ointet,  Sechard  abandoned  his  discovery,  resigned  himself 
to  his  fate,  inherited  from  his  father,  and,  cheered  by  the 
devotion  of  the  Kolbs,  dwelt  in  Marsac,  where  Derville, 
led  by  Corentin,  hunted  him  out  with  a  -view  to  gaining 
information  as  to  the  origin  of  Lucien  de  Rubempre*'s  mil- 
lion. [Lost  Illusions.  A  Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris. 
Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Sechard  (Madame  David),  wife  of  the  preceding,  born 
Eve  Chardon  in  1804,  daughter  of  a  druggist  of  L'Houmeau 
(a  suburb  of  Angouleme),  and  of  a  member  of  the  house  of 
Rubempre";  worked  first  at  the  house  of  Madame  Prieur,  a 
laundress,  for  the  consideration  of  fifteen  sous  a  day ;  mani- 
fested great  devotion  to  her  brother  Lucien,  and  on  marry- 
ing David  Sechard,  in  1821,  transferred  her  devotion  to 
him;  having  undertaken  to  manage  the  printing  shop, 
she  competed  with  Ce"rizet,  Cointet,  and  Petit-Claud,  and 
almost  succeeded  in  softening  Jerome-Nicholas  Sechard. 
Madame  Sechard  shared  with  her  husband  the  inheritance 
of  old  J.-N.  Sechard,  and  was  then  the  modest  chatelaine 
of  La  Verberie,  at  Marsac.  By  her  husband  she  had  at 
least  one  child,  named  Lucien.  Madame  Sechard  was  tall 
and  of  dark  complexion,  with  blue  eyes.  [Lost  Illusions. 
A  Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.  Scenes  from  a  Cour- 
tesan's Life.] 

Se"chard  (Lucien),  son  of  the  preceding  couple.  [Lost 
Illusions.] 

Se"gaud,  solicitor  at  Angouleme,  was  successor  to  Petit- 
Claud,  a  magistrate,  about  1824.  [Lost  Illusions.] 

Se'le'rier,  called  the  Auvergnat,  P6re  Ralleau,  Le  Rouleur, 
and  especially  Fil-de-Soie,  belonged  to  the  aristocracy  of  the 
galleys,  and  was  a  member  of  the  group  of  "Ten  Thousand," 
whose  chief  was  Jacques  Collin;the  latter,  however,  suspo 
him  of  having  sold  him  to  the  police,  about  1819,  when  Bibi- 
Lupin  arrested  him  at  the  Vauquer  boarding-house.  [Father 
Goriot.]  In  his  business  Se'le'rier  always  avoided  bloodshed, 
He  was  of  philosophical  turn,  very  selfish,  incapable  of  love, 


436  REPERTORY   OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMATNE 

and  ignorant  of  the  meaning  of  friendship.  In  May,  1830, 
when  being  a  prisoner  at  the  Conciergerie,  and  about  to 
be  condemned  to  fifteen  years  of  forced  labor,  he  saw  and 
recognized  Jacques  Collin,  the  pseudo-Carlos  Herrera,  him- 
self incriminated.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Senonches  (Jacques  de),  a  noble  of  Angouleme,  a  great 
huntsman,  stiff  and  haughty,  a  sort  of  wild  boar;  lived  on 
very  good  terms  with  his  wife's  lover,  Francois  du  Hautoy, 
and  attended  Madame  de  Bargeton's  receptions.  [Lost 
Illusions.] 

Senonches  (Madame  Jacques  de),  wife  of  the  preceding, 
bore  the  given  name  of  Zephirine,  which  was  abbreviated  to 
Zizine.  By  Frangois  du  Hautoy,  her  adored  lover,  she  had 
a  daughter,  Franchise  de  la  Haye,  who  was  presented  as  her 
ward,  and  who  became  Madame  Petit-Claud.  [Lost  Il- 
lusions.] 

Sepherd  (Carl),  name  assumed  by  Charles  Grandet  in  the 
Indies,  the  United  States,  Africa,  etc.,  while  he  was  in  the 
slave-trading  business.  [Eugenie  Grandet.] 

Se"rizy,  or  Serisy  (Comte  Hugret  de),  born  in  1765,  de- 
scended in  direct  line  from  the  famous  President  Hugret, 
ennobled  under  Frangois  I.  The  motto  of  this  family  was 
"I,  semper  melius  eris,"  so  that  the  final  s  of  melius,  the 
word  eris,  and  the  7  of  the  beginning,  represented  the  name 
(Serizy)  .of  the  estate  that  had  been  made  a  county.  A  son 
of  a  first  president  of  Parliament  (who  died  in  1794),  Serizy 
was  himself,  as  early  as  1787,  a  member  of  the  Grand  Council; 
he  did  not  emigrate  during  the  Revolution,  but  remained  in 
his  estate  of  Serizy,  near  Arpajon ;  became  a  member  of  the 
Council  of  Five  Hundred,  and  afterwards  of  the  Council  of 
State.  The  Empire  made  him  a  count  and  a  senator.  Hugret 
de  Serizy  was  married,  in  1806,  to  Leontine  de  Ronquerolles, 
the  widow  of  Ge'ne'ral  Gaubert.  This  union  made  him  the 
brother-in-law  of  the  Marquis  de  Ronquerolles,  and  the  Mar- 
quis du  Rouvre.  Every  honor  was  alloted  to  him  in  course; 
chamberlain  under  the  Empire,  he  afterwards  became  vice- 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  457 

president  of  the  Council  of  State,  peer  of  France,  Grand  Crosa 
of  the  Legion  of  Honor,  and  member  of  the  Privy  Council. 
The  glorious  career  of  Serizy,  who  was  an  unusually  indus- 
trious person,  did  not  offer  compensation  for  his  domestic 
misfortunes.  Hard  work  and  protracted  vigils  soon  aged 
the  high  functionary,  who  was  ever  unable  to  win  his  wife's 
heart;  but  he  loved  her  and  sheltered  her  none  the  less  con- 
stantly. It  was  chiefly  to  avenge  her  for  the  indiscretion 
of  the  volatile  young  Oscar  Husson,  Moreau's  godson,  that 
he  discharged  the  not  overhonest  steward  of  Presles.  [A 
Start  in  Life.]  The  system  of  government  that  succeeded 
the  Empire  increased  Serizy's  influence  and  renown;  he  was 
an  intimate  friend  of  the  Bauvans  and  the  Grandvilles. 
[A  Bachelor's  Establishment.  Honorine.  Modeste  Mignon.] 
His  weakness  in  matters  concerning  his  wife  was  such  that  he 
assisted  her  in  person,  when,  in  May,  1830,  she  hastened 
to  the  Conciergerie  in  the  hope  of  saving  her  lover,  Lucien 
de  Rubempre",  and  entered  the  cell  where  the  young  man 
had  just  committed  suicide.  Se"rizy  even  consented  to  be 
executor  of  the  poet's  will.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's 
Life.] 

SeYizy  (Comtesse  de),  wife  of  the  preceding,  born  Le'ontine  de 
Ronquerolles  about  1784,  sister  of  the  Marquis  du  Ronqurr- 
olles;  married,  as  her  first  husband,  Ge'ne'ral  Gaubert,  one  of 
the  most  illustrious  soldiers  of  the  Republic;  married  a  second 
time,  when  quite  young,  but  could  never  entertain  any  feeling 
stronger  than  that  of  respect  for  M.  de  Se>izy,  her  second 
husband,  by  whom,  however,  she  had  a  son,  an  officer,  who 
wae  killed  during  the  reign  of  Louis  Philippe.  [A  Start  in 
Life.]  Worldly  and  brilliant,  and  a  worthy  rival  of  Mes- 
dames  de  Beaus<§ant,  de  Langeais,  de  Maufrigneuse,  de  Carig- 
liano,  and  d'Espard,  Le*ontine  de  Se>5zy  had  several  lovers, 
among  them  being  Auguste  de  Maulincour,  Victor  d'Aigleniont 
and  Lucien  de  Rubempre\  [The  Thirteen.  Ursule  Mirouet 
A  Woman  of  Thirty.]  This  last  liaison  was  a  very  stormy 
one.  Lucien  acquired  considerable  influence  over  Madame 
de  Se>izy,  and  made  use  of  it  to  reach  tlio  Marquise  d'EBpanl, 
by  effecting  an  annulment  of  the  decree  which  she  bad  ob- 


438  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

tained  against  her  husband,  the  Marquis  d'Espard,  placing 
him  under  guardianship.  And  so  it  was  that,  during  Ru- 
bempre's  imprisonment  and  after  his  suicide,  she  suffered 
the  bitterest  anguish.  Leontine  do  Serizy  almost  broke 
the  bars  of  the  Conciergerie,  insulted  Camusot,  the  examining 
magistrate,  and  seemed  to  be  beside  herself.  The  inter- 
vention of  Jacques  Collin  saved  her  and  cured  her,  when  three 
famous  physicians,  Messieurs  Bianchon,  Desplein,  and  Sinard 
declared  themselves  powerless  to  relieve  her.  [Scenes  from 
a  Courtesan's  Life.]  During  the  winter  the  Comtesse  de 
Serizy  lived  on  the  Chaussee-d'Antin;  during  the  summer  at 
Se"rizy,  her  favorite  residence,  or  still  more  at  Presles,  and 
sometimes  near  Nemours  in  Le  Rouvre,  the  seat  of  the  family 
of  that  name.  Being  a  neighbor,  in  Paris,  of  Felicite  des 
Touches,  she  was  a  frequent  visitor  of  that  emulator  of  George 
Sand,  and  was  at  her  house  when  Marsay  related  the  story 
of  his  first  love-affair,  taking  part  herself  in  the  conversation. 
[Another  Study  of  Woman.]  Being  a  maternal  aunt  of  Cle*men- 
tine  du  Rouvre,  Madame  de  Serizy  gave  her  a  handsome 
dowry  when  she  married  Laginski ;  with  her  brother  Ronquer- 
olles,  at  his  home  on  the  rue  de  la  Pe"piniere,  she  met  Thaddee 
Paz,  the  Pole's  comrade.  [The  Imaginary  Mistress.] 

Serizy  (Vicomte  de),  only  son  of  the  preceding  couple, 
graduated  from  the  Ecole  Polytechnique  in  1825,  and  en- 
tered the  cavalry  regiment  of  the  Garde  Royale,  by  favor, 
as  sub-lieutenant,  under  command  of  the  Due  de  Maufrig- 
neuse ;  at  this  time  Oscar  Husson,  nephew  of  Cardot,  entered 
the  same  regiment  as  a  private.  [A  Start  in  Life.]  In  Oc- 
tober, 1829,  Se"rizy,  being  an  officer  in  the  company  of  the 
guards  stationed  at  Havre,  was  instructed  to  inform  M.  de 
Verneuil,  proprietor  of  some  well-stocked  Norman  "pre- 
serves," that  Madame  could  not  participate  in  the  chase  that 
he  had  organized.  Having  become  enamored  of  Diane  de 
Maufrigneuse,  the  viscount  found  her  at  Vemeuil's  house; 
she  received  his  attentions,  as  a  means  of  avenging  herself  on 
Leontine  de  Serizy,  then  mistress  of  Lucien  de  Rubempre". 
[Modeste  Mignon .]  Being  advanced  to  the  rank  of  lieutenant- 
colonel  of  a  cavalry  regiment,  he  was  severely  wounded  at 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMED1E  HUMAINE  439 

the  disastrous  battle  of  Macta,  in  Africa  (June  26,  1835), 
and  died  at  Toulon  as  a  result  of  his  wounds.  [The  Imagi- 
nary Mistress.  A  Start  in  Life.] 

Servais,  the  only  good  gilder  in  Paris,  according  to  Elie 
Magus,  whose  advice  he  heeded;  he  had  the  good  sense  to 
use  English  gold,  which  is  far  better  than  the  French.  Like 
the  book-binder,  Thouvenin,  he  was  in  love  with  his  own  work. 
[Cousin  Pons.] 

Servien  (Prudence),  born,  in  1806,  at  Valenciennes,  daughter 
of  very  poor  weavers,  was  employed,  from  the  age  of  seven 
years,  in  a  spinning-mill;  corrupted  early  by  her  life  hi  the 
work-room,  she  was  a  mother  at  the  age  of  thirteen ;  having 
had  to  testify  in  the  court  of  assizes  against  Jean-Francois 
Durut,  she  made  of  him  a  formidable  enemy,  and  fell  into  the 
power  of  Jacques  Collin,  who  promised  to  shelter  her  from 
the  resentment  of  the  convict.  She  was  at  one  time  a  ballet- 
girl,  and  afterwards  served  as  Esther  van  Gobseck's  chamber- 
maid, under  the  names  of  Eugenie  and  Europe ;  was  the  mis- 
tress of  Paccard,  whom  she  very  probably  married  after- 
wards ;  aided  Vautrin  in  fooling  Nucingen  and  getting  money 
from  him.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Servin,  born  about  1775,  a  distinguished  painter,  made  a 
love-match  with  the  daughter  of  a  penniless  general;  in  1815 
was  manager  of  a  studio  in  Paris,  which  was  frequented  by 
Mademoiselle  Laure,  and  Mesdemoiselles  Mathilde-Me'lanie 
Roguin,  Ame"lie  Thirion  and  Ginevra  di  Piombo,  the  last 
three  of  whom  were  afterwards,  respectively,  Mesdames 
Tiphaine,  Camusot  de  Marville,  and  Porta.  Servin  at  that 
time  was  concealing  an  exile  who  was  sought  by  the  police, 
namely  Luigi  Porta,  who  married  the  master's  favorite  pupil, 
Mademoiselle  Ginevra  di  Piombo.  [The  Vendetta.] 

Servin  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding,  remembering  that 
the  romance  of  Porta  and  Ginevra's  love  had  been  the  cause 
of  all  his  pupils'  leaving  her  husband's  studio,  refuse 
shelter  Mademoiselle  de  Piombo  when  driven  from  her  father's 
home.     [The  Vendetta.] 


440  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Se"ve*rac  (De),  born  in  1764,  a  country  gentleman, 
of  a  village  in  the  canton  of  Angouleme,  and  author  of  aii 
article  on  silkworms,  was  received  at  Madame  de  Bargeton's 
in  1821.  A  widower,  without  children,  and  doubtless  very 
rich,  but  not  knowing  the  ways  of  the  world,  one  evening 
on  the  rue  du  Minage,  he  found  as  ready  listeners  only  the 
poor  but  aristocratic  Madame  du  Brossard  and  her  daughter 
Camille,  a  young  woman  of  twenty-seven  years.  [Lost  Il- 
lusions.] 

Sibilet,  clerk  of  the  court  at  Ville-aux-Fayes  (Bourgogne), 
distant  cousin  of  Frangois  Gaubertin,  married  a  Mademoiselle 
Gaubertin-Vallat,  and  had  by  that  marriage  six  children. 
[The  Peasantry.] 

Sibilet  (Adolphe),  eldest  of  the  six  children  of  the  preceding, 
born  about  1793;  was,  at  first,  clerk  to  a  notary,  then  an 
unimportant  employe  in  the  land-registry  office;  and  then, 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1817,  succeeded  his  cousin, 
Frangois  Gaubertin,  in  the  administration  of  Aigues,  General 
de  Montcornet's  estate,  in  Bourgogne.  Sibilet  had  married 
Mademoiselle  Adeline  Sarcus  (of  the  poor  branch),  who  bore 
him  two  children  in  three  years;  his  selfish  interest  and  his 
personal  obligations  led  him  to  gratify  the  ill-feeling  of  his 
predecessor,  by  being  disloyal  to  Montcornet.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Sibilet  (Madame  Adolphe),  wife  of  the  preceding,  born 
Adeline  Sarcus,  only  daughter  of  a  justice  of  the  peace,  rich 
with  beauty  as  her  sole  fortune,  she  was  reared  by  her 
mother,  in  the  little  village  of  Soulanges  (Bourgogne),  with 
all  possible  care.  Not  having  been  able  to  marry  Amaury 
Lupin  (son  of  Lupin  the  notary),  with  whom  she  was  in  love, 
in  despair  she  allowed  herself,  three  years  after  her  mother's 
death,  to  be  married,  by  her  father,  to  the  disagreeable 
and  repulsive  Adolphe  Sibilet.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Sibilet,  son  of  the  court  clerk,  and  police  commissioner 
at  Ville-aux-Fayes.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Sibilet  (Mademoiselle),  daughter  cf  the  court  clerk;  after- 
wards Madame  nerve".  [The  Peasantry.] 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDTE  HUMAINE  441 

Sibilet,  son  of  the  court  clerk,  first  clerk  of  Maitre  Cor- 
binet,  notary  at  Ville-aux-Fayes,  to  whom  he  was  the  ap- 
pointed successor.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Sibilet,  son  of  the  court  clerk,  and  clerk  in  the  Department 
of  Public  Lands,  presumptive  successor  of  the  registrar  of 
documents  at  Ville-aux-Fayes.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Sibilet  (Mademoiselle),  daughter  of  the  court  clerk,  born 
about  1807,  postmistress  at  Ville-aux-Fayes;  betrothed  to 
Captain  Corbinet,  brother  of  the  notary.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Sibuelle,  a  wealthy  contractor  of  somewhat  tarnished 
reputation  during  the  Directory  and  the  Consulate,  gave  his 
daughter  in  marriage  to  Malin  de  Gondreville,  and  through 
the  credit  of  his  son-in-law  became,  with  Marion,  co-receiver- 
general  of  the  department  of  Aube.  [The  Gondreville  Mys- 
tery.] 

Sibuelle  (Mademoiselle),  only  daughter  of  the  preceding, 
became  Madame  Malin  de  Gondreville.  [The  Gondreville 

Mystery.] 

Sieves  (Emmanuel- Joseph),  born  in  1748  at  Fre"jus,  died 
in  Paris  in  1836,  was  successively  vicar-general  of  Chartres, 
deputy  to  the  States-General  and  the  Convention,  member 
of  the  Committee  of  Public  Safety,  member  of  the  Five  Hun- 
dred, member  of  the  Directory,  consul,  and  senator;  famous 
also  as  a  publicist.  In  June,  1800,  he  might  have  been  found 
in  the  Office  of  Foreign  Relations,  in  the  rue  du  Bac,  where  he 
took  part  with  Talleyrand  and  Fouche*,  in  a  secret  council,  in 
which  the  subject  of  overthrowing  Bonaparte,  then  First 
Consul,  was  discussed.  [The  Gondreville  Mystery.] 

Signol  (Henriette),  a  beautiful  girl;  of  a  good  family  of 
farmers,  in  the  employ  of  Basine  Clerget,  a  laundress  at  Angou- 
leme;was  the  mistress  of  Ce>izet,  whom  she  loved  and  trusted; 
served  as  a  tool  against  David  S4chard,  the  printer.  [Lost 
Illusions.] 

Simeuse  (Admiral  de),  father  of  Jean  de  Simeuse,  was  one 
of  the  most  eminent  French  seamen  of  the  eighteenth  ecu- 


442  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

tury.     [Beatrix.    The    Gondreville   Mystery.     Jealousies    of 
a  Country  Town.] 

Simeuse  (Marquis  Jean  de),  whose  name,  "Cy  meurs" 
or  "Si  meurs,"  was  the  motto  of  the  family  crest,  was  de- 
scended from  a  noble  family  of  Bourgogne,  who  were  formerly 
owners  of  a  Lorrain  fief  called  Ximeuse,  corrupted  to  Simeuse. 
M.  de  Simeuse  counted  a  number  of  illustrious  men  among 
his  ancestors;  he  married  Berthe  de  Cinq-Cygne;  he  was 
father  of  twins,  Paul-Marie  and  Marie-Paul.  He  was  guil- 
lotined at  Troyes  during  the  Terror;  Michu's  father-in-law 
presided  over  the  Revolutionary  tribunal  that  passed  the 
death-sentence.  [The  Gondreville  Mystery.] 

Simeuse  (Marquise  de),  wife  of  the  preceding,  born  Berthe 
de  Cinq-Cygne,  was  executed  at  Troyes  at  the  same  time 
with  her  husband.  [The  Gondreville  Mystery.] 

Simeuse  (Paul-Marie  and  Marie-Paul),  twin  sons  of  the  pre- 
ceding couple,  born  in  1773;  grandsons  on  the  father's  side 
of  the  admiral  who  was  as  famous  for  his  dissipation  as  for 
his  valor;  descended  from  the  original  owners  of  the  famous 
Gondreville  estate  in  Aube,  and  belonged  to  the  noble  Cham- 
pagne family  of  the  Chargeboeufs,  the  younger  branch  of  which 
was  represented  by  their  mother,  Berthe  de  Cinq-Cygne. 
Paul-Marie  and  Marie-Paul  were  among  the  emigrants; 
they  returned  to  France  about  1803.  Both  being  in  love 
with  their  cousin,  Laurence  de  Cinq-Cygne,  an  ardent  Royalist, 
they  cast  lots  to  decide  which  should  be  her  husband;  fate 
favored  Marie-Paul,  the  younger,  but  circumstances  pre- 
vented the  consummation  of  the  marriage.  The  twins 
differed  only  in  disposition,  and  there  in  only  one  point: 
Paul-Marie  was  melancholy,  while  Marie-Paul  was  of  a  bright 
disposition.  Despite  the  advice  of  their  elderly  relative, 
M.  de  Chargeboeuf,  Messieurs  de  Simeuse  compromised 
themselves  with  the  Hauteserres;  being  watched  by  Fouehe, 
who  sent  Peyrade  and  Corentii.  to  keep  an  eye  on  them,  they 
were  accused  of  the  abduction  of  Malin,  of  which  they  were 
not  guilty,  and  sentenced  to  twenty-four  years  of  penal  servi- 
tude; were  pardoned  by  Napoleon,  entered  as  sub-lieutenants 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  443 

the  same  cavalry  regiment,  and  were  killed  together  in  the 
battle  of  Sommo-Sierra  (near  Madrid,  November  30,  1808) 
[I he  Gondreville  Mystery.] 

Simonin  let  carriages  on  the  rue  du  Faubourg  Saint-Honor^, 
Gour  des  Coches,  Paris;  about  1840,  he  let  a  berlin  to  Madame 
de  Godollo,  who,  in  accordance  with  the  instructions  of 
Corentm,  the  police-agent,  was  pretending  to  be  takinp 
a  journey,  but  went  no  further  than  the  Bois  de  Boulogne. 

Simonnin^  in  the  reign  of  Louis  XVIII.,  was  "errand- 
boy"  to  Maitre  Derville  on  the  rue  Vivienne,  Paris,  when 
that  advocate  received  Hyacinthe-Chabert.  [Colonel  Cha- 
bert.] 

Sinard,  a  Paris  physician,  was  called,  in  May,  1830,  to- 
gether with  Messieurs  Desplein  and  Bianchon,  to  the  bedside 
of  Leontine  de  Se>izy,  who  had  lost  her  reason  after  the 
tragic  end  of  her  lover,  Lucien  de  Rubempre".  [Scenes  from 
a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Sinet    (Seraphine),    a   celebrated    lorette,   born   in    1820, 
known  by  the  sobriquet  of  Carabine,  was  present  at  Jose'pha 
Mirah's  house-warming   on   the    rue  de    la    Ville-rEve'que, 
in    1838.     Five  years  later,    being    then    mistress  of    the 
wealthy  F.  du  Tillet,    Mademoiselle   Sinet   supplanted    the 
vivacious    Marguerite    Turquet   as    queen   of   the   lorettee. 
[Cousin  Betty.]    A  woman  of  splendid  appearance,  Seraphine 
was  one  of  the  marching  chorus  at  the  Ope"ra,  and  occupied 
the  fine  apartment  on  the  rue  Saint-Georges,  where  before  her 
Suzanne  du  Val-Noble,  Esther  van  Gobseck,   Florine,  and 
Madame  Schontz  had  reigned.     Of  ready  wit,  dashing  man- 
ners, and  impish  brazenness,  Carabine  held  many  successful 
receptions.     Every  day  her  table   was   set    in   magnificent 
style  for  ten  guests.      Artists,  men  of  letters,  and  socu-ty 
favorites     were      among     her     frequent     visitors.       S.-P. 
Gazonal  was  taken  to  see  her,  in  1845,  by  Ix'on  dc  Lorn  and 
Bixiou,  together  with  Jenny  Cadine  of  the  Theatre  du  ( lym- 
nase;  and  there  he  met  Massol,  Claude  Yignon,  Maxime  de 


444  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAiNE 

Trailles,  Nucingen,  F.  du  Bruel,  Malaga,  Monsieur  and  Ma- 
dame Gaillard,  and  Vauvinet,  with  a  multitude  of  others,  to 
say  nothing  of  F.  du  Tillet.  [The  Unconscious  Humorists.] 

Sinot,  attorney  at  Arcis-sur-Aube,  commanded  the  patronage 
of  the  "Henriquinquistes"  (partisans  of  Henri  V.)  in  1839, 
when  the  district  had  to  elect  a  deputy  to  replace  M.  Frangois 
Keller.  [The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Socquard,  during  the  Empire  and  the  Restoration,  kept 
the  Cafe  de  la  Paix  at  Soulanges  (Bourgogne).  The  Milo  of 
Crotona  of  the  Avonne  Valley,  a  stout  little  man,  of  placid 
countenance,  and  a  high,  clear  voice.  He  was  manager  of 
the  Tivoli,  a  dancing-hall  adjoining  the  cafe.  Monsieur 
Vermichel,  violin,  and  Monsieur  Fourchon,  clarinet,  con- 
stituted the  orchestra.  Plissoud,  Bonne"bault,  Viallet,  and 
Amaury  Lupin  were  steady  patrons  of  his  establishment, 
which  was  long  famous  for  its  billiards,  its  punch,  and  its 
mulled  wine.  In  1823,  Socquard  lost  his  wife.  [The  Peas- 
antry.] 

Socquard  (Madame  Junie),  wife  of  the  preceding,  had  many 
thrilling  love-affairs  during  the  Empire.  She  was  very 
beautiful,  and  her  luxurious  mode  of  li  ring,  to  which  the  lead- 
ing men  of  Soulanges  contributed,  was  notorious  in  the 
Avonne  Valley.  Lupin,  the  notary,  had  been  guilty  of  great 
weakness  in  her  direction,  and  Gaubertin,  who  took  her  away 
from  him,  unquestionably  had  by  her  a  natural  son,  little 
Bournier.  Junie  was  the  secret  of  the  prosperity  of  the 
Socquard  house.  She  brought  her  husband  a  vineyard, 
the  house  he  lived  in,  and  the  Tivoli.  She  died  in  the  reign 
of  Louis  XVIII.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Socquard  (Aglae),  daughter  of  the  preceding  couple,  born 
in  1801,  inherited  her  father's  ridiculous  obesity.  Being 
sought  in  marriage  by  Bonne'bault,  whom  her  father  esteemed 
highly  as  a  customer,  but  little  as  a  son-in-law,  she  excited 
the  jealousy  of  Marie  Tonsard,  and  was  always  at  daggers 
drawn  with  her.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Soderini  (Prince),  father  of  Madame  d'Argaiolo,  who  was 


EEPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMA1NE  445 

afterwards  the  Duchesse  Alphonse  de  Rhe'tore';  at  Besancon, 
in  1834,  he  demanded  of  Albert  Savarus  his  daughter's  letters 
and  portrait.  His  sudden  arrival  caused  a  hasty  departure 
on  the  part  of  Savarus,  then  a  candidate  for  election  to  the 
Chamber  of  Deputies,  and  ignorant  of  Madame  d'Argaiolo's 
approaching  second  marriage.  [Albert  Savarus.] 

Soils  (Abbe  de),  born  about  1733,  a  Dominican,  grand 
penitentiary  of  Toledo,  vicar-general  of  the  Archbishopric 
of  Malines;  a  venerable  priest,  unassuming,  kindly  and  large 
of  person.  He  adopted  Emmanuel  de  Solis,  his  brother's 
son,  and,  retiring  to  Douai,  under  the  acceptable  protection 
of  the  Casa-Reals,  was  confessor  and  adviser  of  their  last 
descendant,  Madame  Balthazar  Claes.  The  Abb6  de  Solis 
died  in  December,  1818.  [The  Quest  of  the  Absolute.] 

Solis  (Emmanuel),  nephew  and  adopted  son  of  the  pre- 
ceding.    Poor,  and  of  a  family  originally  from  Granada,  he 
responded  well  to  the  excellent  education  that  he  received, 
followed  the  teacher's  calling,  taught  the  humanities  at  the 
lyceum  at  Douai,  of  which  he  was  afterwards  principal,  and 
gave  lessons  to-  the  brothers  of  Marguerite  Claes,  whom  he 
loved,  the  feeling  being  reciprocated.    He  married    her 
1825-  the  more  fully  to  enjoy  his  good  fortune,  he  resi 
the  position  as  inspector  of  the  University,  which  he  then  held 
Shortly  afterwards  he  inherited  the  title  of  Comte  de  Nourho, 
through  the  house  of  Solis.    [The  Quest  of  the  Abs 

Solis  (Madame  Emmanuel  de),  wife  of  the  preceding  born 
Marguerite    Claes,  in  1796,  elder  sister  of   Madame  Fehcie 
Pierquin,  whose  husband  had  first  sought  her  hand,  received 
from  her  dying  mother  the  injunct ion  to  conten d  resj 
fully,  but  firmly,  against  her  father's  foolish  efforts  as  i 
ventor;  and,  in  compliance  with  her  mother's  injunctions, 
by  dint  of  great  perseverance,  succeeded  in  restoring  the 
fly  fortunes"  that  had  been  more  than  endangered.     M«fc 
de  Solis  gave  birth  to  a  child,  in  the  course  of  a  trip  to  Spain 
where  she  was  visiting  Casa-Real,  the  cradle  of  hermother  . 
family.     [The  Quest  of  the  Absolute.] 

Solonet,  born  in  1795,  obtained  the  decoration  ef  the  Legio 


446 

of  Honor  for  having  made  very  active  contribution  to  the 
second  return  of  the  Bourbons;  was  the  youthful  and  worldly 
notary  of  Bordeaux;  in  the  drawing  up  of  the  marriage 
contract  between  Natalie  Evangelista  and  Paul  de  Maner- 
ville,  he  triumphed  over  the  objections  raised  by  his  colleague, 
Mathias,  who  was  defender  of  the  Manerville  interests.  Solonet 
paid  the  most  devoted  attentions  of  a  lover  to  Madame  Evan- 
gelista, but  his  love  was  not  returned,  and  he  sought  her  hand 
in  vain.  [A  Marriage  Settlement.] 

Solvet,  a  handsome  youth,  but  addicted  to  gaming  and 
other  vices,  loved  by  Caroline  Crochard  de  Bellefeuille  and 
preferred  by  her  to  Monsieur  de  Granville,  her  generous  pro- 
tector. Solvet  made  Mademoiselle  Crochard  very  unhappy, 
ruined  her,  but  was  none  the  less  adored  by  her.  These 
facts  were  known  to  Bianchon,  and  related  by  him  to  the 
Comte  de  Granville,  whom  he  met,  one  evening,  in  the  reign 
of  Louis  Philippe,  near  the  rue  Gaillon.  [A  Second  Home.] 

Sommervieux  (Theodore  de),  a  painter,  winner  of  the  prix 
de  Rome,  knight  of  the  Legion  of  Honor,  was  particularly 
successful  in  interiors;  and  excelled  in  chiaro-oscuro  effects, 
in  imitation  of  the  Dutch.  He  made  an  excellent  repro- 
duction of  the  interior  of  the  Cat  and  Racket,  on  the  rue 
Saint-Denis,  which  he  exhibited  at  the  Salon  at  the  same 
time  with  a  fascinating  portrait  of  his  future  wife,  Mademoiselle 
Guillaume,  with  whom  he  fell  madly  in  love,  and  whom  he 
married  about  1808,  almost  in  spite  of  her  parents,  and  thanks 
to  the  kind  offices  of  Madame  Roguin,  whom  he  knew  in  his 
society  life.  The  marriage  was  not  a  happy  one ;  the  daughter 
of  the  Guillaumes  adored  Sommervieux  without  under- 
standing him.  The  painter  often  neglected  his  rooms  on 
the  rue  des  Trois-Freres  (now  a  part  of  the  rue  Taitbout) 
and  transferred  his  homage  to  the  Marechale  de  Carigliano. 
He  had  an  income  of  twelve  thousand  francs ;  before  the  Revo- 
lution his  father  was  called  the  Chevalier  de  Sommervieux. 
[At  he  Sign  of  the  Cat  and  Racket.]  Theodore  de  Som- 
mervieux designed  a  monstrance  for  Gohier,  the  king's 
goldsmith ;  this  monstrance  was  bought  by  Madame  Baudoyer 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  447 

and  given  to  the  church  of  Saint-Paul,  at  the  time  of  the  death 
of  F.  de  la  Billardiere,  head  clerk  of  the  administration,  whose 
position  she  desired  for  her  husband.  [The  Government 
Clerks.]  Sommervieux  also  drew  vignettes  for  the  works  of 
Canalis.  [Modeste  Mignon.] 

Sommervieux  (Madame  Theodore  de),  wife  of  the  preceding, 
born  Augustine  Guillaume,  about  1792,  second  daughter  of 
the  Guillaumes  of  the  Cat  and  Racket  (a  draper}'  establish- 
ment on  the  rue  Saint-Denis,  Paris),  had  a  sad  life  that  was 
soon  wrecked;  for,  with  the  exception  of  Madame  Roguin, 
her  family  never  understood  her  aspirations  to  a  higher 
ideal,  or  the  feeling  that  prompted  her  to  choose  Theodore 
de  Sommervieux.  Mademoiselle  Guillaume  was  married 
about  the  middle  of  the  Empire,  at  her  parish  church,  Saint- 
Leu,  on  the  same  day  that  her  sister  was  married  to  Lebas, 
the  clerk,  and  immediately  after  the  ceremony  referred  to. 
A  little  less  coarse  in  her  feelings  than  her  parents  and  their 
associates,  but  insignificant  enough  at  best,  without  being 
aware  of  it  she  displeased  the  painter,  and  chilled  the  en- 
thusiasm of  her  husband's  studio  friends,  Schinner,  Bridau, 
Bixiou,  and  Lora.  Grassou,  who  was  very  much  of  a  country- 
man, was  the  only  one  that  refrained  from  laughing  at  her. 
Worn  out  at  last,  she  tried  to  win  back  the  heart  that  had  be- 
come the  possession  of  Madame  de  Carigliano;  she  even  wont 
to  consult  her  rival,  but  could  not  use  the  weapons  supplied 
her  by  the  coquettish  wife  of  the  marshal,  and  died  of  a  broken 
heart  shortly  after  the  famous  ball  given  by  Ce*sar  Birottoau. 
to  which  she  was  invited.  She  was  buried  in  Montmarirv 
cemetery.  [At  the  Sign  of  the  Cat  and  Racket.  Ce'sar 
Birotteau.] 

Sonet,  marble-worker  and  contractor  for  tombstones,  at 
Paris,  during  the  Restoration  and  Louis  Philippe's  reign. 
When  Pons  died,  the  marble-worker  sent  his  agent  to 
Schmucke  to  solicit  an  order  for  statues  of  Art  and  Friend- 
ship grouped  together.  Sonet  had  the  draughtsman  Vitelpt 
as  partner.  The  firm  name  was  Sonet  &  Co.  [Cousin 
Pons.] 


448  REPERTOKY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Sonet  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding,  knew  how  to  lavish 
attentions  no  less  zealous  than  selfish  on  W.  Schmucke,  when 
he  returned,  broken-hearted,  from  Pere-Lachaise,  in  April, 
1845,  and  suggested  to  him,  with  some  modifications  how- 
ever, to  take  certain  allegorical  monuments  which  the  families 
of  Marsay  and  Keller  had  formerly  refused,  preferring  to  apply 
to  a  genuine  artist,  the  sculptor  Stidmann.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Sophie,  rival,  namesake  and  contemporary  of  the  famous 
Sophie,  Doctor  VeVon's  "blue  ribbon,"  about  1844,  was  cook 
to  the  Comte  Popinot  on  the  rue  Basse-du-Rempart,  Paris. 
She  must  have  been  a  remarkable  culinary  artist,  for  Sylvain 
Pons,  reduced,  in  consequence  of  breaking  with  the  Camusots, 
to  dining  at  home,  on  the  rue  de  Normandie,  every  day,  often 
exclaimed  in  fits  of  melancholy,  "O  Sophie!"  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Sorbier,  a  Parisian  notary,  to  whom  Chesnel  (Choisnel) 
wrote,  in  1822,  from  Normandie,  to  commend  to  his  care 
the  rattle-brained  Victurnien  d'Esgrignon.  "Unfortunately 
Sorbier  was  dead,  and  the  letter  was  sent  to  his  widow.  [Jeal- 
ousies of  a  Country  Town.] 

Sorbier  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding,  mentioned  in 
Chesnel's  (or  Choisnel's)  letter  of  1822,  concerning  Victurnien 
d'Esgrignon.  She  scarcely  read  the  note,  and  simply  sent  it 
to  her  deceased  husband's  successor,  Maitre  Cardot.  Thus 
the  widow  unwittingly  served  M.  du  Bousquier  (du  Croisier), 
the  enemy  of  the  D'Esgrignons.  [Jealousies  of  a  Country 
Town.] 

Soria  (Don  Ferdinand,  Due  de),  younger  brother  of  Don 
Felipe  de  Macumer,  overwhelmed  with  kindness  by  his  elder 
brother,  owing  him  the  duchy  of  Soria  as  well  as  the  hand  of 
Marie-He"re*da,  both  being  voluntarily  renounced  by  the 
elder  brother.  Soria  was  not  ungrateful ;  he  hastened  to  his 
dying  brother's  bedside  in  1829.  The  latter's  death  made 
Don  Ferdinand  Baron  de  Macumer.  [Letters  of  Two  Brides.jj 

Soria  (Duchesse  de),  wife  of  the  preceding,  born  Marie 
He"redia,  daughter  of  the  wealthy  Comte  He're'dia,  was  loved 
by  two  brothers,  Don  Ferdinand,  Due  de  Soria,  and  Don 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  449 

Felipe  de  Macumer.  Though  betrothed  to  the  latter  she 
married  the  former,  in  accordance  with  her  wishes,  the  Baron 
de  Macumer  having  generously  renounced  her  hand  in  favor 
of  Don  Ferdinand.  The  duchess  retained  a  feeling  of  deep 
gratitude  to  him  for  his  unselfishness,  and  at  a  later  time 
bestowed  every  care  on  him  in  his  last  illness  (1829). 
[Letters  of  Two  Brides.] 

Sormano,  the  "  shy  "  servant  of  the  Argalolos,  at  the  time 
of  their  exile  in  Switzerland,  figures,  as  a  woman,  under  the 
name  of  Gina,  in  the  autobiographical  novel  of  Albert  Sa- 
varus,  entitled  "L'Ambitieux  par  1'Amour."  [Albert  Savarus.] 

Souchet,  a  broker  at  Paris,  whose  failure  ruined  Guil- 
laume  Grandet,  brother  of  the  well-known  cooper  of  Saumur. 
[Eugenie  Grandet.] 

Souchet  (Franc,  ois),  winner  of  the  prix  de  Rome  for  his 
sculpture,  about  the  beginning  of  Louis  XVIII .'s  reign; 
an  intimate  friend  of  Hippolytc  Schinner,  who  confided 
to  him  his  love  for  Adelaide  Leseigneur  de  Rouville,  and  was 
rallied  on  it  by  him.  [The  Purse.]  About  1835,  witli  Stein- 
beck's assistance,  Souchet  carved  the  panels  over  the  doors 
and  mantels  of  Laginski's  magnificent  house  on  the  me 
de  la  Pepiniere,  Paris.  [The  Imaginary  Mistress.]  He  had 
given  to  Florine  (afterwards  Madame  Raoul  Nathan)  a 
plaster  cast  of  a  group  representing  an  angel  holding  an 
aspersorium,  which  adorned  the  actress's  sumptuous  apart- 
ments in  1834.  [A  Daughter  of  Eve.] 

Soudry,  born  in  1773,  a  quartermaster,  secured  a  valuable 
friend  in  M.  de  Soulanges,  then  adjutant-general,  by  saving 
him  at  the  peril  of  his  own  life.  Having  become  brigadier  of 
gendarmes  at  Soulanges  (Bourgogne),  Soudry,  in  1815, 
married  Mademoiselle  Cochet,  Sophie  Laguerre's  former 
lady's-maid.  Six  years  later,  he  was  put  on  the  retired 
list,  at  the  request  of  Montcornet,  and  replaced  in  his  brigade 
by  Viallet;  but,  supported  by  the  influence  of  Francois 
Gaubertin,  he  was  elected  mayor  of  Soulanges,  and  became 
the  formidable  enemy  of  the  Montcorneta.  Like  Gr6goire 


450  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Rigou,  his  son's  father-in-law,  the  old  gendarme  kept  as 
his  mistress,  under  the  same  roof  with  his  wife,  his  servant 
Jeannette,  who  was  younger  than  Madame  Soudry.  [The 
Peasantry.] 

Soudry  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding,  born  Cochet 
in  1763.  Lady's-maid  to  Sophie  Laguerre,  Montcornet's 
predecessor  at  Aigues,  she  had  an  understanding  with  Frangois 
Gaubertin,  the  steward  of  the  estate,  to  make  a  victim  of  the 
former  opera  singer.  Twenty  days  after  the  burial  of  her 
mistress,  La  Cochet  married  the  brigadier,  Soudry,  a  superb 
specimen  of  manhood,  though  pitted  with  small-pox.  During 
the  reign  of  Louis  XVIII.,  Madame  Soudry,  who  tried  awk- 
wardly enough  to  imitate  her  late  mistress,  Sophie  Laguerre, 
reigned  supreme  in  the  society  of  Soulanges,  in  her  parlor 
which  was  the  meeting  ground  of  Montcornet's  enemies. 
[The  Peasantry.] 

Soudry,  natural  son  of  Soudry,  the  brigadier  of  gendarmes; 
legitimized  at  the  time  of  his  father's  marriage  to  Mademoiselle 
Cochet,  in  1815.  On  the  day  on  which  Soudry  became  legally 
possessed  of  a  mother,  he  had  just  finished  his  course  at  Paris. 
There  he  knew  Gaubertin's  son,  during  a  stay  which  he  had 
at  first  intended  to  make  long  enough  to  entitle  him  to  be 
registered  as  an  advocate,  and  eventually  to  enter  the  legal 
profession;  but  he  returned  to  Bourgogne  to  take  charge 
of  an  attorney's  practice  for  which  his  father  paid  thirty 
thousand  francs.  However,  abandoning  pettifoggery,  Soudry 
soon  found  himelf  deputy  king's  attorney  in  a  department 
of  Bourgogne,  and,  in  1817,  king's  attorney  under  Attorney- 
General  Bourlac,  whom  he  replaced  in  1821,  thanks  to  the 
influence  of  Frangois  Gaubertin.  He  then  married  Made- 
moiselle Rigou.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Soudry  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding,  born  Arsene  Rigou, 
the  only  daughter  of  wealthy  parents,  Gre"goire  Rigou  and 
Ars&ne  Pichard ;  resembled  her  father  in  cunningness  of  char- 
acter, and  her  mother  in  beauty.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Soulanges   (Comte  Le"on  de),  born  in   1777,  was  colonel 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDlTfi  'HUMAINE  451 

of  the  artillery  guard  in  1809.    In  the  month  of  November 
of  that  year,  he  found  himself  the  guest  of  the  Malin  de  Gon- 
drevilles,  in  their  mansion  in  Paris,  on  the  evening  of  a  great 
party;  he  met  there  Montcornet,  a  friend  of  his  in  the  regi- 
ment;  Madame   de   Vaudremont,   who  had   once  been  his 
mistress,  accompanied  by  Martial  de  la  Roche-Hugon,  her 
new  lover;  and  finally  his  deserted  wife,  Madame  de  Soulanges, 
who  had  abandoned  society,  but  who  had  come  to  the  senator's 
house  at  the  instigation  of  Madame  de  Lansac,  with  a  view 
to  a  reconciliation,  which  was  successfully  carried  out.    [Do- 
mestic  Peace.]      Le"on   de   Soulanges  had   several   children 
as  a  result  of  his  marriage;  a  son  and  some  daughters;  having 
refused  one  of  his  daughters  in  marriage  to  Montcornet, 
on  the  ground  that  she  was  too  young,  he  made  an  enemy 
of  that  general.     The  count,  remaining  faithful  to  the  Bour- 
bons during  the  Hundred  Days,  was  made  a  peer  of  France 
and  a  general  in  the  artillery  corps.     Enjoying  the  favor  of 
the  Due  d'Angouleme,  he  was  allowed  a  command  during 
the  Spanish  war  (1823),  gained  prominence  at  the  siege  of 
Cadiz  and  attained  the  highest  degrees  in  the  military  hier- 
archy.    Monsieur  de  Soulanges,  who  was  very  rich,  owned, 
in  the  territory  of  the  commune  of  Blangy   (Bourgogne), 
a  forest  and  a  chateau  adjoining  the  Aigues  estate,  which  had 
itself  once  belonged  to  the  house  of  Soulanges.     At  the  time 
of  the  Crusades,  an  ancestor  of  the  count  had  created  this 
domain.     Soulanges's  motto  was:  "Je  soule  agir."     Like  M. 
de  Ronquerolles  he  got  on  badly  enough  with  his  neighbor 
Montcornet,     and    seemed    to    favor    Francois    Gaubertin, 
Gre"goire  Rigou  and  Soudry,  in  their  opposition  to  the  futurv 
marshal.     [The  Peasantry.] 

Soulanges  (Comtesse  Hortense  de),  wife  of  the  preceding, 
and  niece  of  the  Duchesses  de  Lansac  and  de  Marigny.  In 
November,  1809,  at  a  ball  given  by  Malin  de  Gondreville, 
acting  on  the  advice  of  Madame  de  Lansac,  the  countess, 
then  on  bad  terms  with  her  husband,  conquered  her  proud 
timidity,  and  demanded  of  Martial  de  la  Roche-IIugon  a  ring 
that  she  had  received  originally  from  her  husband;  M.  de 
Soulanges  had  afterwards  passed  it  on  to  his  mistress,  Madame 


452  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

de  Vaudremont,  who  had  given  it  to  her  lover,  M.  de  laRoche- 
Hugon;  this  restitution  effected  the  reconciliation  of  the  couple. 
[Domestic  Peace.]  Hortense  de  Soulanges  inherited  from  Ma- 
dame de  Marigny  (who  died  about  1820)  the  Guebriant  estate, 
with  its  encumbrance  of  an  annuity.  [The  Thirteen.]  Ma- 
dame de  Soulanges  followed  her  husband  to  Spain  at  the  time 
of  the  war  of  1823.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Soulanges  (Amelie  de),  youngest  daughter  of  the  preceding 
couple,  would  have  married  the  Comte  Philippe  de  Bram- 
bourg,  in  1828,  but  for  the  condemning  revelations  made 
by  Bixiou  concerning  Joseph  Bridau's  brother.  [A  Bachelor's 
Establishment .  ] 

Soulanges  (Vicomte  de),  probably  a  brother  of  the  pre- 
ceding, was,  in  1836,  commander  of  a  squad  of  hussars  at 
Fontainebleau ;  then,  in  company  with  Maxime  de  Trailles, 
he  was  going  to  be  second  to  Savinien  de  Portenduere  in  a 
duel  with  Desire  Minoret,  but  the  duel  was  prevented  by  the 
unforeseen  death  of  the  latter;  the  underlying  cause  was  the 
disgraceful  conduct  of  the  Minoret-Levraults  towards  U>sule 
Mirouet,  future  Vicomtesse  de  Portenduere.  [Ursule  Mirouet.] 

Soulas  (Ame'dee-Sylvain-Jacques  de),  born  in  1809,  a 
gentleman  of  Besangon,  of  Spanish  origin  (the  nam<;  was 
written  Souleyas,  when  Franche-Comte"  belonged  to  Spain), 
succeeded  in  shining  brightly  in  the  capital  of  Doubs  on  an 
income  of  four  thousand  francs,  which  allowed  him  to  employ 
the  services  of  "Babylas,  the  tiger."  Such  discrepancy 
betwen  his  means  and  his  manner  of  living  may  well  convey 
an  idea  of  this  fellow's  character,  seeing  that  he  sought  in 
vain  the  hand  of  Rosalie  de  Watteville,  but  married,  in  the 
month  of  August,  1837,  Madame  de  Watteville,  her  widowed 
mother.  [Albert  Savarus.] 

Soulas  (Madame  Ame'de'e  de),  born  Clotilde-Louise  de 
Rupt  in  1798,  stern  in  features  and  in  character,  a  blonde  of 
the  extreme  type,  was  married,  in  1815,  to  the  Baron  de 
Watteville,  whom  she  managed  with  little  difficulty.  She 
did  not  find  it  so  easy,  however,  to  govern  her  daughter, 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  453 

Rosalie,  whom  she  vainly  tried  to  force  to  marry  M.  de  Soulas. 
The  presence,  at  Bensancon,  of  Albert  Savarus,  who  was 
secretly  loved  by  Mademoiselle  de  Watteville,  gave  a  political 
significance  to  the  salon  of  Rosalie's  parents  during  the  reign 
of  Louis  Philippe.  Tired  of  her  daughter's  obstinacy, 
Madame  de  Watteville,  nc\v  a  widow,  herself  married  M.  de 
Soulas;  she  lived  in  Paris,  in  the  winter  at  least,  and  knew 
how  to  be  mistress  of  her  house  there,  as  she  always  had  been 
elsewhere.  [Albert  Savarus.] 

Sparchmann,  hospital  .  surgeon  at  Heilsberg,  attended 
Colonel  Chabert  after  the  battle  of  Eylau.  [Colonel 
Chabert.] 

Spencer  (Lord),  about  1830,  at  Balthazar  Claes's  sale, 
bought  some  magnificent  wainscoting  that  had  been  carved 
by  Van  Huysum,  as  well  as  the  portrait  of  President  Van 
Claes,  a  Fleming  of  the  sixteenth  century— family  treasures 
which  the  father  of  Mesdames  de  Solis  and  Pierqum  was 
obliged  to  give  up.  [The  Quest  of  the  Absolute.] 

Spieghalter,  a  German  mechanician,  who  lived  in  Paris 
on  the  rue  de  la  Sant6,  in  the  early  part  of  Louis  Philippe's 
reign  made  unsuccessful  efforts,  with  the  aid  of  pressure 
hammering  and  rolling,  to  stretch  the  anomalous  piece  of 
shagreen  submitted  to  him  by  Raphael  de  Valentin,  at  the 
suggestion  of  Planchette,  professor  of  mechanics. 
Magic  Skin.] 

Sponde  (Abb<§  de),  born  about  1746,  was  grand  vicar  of  the 
bishopric  of  Seez.  Maternal  uncle,  guardian,  guest  and  boards 
of    Madame  du  Bousquier-n&    Cormon-<>f    Alengon; 
died  in  1819,  almost  blind,  and  strangely  depressed  by  his 
niece's  recent   marriage.      Entirely   removed  from  world 
interests    he    led    an    ascetic  life,  and    an  uneven  ful  one, 
ent ^ey  '—ed  in  thoughts  of  salvation    mortincat, on> 
oT  the  flesh,  and  secret  works  of  charity.    [Jealous.es 
Country  Town.] 

Stael-Holstein    (Anne-Louise-Germaine    Necker, 
de)   daughter  of  the  famous  Necker  of  Geneva,  born  m  Pans 


454  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

in  1766;  became  the  wife  of  the  Swiss  minister  to  France; 
author  of  "L'Allemagne,"  of  "Corinne,"  and  of  "Delphine": 
noted  for  her  struggle  against  Napoleon  Bonaparte;  mother- 
in-law  of  the  Due  Victor  de  Broglie  and  grandmother  of  the 
generation  of  the  Broglies  of  the  present  day ;  died  in  the  year 
1817.  At  various  times  she  lived  in  the  Vendomois  in  tem- 
porary exile.  During  one  of  her  first  stays  on  the  Loire, 
she  was  greeted  with  the  singular  formula  of  admiration, 
"Fameuse  garce!"  [The  Chouans.]  At  a  later  period, 
Madame  de  Stae'l  came  upon  Louis  Lambert,  then  a  ragged 
urchin,  absorbed  in  reading  a  translation  of  Swedenborg's 
"Heaven  and  Hell."  She  was  struck  with  him,  and  had  him 
educated  at  the  college  of  Vendome,  where  he  had  the  future 
minister,  Jules  Dufaure,  as  his  boon  companion;  but  she 
forgot  her  protege",  who  was  ruined  rather  than  benefited 
by  this  passing  interest.  [Louis  Lambert.]  About  1823 
Louise  de  Chaulieu  (Madame  Marie-Gaston)  believed  that 
Madame  de  Stael  was  still  alive,  though  she  died  in  1817. 
[Letters  of  Two  Brides.] 

Stanhope  (Lady  Esther),  niece  of  Pitt,  met  Lamartine  in 
Syria,  who  described  her  in  his  "Voyage  en  Orient" ;  had  sent 
Lady  Dudley  an  Arabian  horse,  that  the  latter  gave  to  Felix 
de  Vandenesse  in  exchange  for  a  Rembrandt.  [The  Lily 
of  the  Valley.]  Madame  de  Bargeton,  growing  weary  of 
Angouleme  in  the  first  years  of  the  Restoration,  was  en- 
vious of  this  "blue-stocking  of  the  desert."  Lady  Esther's 
father,  Earl  Charles  Stanhope,  Viscount  Mahon,  a  peer  of 
England,  and  a  distinguished  scholar,  invented  a  printing 
press,  known  to  fame  as  the  Stanhope  press,  of  which  the 
miserly  and  mechanical  Jerome-Nicholas  Sechard  expressed 
a  contemptuous  opinion  to  his  son.  [Lost  Illusions.] 

Staub,  a  German,  and  a  Parisian  tailor  of  reputation; 
in  1821,  made  for  Lucien  de  Rubempre,  presumably  on  credit, 
some  garments  that  he  went  in  person  to  try  on  the  poet 
at  the  Hotel  du  Gaillard-Bois,  on  the  rue  de  1'Echelle.  Shortly 
afterwards,  he  again  favored  Lucien,  who  was  brought  to 
his  establishment  by  Coralie.  [A  Distinguished  Provincial 
at  Paris.] 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  455 

Steibelt,  a   famous  musician,  during  the  Empire  was  the 
instructor  of  Felicite"  des  Touches  at  Nantes.    [Beatrix.] 

Steinbock  (Count  Wenceslas),  born  at  Pre'lie  (Livonia) 
in  1809;  great-nephew  of  one  of  Charles  XII.'s  generals.  An 
exile  from  his  youth,  he  went  to  Paris  to  live,  and,  from  in- 
clination as  much  as  on  account  of  his  poverty,  he  became 
a  carver  and  sculptor.  As  assistant  to  Francois  Souchet, 
a  fellow-countryman  of  Laginski's,  Wenceslas  Steinbock 
worked  on  the  decorations  of  the  Pole's  mansion,  on  the 
rue  de  la  Pepiniere.  [The  Imaginary  Mistress.]  Living 
amid  squalor  on  the  rue  du  Doyenne",  he  was  saved  from 
suicide  by  his  spinster  neighbor,  Lisbeth  Fischer,  who  re- 
stored his  courage  and  determination,  and  aided  him  with  her 
resources.  Wenceslas  Steinbock  then  worked  and  suc- 
ceeded. A  chance  that  brought  one  of  his  works  to  the  notice 
of  the  Hulot  d'Ervys  brought  him  into  connection  with 
these  people;  he  fell  in  love  with  their  daughter,  and,  the 
love  being  returned,  he  married  her.  Orders  then  came 
in  quick  succession  to  Wenceslas,  living,  as  he  did,  on  the 
rue  Saint-Dominique-Saint-Germain,  near  the  Esplanade 
des  Invalides,  not  far  from  the  marble  stores,  where  the 
government  had  allowed  him  a  studio.  His  services  WHV 
secured  for  the  work  of  the  monument  to  be  erected  to  the 
Mare"chal  de  Montcornet.  But  Lisbeth  Fischer's  vindictive 
hatred,  as  well  as  his  own  weakness  of  character,  caused  him 
to  fall  beneath  the  fatal  dominion  of  Valerie  Marneffe,  whose 
lover  he  became;  with  Stidmann,  Vignon,  and  Massol,  he 
witnessed  that  woman's  second  marriage.  Steinbock  re- 
turned to  the  conjugal  domicile  on  the  rue  Louis-le-Grand, 
towards  the  latter  part  of  Louis  Philippe's  reign.  An  ex- 
hausted artist,  he  confined  himself  to  the  barren  n"»lo  of  critic; 
idle  reverie  replaced  power  of  conception.  [Cousin  Betty.] 

Steinbock  (Countess  Wenceslas),  wife  of  the  preceding; 
born  Hortense  Hulot  d'Ervy  in  1817;  daughter  of  Hector 
Hulot  d'Ervy  and  Adeline  Fischer;  younger  sister  of  Vic- 
torin  Hulot.  Beautiful,  and  occupying  a  brilliant  posit  ion 
in  society  through  her  parents,  but  lacking  dowry,  she  made 


456  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

choice  of  husband  for  herself.  Endowed  with  enduring 
pride  of  spirit,  Madame  Steinbock  could  with  difficulty  excuse 
Wenceslas  for  being  unfaithful,  and  pardoned  his  disloyalty 
only  after  a  long  while.  Her  trials  ended  with  the  last  years 
of  Louis  Philippe's  reign.  The  wisdom  and  foresight  of  her 
brother  Victorin,  coupled  with  the  results  of  the  wills  of  the 
Marechal  Hulot,  Lisbeth  Fischer,  and  Valerie  Crevel,  at 
last  brought  wealth  to  the  countess's  household,  who  lived 
successively  on  the  rue  Saint-Dominique-Saint-Germain,  the 
rue  Plumet,  and  the  rue  Louis-le-Grand.  [Cousin  Betty.] 

Steinbock  (Wenceslas),  only  son  of  the  preceding  couple, 
born  when  his  parents  were  living  together,  stayed  with  his 
mother  after  their  separation.  [Cousin  Betty.] 

Steingel,  an  Alsatian,  natural  son  of  General  Steingel, 
who  fell  at  the  beginning  of  the  Italian  campaigns  during  the 
Republic;  was,  in  Bourgogne,  about  1823,  under  head-keeper 
Michaud,  one  of  the  three  keepers  of  Montcornet's  estates. 
[The  Gondreville  Mystery.  The  Peasantry.] 

Stevens  (Miss  Dinah),  born  in  1791,  daughter  of  an  English 
brewer,  ugly  enough,  saving,  and  puritanical,  had  an  income 
of  two  hundred  and  forty  thousand  francs  and  expectations 
of  as  much  more  at  her  father's  death;  the  Marquise  cle 
Vordac,  who  met  her  at  some  watering-place  in  1827,  spoke 
of  her  to  her  son  Marsay,  as  a  very  fine  match,  and  Marsay 
pretended  that  he  was  to  marry  the  heiress ;  which  he  probably 
did,  for  he  left  a  widow  that  erected  to  him,  at  Pere-Lachaise, 
a  superb  monument,  the  work  of  Stidmann.  [A  Marriage 
Settlement.  Cousin  Pons.] 

Stidmann,  a  celebrated  carver  and  sculptor  of  Paris  at 
the  times  of  the  Restoration  and  Louis  Philippe;  Wenceslas 
Steinbock  s  teacher ;  he  carved,  for  the  consideration  of  seven 
thousand  francs,  a  representation  of  a  fox-chase  on  the 
ruby-set  gold  handle  of  a  riding  whip  that  Ernest  de  la 
Briere  gave  to  Modeste  Mignon.  [Modeste  Mignon.]  At 
the  request  of  Fabien  de  Ronceret,  Stidmann  undertook  to 
decorate  an  apartment  for  him  on  the  rue  Blanche  [Bea- 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  457 

trix];  he  made  the  originals  of  a  chimney-piece  for  the  Hulot 
d'Ervys;  was  among  the  guests  invited  by  Mademoiselle 
Brisetout  at  her  little  house-warming  on  the  rue  Chauchat 
(1838);  the  same  year  he  was  present  at  the  celebration 
of  Wenceslas  Steinbock's  marriage  with  Hortense  Hulot; 
knew  Dorlarige-Sallenauve ;  with  Vignon,  Steinbeck  and 
Massol,  he  was  a  witness  of  Valerie  Marneffe's  second  marriage 
to  Ce'lestin  Crevel;  entertained  a  secret  love  for  Madame 
Steinbock  when  she  was  neglected  by  her  husband  [The 
Member  for  Arcis.  Cousin  Betty];  executed  the  work  of 
Charles  Keller's  and  Marsay's  monuments.  [Cousin  Pons.] 
In  1845  Stidmann  entered  the  Institute.  [The  Unconscious 
Humorists.] 

Stopfer  (Monsieur  and  Madame),  formerly  coopers  at 
Neuchatel,  in  1823;  were  proprietors  of  an  inn  at  Gersau 
(canton  of  Lucerne),  near  the  lake,  to  which  Rodolphe  came. 
The  same  village  sheltered  the  Gandolphinis,  disguised  under 
the  name  of  Lovelace.  [Albert  Savarus.] 

Sucy  (Ge"n£ral  Baron  Philippe  de),  born  in  1789,  served 
under  the  Empire;  on  one  occasion,  at  the  crossing  of  the 
B6resina,  he  tried  to  assure  the  safety  of  his  mistress, 
Stephanie  de  Vandieres,  a  general's  wife,  of  whom  he  after- 
wards lost  all  trace.  Seven  years  later,  however,  being  a 
colonel  and  an  officer  in  the  Legion  of  Honor,  while  hunting 
with  his  friend,  the  Marquis  d'Albon,  near  the  Isle-Adam, 
Sucy  found  Madame  de  Vandieres  insane,  under  the  charge 
of  the  alienist  Fanjat,  and  he  undertook  to  restore  her  rea- 
son. With  this  end  in  view,  he  arranged  an  exact  reproduc- 
tion of  the  parting  scenes  of  1812,  on  an  estate  of  his  at 
Saint-Germain.  The  mad-woman  recognized  him  i 
but  she  died  immediately.  Having  gained  the  promotion 
of  general,  Sucy  committed  suicide,  the  prey  of 
despair.  [Farewell.] 

Suzanne,  real  given  name  of  Madame  Theodore  Gaillard. 

Suzannet  was,  with  the  Abb<§  Vernal,  the  Comte  de  Fontaine, 
and  M.  de  Chatillon,  one  of  the  four  Vendean  chiefs  at  1 
Se  of  the  uprising  in  the  West  in   1799.    [The  Chouans.] 


458  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Suzette,  during  the  first  years  of  Louis  XVIII. 's  reign, 
r;as  lady's-maid  to  Antoinette  de  Langeais,  in  Paris,  about 
the  tune  that  the  duchess  was  receiving  attentions  from 
Montriveau.  [The  Thirteen.] 

Suzon  was  for  a  long  time  valet  de  chambre  for  Maxime 
de  Trailles.  [A  Man  of  Business.  The  Member  for  Arcis.j 

Sylvie,  cook  for  Madame  Vauquer,  the  widow,  on  the  rue 
Neuve-Saint-GeneviSve,  during  the  years  1819  and  1820, 
at  the  time  when  Jean-Joachim  Goriot,  Eugene  de  Rastignac, 
Jacques  Collin,  Horace  Bianchon,  the  Poirets,  Madame 
Couture,  and  Victorine  Taillefer  boarded  there.  [Father 
Goriot.] 

T 

Tabareau,  bailiff  of  the  justice  of  the  peace  in  the  eighth 
ward  of  Paris  in  1844-1845.  He  was  on  good  terms  with 
Fraisier,  the  business  agent.  Madame  Cibot,  door-keeper, 
on  the  rue  de  Normandie,  retained  Tabareau  to  make  a  de- 
mand for  her  upon  Schmucke  for  the  payment  of  three 
thousand  one  hundred  and  ninety-two  francs,  due  her  from 
the  German  musician  and  Pons,  for  board,  lodging,  taxes, 
etc.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Tabareau  (Mademoiselle),  only  child  of  Tabareau,  the 
bailiff;  a  large,  red-haired  consumptive;  was  heir,  through 
her  mother,  of  a  house  on  the  Place  Royale ;  a  fact  which 
made  her  hand  sought  by  Fraisier,  the  business  agent. 
[Cousin  Pons.] 

Taboureau,  formerly  a  day-laborer,  and  afterwards,  during 
the  Restoration,  a  grain-dealer  and  money-lender  in  the 
commune  of  Isere,  of  which  Doctor  Benassis  was  mayor. 
He  was  a  thin  man,  very  wrinkled,  bent  almost  double, 
with  thin  lips,  and  a  hooked  chin  that  almost  made  connec- 
tion with  his  nose,  little  gray  eyes  spotted  with  black, 
and  as  sly  as  a  horse-trader.  [The  Country  Doctor.] 

Taillefer  (Jean-Fre*de"ric),  born  about  1779  at  Beauvais; 
by  means  of  a  crime,  in  1799,  he  laid  the  foundations  of  his 
fortune,  which  was  considerable.  In  an  inn  near  Andernach, 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  459 

Rhenish  Prussia,  Jean-Frederic  Taillefer,  then  a  surgeon  in  the 
army,  killed  and  robbed,  one  night,  a  rich  native  tradesman, 
Monsieur  Walhenfer,  by  name;  however,  he  was  never  in- 
commoded by  this  murder;  for  accusing  appearances  pointed 
to  his  friend,  colleague  and  fellow-countryman,  Prosper 
Magnan,  who  was  executed.  Returning  to  Paris,  J-F. 
Taillefer  was  from  that  time  forth  a  wealthy  and  honored 
personage.  He  was  captain  of  the  first  company  of  grena- 
diers of  the  National  Guard,  and  an  influencial  banker;  n- 
ceived  much  attention  during  the  funeral  obsequies  of  J.- 
B.  d'Aldrigger;  made  successful  speculations  in  Nucingcn's 
third  venture.  He  was  married  twice,  and  was  brutal  in 
his  treatment  of  his  first  wife  (a  relative  of  Madame  Couture) 
who  bore  him  two  children,  Fre'de'ric-Michel  and  Victorine. 
He  was  owner  of  a  magnificent  mansion  on  the  rue  Joulvit. 
In  Louis  Philippe's  reign  he  entertained  in  this  mansion 
with  one  of  the  most  brilliant  affairs  ever  known,  according 
to  the  account  of  the  guests  present,  among  whom  were 
Blonde,  Rastignac,  Valentin,  Cardot,  Aquilina  de  la  Garde, 
and  Euphrasie.  M.  Taillefer  suffered,  nevertheless,  morally 
and  physically;  in  the  first  place  because  of  the  crime  that 
he  had  previously  committed,  for  remorse  for  this  deed  came 
over  him  every  fall,  that  being  the  time  of  its  perpetration; 
in  the  second  place,  because  of  gout  in  the  head,  according 
to  Doctor  Brousson's  diagnosis.  Though  well  cared  for 
by  his  second  wife,  and  by  his  daughter  of  the  first  wife, 
Jean-Fre'de'ric  died  some  time  after  a  sumptuous  feast  given 
at  his  house.  An  evening  passed  in  the  salon  of  a  banker, 
father  of  Mademoiselle  Fanny,  hastened  Taillefer's  end; 
for  there  he  was  obliged  to  listen  to  Hermann's  story  about 
the  unjust  martyrdom  of  Magnan.  The  funeral  notice  read 
as  follows :  "  You  are  invited  to  be  present  at  the  funeral 
services  of  M.  Jean-Fre'de'ric  Taillefer,  of  the  firm  Taillefer 
&  Company,  formerly  contractor  for  supplies,  in  his  life-time 
Knight  of  the  Legion  of  Honor  and  of  the  Golden  Spur, 
Captain  of  the  First  Company  of  Grenadiers  of  the  Second 
Legion  of  the  National  Guard  of  Paris,  died  May  1st,  at  hi? 
mansion,  rue  Joubert.  The  services  will  be  conducted  at— . 


460  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

etc.     In    behalf    of  --  ,"    etc.    [The    Firm    of    Nucingen. 
Father  Goriot.     The  Magic  Skin.     The  Red  Inn.] 

Taillefer  (Madame),  first  wife  of  the  preceding,  and  mother 
of  Frederic-Michel  and  Victorine  Taillefer.  As  the  result 
of  the  harsh  treatment  by  her  husband,  who  unjustly  sus- 
pected her  of  being  unfaithful,  she  died  of  a  broken  heart, 
presumably  at  quite  an  early  age.  [Father  Goriot.] 

Taillefer  (Madame),  second  wife  of  Jean-Frederic  Taillefer, 
who  married  her  as  a  speculation,  but  even  then  made  her 
happy.  She  seemed  to  be  devoted  to  him.  [The  Red  Inn.] 

Taillefer  (Frederic-Michel),  son  of  Jean-Frederic  Taillefer 
by  his  first  wife,  did  not  even  try  to  protect  his  sister,  Vic- 
torine, from  her  father's  unjust  persecutions.  Designated 
heir  of  the  whole  of  his  father's  great  fortune,  he  was  killed, 
in  1819,  near  Clignancourt,  by  a  dexterous  and  unerring 
stroke,  in  a  duel  with  Colonel  Franchessini,  the  duel  being 
instigated  by  Jacques  Collin,  in  the  interest  of  Eugene  de 
Rastignac,  though  the  latter  knew  nothing  of  the  matter. 
[Father  Goriot.] 

Taillefer  (Victorine),  sister  of  the  preceding,  and  daughter 
of  Jean-Frederic  Taillefer  by  his  first  wife  ;  a  distant  cousin 
of  Madame  Couture;  her  mother  having  died  in  1819,  she 
wrongfully  passed  in  her  father's  opinion  for  "the  child  of 
adulterous  connections"  ;  was  turned  away  from  her  father's 
house,  and  sought  protection  with  her  kinswoman,  Madame 
Couture,  the  widow  of  Couture  the  ordainer,  on  the  rue  Neuve- 
Sainte-Genevieve,  in  Madame  Vauquer's  boarding-house; 
there  she  fell  in  love  with  Eugene  de  Rastignac  ;  by  the  death 
of  her  brother  she  became  heir  to  all  the  property  of 
her  father,  Jean-Frederic  Taillefer,  whose  death-bed  she  com- 
forted in  every  way  possible.  Victorine  Taillefer  probably 
remained  single.  [Father  Goriot.  The  Red  Inn.] 


Talleyrand-Pe'rigord  (Charles-Maurice  de),  Prince  de 
vent,  Bishop  of  Autun,  ambassador  and  minister,  born  in 
Paris,  in  1754,  died  in  1838,  at  his  home  on  the  rue  Saint- 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  461 

Flore/itin.1  Talleyrand  gave  attention  to  the  insurrectional 
stir  that  arose  in  Bretagne,  under  the  direction  of  the  Marquis 
de  Montauran,  about  1799.  [The  Chouans.]  The  following 
year  (June,  1800),  on  the  eve  of  the  battle  of  Marengo,  M. 
de  Talleyrand  conferred  with  Malin  de  Gondreville,  Fouche", 
Carnot,  and  Sieyes,  about  the  political  situation.  In  1804 
he  received  M.  de  Chargeboeuf,  M.  d'Hauteserre  the  elder, 
and  the  Abbe  Goujet,  who  came  to  urge  him  to  have  tin- 
names  of  Robert  and  Adrien  d'Hauteserre  and  Paul-Marie 
and  Marie-Paul  de  Simeuse  erased  from  the  list  of  emigrants; 
some  time  afterwards,  when  these  latter  were  condemned, 
despite  their  innocence,  p.r:  guilty  of  the  abduction  and  de- 
tention of  Senator  Malin,  he  made  every  effort  to'  secure 
their  pardon,  at  the  earnest  instance  of  Maitre  Bordin,  as 
well  as  the  Marquis  de  Chargeboeuf.  At  the  hour  of  the 
execution  of  the  Due  d'Enghien,  which  he  had  perhaps  ad- 
vised, he  was  found  with  Madame  de  Luynes  in  time  to  give 
her  the  news  of  it,  at  the  exact  moment  of  its  happening. 
M.  de  Talleyrand  was  very  fond  of  Antoinette  de  Langeais. 
A  frequent  visitor  of  the  Chaulieus,  he  was  even  more  in- 
timate with  their  near  relative,  the  elderly  Princesse  de 
Vaure"mont,  who  made  him  executor  of  her  will.  [The  <  ion- 
dreville  Mystery.  The  Thirteen.  Letters  of  Two  Brides.] 
Fritot,  in  selling  his  famous  "S61im"  shawl  to  Mistress  Noswcll, 
made  use  of  a  cunning  that  certainly  would  not  have  deceived 
the  illustrious  diplomat;  one  day,  indeed,  on  noticing  the 
hesitation  of  a  fashionable  lady  as  between  two  bracelets, 
Talleyrand  asked  the  opinion  of  the  clerk  who  was  showing  the 
jewelry,  and  advised  the  purchase  of  the  one  rejected  by  the 
latter.  [Gaudissart  II.]  • 

Tarlowski,  a  Pole;  colonel  in  the  Imperial  Guard ;  ordnance 
officer  under  Napoleon  Bonaparte;  friend  of  Pomatmy> 
made  a  match  between  his  daughter  and  Bourh 
Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Tascheron,  born  about  1799;  a  very  upright  farmer,  in  u 
small  way,  in  the  market  town  of  Montegnac,  nin< 

.Alexander  I..  Czar  of  Russia,  once -tay-jj  «J  «>"«  hou»,  "hteh  to  no^  owned  and 
occupied  by  the  Baron  Alphonse  de  Rothschild. 


462  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

distant  from  Limoges;  left  his  village  in  August,  1829,  im- 
mediately after  the  execution  of  his  son,  Jean-Fran  gois. 
With  his  wife,  parents,  children  and  grandchildren,  he  sailed 
for  America,  where  he  prospered  and  founded  the  town  of 
Tascheronville  in  the  State  of  Ohio.  [The  Country  Parson.] 

Tascheron  (Jean-Franc, ois),  one  of  the  sons  of  the  preceding, 
born  about  1805,  a  porcelain  maker,  working  successively 
with  Messieurs  Graslin  and  Philippart;  at  the  end  of  Charles 
X.'s  reign,  he  committed  a  triple  crime  which,  owing  to  his 
excellent  character  and  antecedents,  seemed  for  a  long  time 
inexplicable.  Jean-Frangois  Tascheron  fell  in  love  with 
the  wife  of  his  first  employer,  Pierre  Graslin,  and  she  re- 
ciprocated the  passion;  to  prepare  a  way  for  them  to  escape 
together,  he  went  one  night  to  the  house  of  Pingret,  a  rich 
and  miserly  husbandman  in  the  Faubourg  Saint-Etienne, 
robbed  him  of  a  large  sum  of  money,  and,  thinking  to  assure 
his  safety,  murdered  the .  old  man  and  his  servant,  Jeanne 
Malassis.  Being  arrested,  despite  his  precautions,  Jean- 
Frangois  Tascheron  made  especial  effort  not  to  compromise 
Madame  Graslin.  Condemned  to  death,  he  refused  to  con- 
fess, and  was  deaf  to  the  prayers  of  Pascal,  the  chaplain, 
yielding  somewhat,  however,  to  his  other  visitors,  the  Abbe" 
Bonnet,  his  mother,  and  his  sister  Denise;  as  a  result  of  their 
influence  he  restored  a  considerable  portion  of  the  hundred 
thousand  francs  stolen.  He  was  executed  at  Limoges,  in 
August,  1829.  He  was  the  natural  father  of  Frangois  Graslin. 
[The  Country  Parson.] 

Tascheron  (Louis-Marie),  a  brother  of  the  preceding; 
with  Denise  Tascheron  (afterwards  Denise  Gerard)  he  ful- 
filled a  double  mission:  he  destroyed  the  traces  of  the  crime 
of  Jean-Frangois,  that  might  betray  Madame  Graslin,  and 
restored  the  rest  of  the  stolen  money  to  Piiigret's  heirs, 
Monsieur  and  Madame  de  Vanneaulx.  [The  Country  Parson.] 

Tascheron  (Denise),  a  sister  of  the  preceding.  (See 
Gerard,  Madame  Gre"goire.) 

Taupin,    cure"    of   Soulanges    (Bourgogne),    cousin   of   the 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  463 

Sarcus  family  and  Sarcus-Taupin,  the  miller.  He  was 
a  man  of  ready  wit,  of  happy  disposition,  and  on  good  terms 
with  all  his  parishioners.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Ternninck  (De),  Due  de  Casa-Real,  which  name  see. 

Terrasse  and  Duclos,  keepers  of  records  at  the  Palais,  in 
1822;  consulted  at  that  time  with  success  by  Godeschal. 
[A  Start  in  Life.] 

Thelusson,  a  banker,  one  of  whose  clerks  was  Lemprun 
before  he  entered  the  Banque  de  France  as  messenger.  [The 
Middle  Classes.] 

The"rese,  lady's-maid  to  Madame  de  Nucingen  during  the 
Restoration  and  the  reign  of  Louis  Philippe.  [Father  Goriot. 
A  Daughter  of  Eve.] 

Th€rese,  lady's-maid  to  Madame  Xavier  Rabourdin,  on  the 
rue  Duphot,  Paris,  in  1824.  [The  Government  Clerks.] 

The"rese,  lady's-maid  to  Madame  de  Rochfide  in  the  latter 
part  of  Charles  X.'s  reign,  and  during  the  reign  of  Louis 
Philippe.  [Beatrix.] 

Therese  (Sister),  the  name  under  which  Antoinette  de 
Langeais  died,  after  she  had  taken  the  veil,  and  retired  to 
the  convent  of  bare-footed  Carmelites  on  an  island  belonging 
to  Spain,  probably  the  island  of  Leon.  [The  Thirteen.] 

Thibon  (Baron),  chief  of  the  Comptoir  d'Escompto,  in 
1818,  had  been  a  colleague  of  Cesar  Birroteau,  the  perfumer. 
[Cesar  Birroteau.] 

Thirion,  usher  to  the  closet  of  King  Louis  XVIII.,  was  on 
terms  of  intimacy  with  the  Ragons,  and  was  invited  to  C 
Birotteau's  famous  ball  on  December  17,  1818,  together  v 
his  wife  and  his  daughter  Amelie,  one  of  Benin  s  pupil 
who  married  Camusot  de  Marville.    [The  \endetta. 
Birotteau.]      The  emoluments  of  his  position,  obtain,-, 
the  patronage  that  his  zeal  deservedly  acquired,  < 
him  to  lay  by  a  considerable  sum,  which  the  Camusot  ilr 
Marvilles  inherited.     [Jealousies  of  a  Country  '1 

Thomas  was  owner  of  a  large  house  in  Bretagne,  that  Marie 


464  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

de  Verneuil  (Madame  Alphonse  de  Montauran)  bought  for 
Francine  de  Cottin,  her  lady's-maid,  and  a  niece  of  Thomas. 
[The  Chouans.] 

Thomas  (Madame)  was  a  milliner  in  Paris  towards  the 
latter  part  of  the  reign  of  Charles  X. ;  it  was  to  her  establish- 
ment that  Frederic  de  Nucingen,  after  being  driven  to  the 
famous  pastry  shop  of  Madame  Domas,  an  error  arising  from 
his  Alsatian  pronunciation,  betook  himself  in  quest  of  a 
black  satin  cape,  lined  with  pink,  for  Esther  van  Gobseck. 
[Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Thomire  contributed  to  the  material  splendors  of  the 
famous  entertainment  given  by  Frederic  Taillefer,  about 
1831,  at  his  mansion  on  the  rue  Joubert,  Paris.  [The  Magic 
Skin.] 

Thorec,  an  anagram  of  Hector,  and  one  of  the  names 
successively  assumed  by  Baron  Hector  Hulot  d'Ervy,  after 
deserting  his  conjugal  roof.  [Cousin  Betty.] 

Therein,  a  carpenter,  was  employed  in  making  changes 
in  Cesar  Birotteau's  apartments  some  days  before  the  famous 
ball  given  by  the  perfumer  on  December  17,  1818.  [Cesar 
Birotteau.] 

Thoul,  anagram  of  the  word  Hulot,  and  one  of  the 
names  successively  assumed  by  Baron  Hector  Hulot  d'Ervy, 
after  his  desertion  of  the  conjugal  roof.  [Cousin  Betty.] 

Thouvenin,  famous  in  his  work,  but  an  unreliable  trades- 
man, was  employed,  in  1818,  by  Madame  Anselme  Popinot 
(then  Mademoiselle  Birotteau)  to  rebind  for  her  father,  the 
perfumer,  the  works  of  various  authors.  [Cesar  Birotteau.] 
Thouvenin,  as  an  artist,  was  in  love  with  his  own  works — 
like  Servais,  the  favorite  gilder  of  Elie  Magus.  [Cousin 
Pons.] 

Thuillier  was  first  door-keeper  of  the  minister  of  finance 
in  the  second  half  of  the  eighteenth  century;  by  furnishing 
meals  to  the  clerks  he  realized  from  his  position  a  regular 
annual  income  of  almost  four  thousand  francs ;  being  married 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  466 

and  the  father  of  two  children,  Marie-Jeanne-Brigitte  and 
Louis-Jerome,  he  retired  from  active  duties  about  1806, 
and,  losing  his  wife  in  1810,  himself  died  in  1814.  He  was 
commonly  called  "Stout  Father  Thuillier."  [The  Govern- 
ment Clerks.  The  Middle  Classes.] 

Thuillier  (Marie-Jeanne-Brigitte),  daughter  of  the  pre- 
ceding, bom  in  1787,  of  independent  disposition  and  of 
obstinate  will,  chose  the  single  state  to  become,  as  it  were, 
the  ambitious  mother  of  Louis-Jerome,  a  brother  younger 
than  herself  by  four  years.  She  began  life  by  making  coin- 
bags  at  the  Bank  of  France,  then  engaged  in  money-lending; 
took  every  advantage  of  her  debtors,  among  others  Fleury, 
her  father's  colleague  at  the  Treasury.  Being  now  rich, 
she  met  the  Lempruns  and  the  Galards;  took  upon  herself 
the  management  of  the  small  fortune  of  their  heir,  Celeste 
Lemprum,  whom  she  had  selected  specially  to  be  the  wife 
of  her  brother;  after  their  marriage  she  lived  with  her 
brother's  family;  was  also  one  of  Mademoiselle  Colleville  s 
god-mothers.  On  the  rue  Saint-Dominique-d'Enfer,  anc 
on  the  Place  de  la  Madeleine,  she  showed  herself  many  time* 
to  be  the  friend  of  Theodose  de  la  Peyrade,  who  vainly  sough 
the  hand  of  the  future  Madame  Phellion.  [The  Governm 
Clerks.  The  Middle  Classes.] 

ThuUlier  (Louis- Jerome),  younger  brother  of  the  preceding, 
born  in   1791.     Thanks  to  his  father's  position,  he  en' 
the  Department  of  Finance  as  clerk  at  an  early  age 
Jerome    Thuillier,    being    exempted    from   military    Mrvu-cr 
on  account  of  weak  eyes,  married  Celeste  Lemprun 
wealthy    granddaughter,    about    1814.    Ten   years   ater 
had  reached  the  advancement  of  reporting  cle  k   i.    X. 
Rabourdin's    office,    Flamet    de    la    BnlardH          dbniwu 
His  pleasing  exterior  gave  him  a  series  of  succes 
affairs,  that  was  continued  after  his  Damage  but  cut 
by  the  Restoration,  bringing  back    as  it  d^ 
the  gallants  escaped  from  the  battlefield.  ,  £s  ;  ' 

ous  conquests  may  be  counted  Madame 
wife  of  his  intimate  friend  and  colleague  at  the  . 


466  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

of  their  relations  was  born  Celeste  Colleville — Madame  Felix 
Phellion.  Having  been  deputy-chief  for  two  years  (since 
January  5,  1828),  he  left  the  Treasury  at  the  outbreak  of 
the  Revolution  of  1830.  In  him  the  office  lost  an  expert 
in  equivocal  jests.  Having  left  the  department,  Thuillier 
turned  his  energies  in  another  direction.  Marie- Jeanne- 
Brigitte,  his  elder  sister,  turning  him  to  the  intricacies  of 
real  estate,  made  him  leave  their  lodging-place  on  the  rue 
d'Argenteuil,  to  purchase  a  house  on  the  rue  Saint- 
Dominique-d'Enfer,  which  had  formerly  belonged  to 
President  Lecamus  and  to  Petitot,  the  artist.  Thuillier's 
conceit  and  vanity,  now  that  he  had  become  a  well-known 
and  important  citizen,  were  greatly  nattered  when  Th£odose 
de  la  Peyrade  hired  apartments  from  him.  Mv  Thuillier  \vas 
manager  of  the  "Echo  de  la  Bievre,"  signed  a  certain  pam- 
phlet on  political  economy,  was  candidate  for  the  Chamber  of 
Deputies,  purchased  a  second  house,  in  1840,  on  the  Place 
de  la  Madeleine,  and  was  chosen  to  succeed  J.-J.  Popinot  as 
member  of  the  General  Council  of  the  Seine.  [The 
Government  Clerks.  The  Middle  Classes.] 

Thuillier  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding;  born  Celeste 
Lemprun,  in  1794;  only  daughter  of  the  oldest  messenger 
in  the  Bank  of  France,  and,  on  her  mother's  side,  grand- 
daughter of  Galard,  a  well-to-do  truck-gardener  of  Auteuil; 
a  transparent  blonde,  slender,  sweet-tempered,  religious, 
and  barren.  In  her  married  life,  Madame  Thuillier  was 
swayed  beneath  the  despotism  of  her  sister-in-law,  Marie- 
Jeanne-Brigitte,  but  derived  some  consolation  from  the 
affection  of  Celeste  Colleville,  and,  about  1841,  contributed, 
as  far  as  her  influence  permitted,  to  the  marriage  of  this  her 
god-daughter.  [The  Middle  Classes.] 

Tiennette,  born  in  1769,  a  Breton  who  wore  her  native1  cos- 
tume, was,  in  1829,  the  devoted  servant  of  Madame  de  Por- 
tenduere  the  elder,  on  the  rue  des  Bourgeois  (now  Bezout), 
Nemours.  [Ursule  Mirouet.] 

Tillet  (Ferdinand  du),  had  legally  a  right  only  to  the  first 
part  of  his  name,  which  was  given  him  on  the  morning  of 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  467 

Saint-Ferdinand's  day  by  the  curate  of  the  church  of  Tillet, 
a  town  near  Andelys  (Eure).     Ferdinand  was  the  son  of  an 
unknown   great   nobleman   and   a   poor   countrywoman   of 
Normandie,  who  was  delivered  of  her  son  one  night  in  the 
curate's  garden,  and  then  drowned  herself.    The  priest  took 
in  the  new  born  son  of  the  betrayed  mother  and  took  care  of 
him.     His  protector  being  dead,  Ferdinand  resolved  to  make 
his  own  way  in  the  world,  took  the  name  of  his  village,  was 
first  commercial   traveler,   and,   in   1814,  he  became  head 
clerk   in   Birotteau's   perfumery   establishment  on   the  rue 
Saint-Honore,    Paris.     While  there  he   tried,   but  without 
success,  to  win  Constance  Birotteau,  his  patron's  wife,  and 
stole  three  thousand  francs  from  the  cash  drawer.    They 
discovered  the  theft  and  forgave  the  offender,  but  in  such  a 
way  that  Du  Tillet  himself  was  offended.    He  left  the  busi- 
ness and  started  a  bank;  being  the  lover  of  Madame  Roguin, 
the  notary's  wife,  he  became  involved  in  the  business  scheme 
known  as  "  the  lands  of  the  Madeleine,"  the  original  cause  of 
Birotteau's   failure   and   of  his  own   fortune   (1818).     Fer- 
dinand du  Tillet,  now  a  lynx  of  almost  equal  prominence 
with  Nucingen,  with  whom  he  was  on  very  intimate  terms, 
being   loved   by   Mademoiselle   Malvina   d'Aldrigger,   being 
looked  up  to  by  the  Kellers  also,  and  being  further  the  patron' 
of  Tiphaine,  the  Provins  Royalist,  was  able  to  crush  Birotteau, 
and  triumphed  over  him,  even  on  December  17,  1818,  the 
evening  of  the  famous  ball  given  by  the  perfumer;  Jules 
Desmarets,  Benjamin  de  la  Billardiere,  and  he  were  the  only 
perfect  types  present  of  worldly  propriety  and  distinction. 
[Ce"sar    Birotteau.     The    Firm    of    Nucingen.    The    Middle 
Classes.     A    Bachelor's    Establishment.     Pierrette.]     Once 
started,  M.  du  Tillet  seldom  left  the  Chausse"e  d'Antin,  the 
financial  quarter  of  Paris,  during  the  Restoration  and  the 
reign   of   Louis   Philippe.     It  was   there  that  he  received 
Birotteau,  imploring  aid,  and  gave  him  a  letter  of  recom- 
mendation for  Nucingen,  the  result  of  which  was  quite  dif- 
ferent from  what  the  unfortunate  merchant  had  anticipated. 
Indeed,  it  was  agreed  between  the  two  business  mon,  if  the 
i's  in  the  letter  in  question  were  not  dotted,  to  give  a  negative 


468  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

answer;  by  this  intentional  omission,  Du  Tillet  ruined  the 
unfortunate  Birotteau.  He  had  his  bank  on  the  rue  Joubert 
when  Rodolphe  Castanier,  the  dishonest  cashier,  robbed 
Nucingen.  [Melmoth  Reconciled.]  Ferdinand  du  Tillet  was 
now  a  consequential  personage,  when  Lucien  de  Rubemprt? 
was  making  his  start  in  Paris  (1821).  [A  Distinguished  Pro- 
vincial at  Paris.]  Ten  years  later  he  married  the  last  daughter 
of  the  Comte  de  Granville,  a  peer  of  France,  and  "  one  of  the 
most  illustrious  names  of  the  French  magistracy."  He 
occupied  one  of  the  elegant  mansions  on  the  rue  Neuve-des- 
Mathurins,  now  rue  des  Mathurins;  for  a  long  time  he  kept 
Madame  Roguin  as  his  mistress;  was  often  seen,  in  the  Fau- 
bourg Saint-Honor^,  with  the  Marquise  d'Espard,  being  found 
there  on  the  day  that  Diane  de  Cadignan  was  slandered 
in  the  presence  of  Daniel  d'Arthez,  who  was  very  much  in 
love  with  her.  With  Massol  and  Raoul  Nathan  he  founded 
a  prominent  newspaper,  which  he  used  for  his  financial  in- 
terests. He  did  not  hesitate  to  get  rid  of  Nathan,  who  was 
loaded  down  with  debts;  but  he  found  Nathan  before  him 
once  more,  however,  as  candidate  for  the  Chamber  of  Depu- 
ties, to  succeed  Nucingen,  who  had  been  made  a  peer  of 
France;  this  time,  also,  he  triumphed  over  his  rival,  and  was 
elected.  [The  Secrets  of  a  Princess.  A  Daughter  of  Eve.] 
M.  du  Tillet  was  no  more  sparing  of  Maxime  de  Trailles, 
but  harassed  him  pitilessly,  when  the  count  was  sent  into 
Champagne  as  electoral  agent  of  the  government.  {The 
Member  for  Arcis.]  He  was  present  at  the  fete  given  by 
Josepha  Mirah,  by  way  of  a  house-warming,  in  her  mansion 
on  the  rue  de  la  Ville-FEveque ;  Celestin  Crevel  and  Valerie 
Marneffe  invited  him  to  their  wedding.  [Cousin  Betty.] 
At  the  end  of  the  monarchy  of  July,  being  a  deputy,  with 
his  seat  in  the  Left  Centre,  Ferdinand  du  Tillet  kept  in  the 
most  magnificent  style  Seraphine  Sinet,  the  Opera  girl, 
more  familiarly  called  Carabine.  [The  Unconscious  Hu- 
morists.] There  is  a  biography  of .  Ferdinand  du  Tillet, 
elaborated  by  the  brilliant  pen  of  Jules  .Claretie,  in 
"Le  Temps"  of  September  5,  1884,  under  title  of  "Life  in 
Paris." 


469 


Tillet  (Madame  Ferdinand  du),  wife  of  the  preceding,  born 
Marie-Eugenie  de  Granville  in  1814,  on  of  the  four  children 
of  the  Comte  and  Comtesse  de  Granville,  and  younger  sister 
of  Madame  Felix  de  Vandenesse;  a  blonde  like  her  mother; 
in  her  marriage,  which  took  place  in  1831,  was  a  renewal 
of  the  griefs  that  had  sobered  the  years  of  her  youth.  Eugenie 
du  Tillet's  natural  playfulness  of  spirit  could  find  vent  only 
with  her  eldest  sister,  Angelique-Marie,  and  their  harmony 
teacher,  W.  Schmucke,  in  whose  company  the  two  sisters 
forgot  their  father's  neglect  and  the  convent-like  rigidness 
of  a  devotee's  home.  Poor  in  the  midst  of  wealth,  deserted 
by  her  husband,  and  bent  beneath  an  inflexible  yoke,  Madame 
du  Tillet  could  lend  but  too  little  aid  to  her  sister-Hhen 
Madame  de  Vandenesse— in  the  trouble  caused  by  a  passion 
she  had  conceived  for  Raoul  Nathan.  However,  she  sup- 
plied her  with  two  powerful  allies— Delphine  de  Nucingen 
and  W.  Schmucke.  As  a  result  of  her  marriage  Madame 
du  Tillet  had  two  children.  [A  Daughter  of  Eve.] 

Tinte'niac,  known  for  his  part  in  the  Quiberon  affair,  had 
among  his  confederates  Jacques  Horeau,  who  was  executed 
in  1809  with  the  Chauffeur  of  Orne.    [The  Seamy  S 
History.] 

Tinti  (Clarina),  born  in  Sicily  about  1803;  was  maid  in  an 
inn  when  her  glorious  voice  came  under  the  notice  of  t 
nobleman,  her  fellow-countryman,  the  Duke  Cataneo  who  ha 
her  educated.     At  the  age  of  sixteen,  she  made  her  del 
with  brilliant  success  at  several  Italian  theatres.  20, 

she   was   "prima  donna   assoluta"   of  the  Fenioe  theatn 
Venice.     Being  loved  by  Genovese,  the  famous  tenor,  1 
was    usually  engaged   with  him     Of   a  P^^jg^ 
beautiful  and  capricious,  Clarina  became  enamore 
Emilio  du  Varese,  at  that  time  the  lover  of  the  D 
Cataneo,  and  became,  for  a  while,  the  mistress  of      at  de- 
scendant of  the  Memmis:  the  ruined  palace  of  \  are, 
Cataneo  hired  for  Tinti,  was  the  scene  of  these  ephemeral 
relations.     [Massimilla  Doni.]     I n  the  winter  of  1- 
at  the  home  of  Prince  Gandolphim,  in  Geneva,  wit! 


470  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Princesse  Gandolphini,  and  an  exiled  Italian  prince,  she  sang 
the  famous  quartette,  "Mi  manca  la  voce."     [Albert  Savarus.] 

Tiphaine,  of  Provins,  brother  of  Madame  Guenee-Galardon, 
rich  in  his  own  right,  and  expecting  something  more  by  way 
of  inheritance  from  his  father,  adopted  the  legal  profession; 
married  a  granddaughter  of  Chevrel,  a  prominent  banker 
of  Paris;  had  children  by  his  marriage;  presided  over  the 
court  of  his  native  town  in  the  latter  part  of  Charles  X.'s 
reign.  At  that  time  an  ardent  Royalist,  and  resting  secure 
under  the  patronage  of  the  well-known  financiers,  Ferdinand 
du  Tillet  and  Frederic  de  Nucingen,  M.  Tiphaine  contended 
against  Gouraud,  Vinet,  and  Rogron,  the  local  representatives 
of  the  Liberal  party,  and  for  a  considerable  time  upheld  the 
cause  of  Mademoiselle  Pierrette  Lorrain,  their  victim.  Ti- 
phaine, however,  suited  himself  to  the  cirumstances,  and 
came  over  to  Louis  Philippe,  the  "revolutionist,"  under  whose 
reign  he  became  a  member  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies; 
he  was  "one  of  the  most  esteemed  orators  of  the  Centre"; 
secured  his  appointment  to  the  judgeship  of  the  court  of 
first  instance  of  the  Seine,  and  still  later  he  was  made  presi- 
dent of  the  royal  court.  [Pierrette.] 

Tiphaine  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding,  born  Mathilde- 
Melanie  Roguin,  in  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century; 
the  only  daughter  of  a  wealthy  notary  of  Paris,  noted  for 
his  fraudulent  failure  in  1819;  on  her  mother's  side,  grand- 
daughter of  Chevrel,  the  banker,  and  also  distant  cousin 
of  the  Guillaumes,  and  the  families  of  Lebas  and  Som- 
mervieux.  Before  her  marriage  she  was  a  freqeunt  visitor 
at  the  studio  of  Servin,  the  artist;  she  was  there  "  the  malicious 
oracle"  of  the  Liberal  party,  and,  with  Laure,  took  sides 
with  Ginevra  di  Piombo  against  Amelie  Thirion,  leader  of 
the  aristocratic  group.  [The  Vendetta.]  Clever,  pretty, 
coquettish,  correct,  and  a  real  Parisian,  and  protected  by 
Madame  Roguin's  lover,  Ferdinand  du  Tillet,  Mathilde- 
Melanie  Tiphaine  reigned  supreme  in  Provins,  in  the  midst 
of  the  Gue'ne'e  family,  represented  by  Mesdames  Galardon.. 
Lessourd,  Martener,  and  Auffray;  took  in,  or,  rather,  de- 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  471 

fended    Pierrette    Lorrain;   and   overwhelmed    the    Rogron 
salon  with  her  spirit  of  raillery.    [Pierrette.] 

Tissot  (Pierre-Francois),  born  March  10,  1768,  at  Ver- 
sailles, died  April  7,  1854;  general  secretary  of  the  Mainten- 
ance Commission  in  1793,  successor  to  Jacques  DeliKe  in  the 
chair  of  Latin  poetry  in  the  College  de  France;  a  member 
of  the  Academy  in  1833,  and  the  author  of  many  literary 
and  historical  works;  under  the  Restoration  he  was  managing 
editor  of  the  "Pilote,"  a  radical  sheet  that  published  a  special 
edition  of  the  daily  news  for  the  provinces,  a  few  hours  after 
the  morning  papers.  Horace  Bianchon,  the  house-surgeon, 
there  learned  of  the  death  of  Fr6de*ric-Michel  Taillefer,  who 
had  been  killed  in  a  duel  with  Franchessini.  [Father  Goriot.] 
In  the  reign  of  Louis  Philippe,  when  Charles-Edouard  Rusti- 
coli  de  la  Palf4rine's  burning  activity  vainly  sought  an 
upward  turn,  Tissot,  from  the  professor's  chair,  pleaded  the 
cause  of  the  rights  and  aspirations  of  youth  that  had  been 
ignored  and  despised  by  the  power  surrendered  into  the  hands 
of  superannuated  mossbacks.  [A  Prince  of  Bohemia.] 

Tito,  a  young  and  handsome  Italian,  in  1823,  brought 
"la  liberta  e  denaro"  to  the  Prince  and  Princess  Gandolphini, 
who  were  at  that  time  impoverished  outlaws,  living  in  con- 
cealment at  Gersau  (canton  of  Lucerne)  under  the  Knglish 
name  of  Lovelace— "  L'Ambitieux  par  Amour."  [Albert 
Savarus.] 

Toby,  born  in  Ireland  about  1807;  also  called  Joby,^and 
Paddy;  during  the  Restoration,  Beaudcriord's  "tiger"  on 
the  Quai  Malaquais, .  Paris ;  a  wonder  of  precocity  in  vice; 
acquired  a  sort  of  celebrity  in  exercise  of  his  duties,  a  celebrity 
that  was  even  reflected  on  Madame  d'Aldrigger's  future 
son-in-law.  [The  Firm  of  Nucingen.]  During  Louis  Phil- 
ippe's reign,  Toby  was  a  servant  in  the  household  of  the  I 
Georges  de  Maufrigneuse  on  the  rue  Miromesnil.  [The 
Secrets  of  a  Princess.] 

Tonnelet  (Maitre),  a  notary,  and  son-in-law  of  M.  Gravier 
of  Isere,  whose  intimate  friend  was  Benassis,  and  who  was 


472  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

one  of  the  co-workers  of  that  beneficent  physician.  Ton- 
nelet  was  thin  and  pale,  and  of  medium  height;  he  generally 
dressed  in  black,  and  wore  spectacles.  [The  Country  Doctor.] 

Tonsard  (Mere),  a  peasant  woman  of  Bourgogne,  born  in 
1745,  was  one  of  the  most  formidable  enemies  of  Montcornet, 
the  owner  of  Aigues,  and  of  his  head-keeper,  Justin  Michaud. 
She  had  killed  the  keeper's  favorite  hound  and  she  encroached 
upon  the  forest  trees,  so  as  to  kill  them  and  take  the  dead 
wood  off.  A  reward  of  a  thousand  francs  having  been  offered 
to  the  person  who  should  discover  the  perpetrator  'of  these 
wrongs,  Mere  Tonsard  had  herself  denounced  by  her  grand- 
daughter, Marie  Tonsard,  in  order  to  secure  this  sum  of 
money  to  her  family,  and  she  was  sentenced  to  five  years' 
imprisonment,  though  she  probably  did  not  serve  her  term. 
Mere  Bonnebault  committed  the  same  offences  as  Mere 
Tonsard ;  they  had  had  a  quarrel,  each  wishing  to  profit  by  the 
advantages  of  a  denunciation,  and  had  ended  by  referring 
the  matter  to  the  casting  of  lots,  which  resulted  in  favor  of 
Mere  Tonsard.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Tonsard  (Frangois),  son  of  the  preceding,  born  about 
1773,  was  a  country  laborer,  skilled  more  or  less  in  everything; 
he  possessed  a  hereditary  talent,  attested,  moreover,  by 
his  name,  for  trimming  trees,  and  various  kinds  of  hedges. 
Lazy  and  crafty,  Francois  Tonsard  secured  from  Sophie 
Laguerre,  Montcornet's  predecessor  at  Aigues,  an  acre  of 
land,  on  which  he  built,  in  1795,  the  wine-shop  known  as 
the  Grand-I-Vert.  He  was  saved  from  conscription  by 
Frangois  Gaubertin,  at  that  time  steward  of  Aigues,  at  the 
urgent  request  of  Mademoiselle  Cochet,  their  common  mis- 
tress. Being  then  married  to  Philippine  Fourchon,  and 
Gaubertin  having  become  his  wife's  lover,  he  could  poach 
with  freedom,  and  so  it  was  that  the  Tonsard  family  made 
regular  levies  on  the  Aigues  forest  with  impunity :  they  sup- 
plied themselves  entirely  from  the  wood  of  the  forest,  kept 
two  cows  at  the  expense  of  the  landlord,  and  were  represented 
at  the  harvest  by  seven  gleaners.  Being  incommoded  by 
the  active  watch  kept  over  them  by  Justin  Michaud,  Gauber- 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMA1NE  473 

tin's  successor,  Tonsard  killed  him,  one  night  in  1823. 
Afterwards  in  the  dismemberment  of  Montcornet's  estate, 
Tonsard  got  his  share  of  the  spoils.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Tonsard  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding;  born  Philippe 
Fourchon;  daughter  of  the  Fourchon  who  was  the  natural 
grandfather  of  Mouche;  large,  and  of  a  good  figure,  with  a 
sort  of  rustic  beauty;  lax  in  morals;  extravagant  in  her 
tastes,  none  the  less  she  assured  the  prosperity  of  the  Grand-I- 
Vert,  by  reason  of  her  talent  as  a  cook,  and  her  free  coquetry. 
By  her  marriage  she  had  four  children,  two  sons  and  two 
daughters.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Tonsard  (Jean-Louis),  born  about  1801,  son  of  the  pre- 
ceding, and  perhaps  also  of  Frangois  Gaubertin,  to  whom 
Philippe  Tonsard  was  mistress.  Exempted  from  military 
service  in  1821  on  account  of  a  pretended  disorder  in  the 
muscles  of  his  right  arm,  Jean-Louis  Tonsard  posed,  under 
the  protection  of  Soudry,  Rigou  and  Gaubertin,  in  a  cir- 
cumspect way,  as  the  enemy  of  theMontcornetsandMichaud. 
He  was  a  lover  of  Annette,  Rigou's  servant  girl.  [The  Peas- 
antry.] 

Tonsard  (Nicolas),  younger  brother  of  the  preceding,  and 
the  male  counterpart  of  his  sister  Catherine;  brutally  per- 
secuted, with  his  sister's  connivance,  Niseron's  granddaughter, 
Genevieve,  called  La  Pechina,  whom  he  tried  to  outrage. 
[The  Peasantry.] 

Tonsard  (Catherine).     (See  Godain,  Madame.) 

Tonsard   (Marie),   sister  of  the  preceding;  a  blonde;  had 
the  loose  and  uncivilized  morals  of  her  family.    While  mi 
tress  of  Bonne-bault,  she  proved  herself,  on  one  occasion 
at  the  Cafe  de  la  Paix  of  Soulanges,  to  be  fiercely  jeakn 
of  Agla6  Socquard,  whom  he  wished  to  many, 
an  try.] 

Tonsard  (Reine),  without  any  known  relationship  to  all 
the  preceding,  was,  in  spite  of  being  very  ugly 
of  the  son  of  the  Oliviers,   porters    to    Valerie    Marneffe- 
Crevel;  and  she  remained  for  a  long  time  the  confic 


474  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

lady's-maid  of  that  married  courtesan;  but,  being  bought 
over  by  Jacques  Collin,  she  eventually  betrayed  and  ruined 
the  Crevel  family.  [Cousin  Betty.] 

Tonyr  coachman  to  Louis  de  1'Estorade,  about  1840. 
[The  Member  for  Arc  is.] 

Topinard,  born  about  1805;  officer  in  charge  of  the  property 
of  the  theatre  managed  by  Felix  Gaudissart;  in  charge  also 
of  the  lamps  and  fixtures;  and,  lastly,  he  had  the  task  of 
placing  the  copies  of  the  music  on  the  musicians'  stands. 
He  went  every  day  to  the  rue  Normandie  to  get  news  of 
Sylvain  Pons,  who  was  suffering  from  a  fatal  attack  of  hepa- 
titis ;  in  the  latter  part  of  April,  1845,  he  was,  with  Fraisier, 
Villemot  and  Sonet's  agent,  one  of  the  pall-bearers  at  the 
funeral  of  the  cousin  of  the  Camusot  de  Marvilles.  On 
leaving  the  Pere-Lachaise,  Topinard,  who  was  living  in  the 
Cit£  Bordin,  was  moved  to  compassion  for  Schmucke,  brought 
him  home,  and  finally  received  him  under  his  roof.  Topinard 
then  secured  the  position  of  cashier  with  Gaudissart,  but  he 
almost  lost  his  position  for  trying  to  defend  the  interests  of 
Schmucke,  of  whom  the  heirs-at-law  of  Pons  had  undertaken 
to  rid  themselves.  Even  under  these  circumstances  Topinard 
aided  Schmucke  in  his  distress;  he  alone  followed  the  Ger- 
man's body  to  the  cemetery,  and  took  pains  to  have  him 
buried  beside  Sylvain  Pons.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Topinard  (Madame  Rosalie),  wife  of  the  preceding,  born 
about  1815,  called  Lolotte;  she  was  a  member  of  the 
choir  under  the  direction  of  Fe"lix  Gaudissart's  predecessor, 
whose  mistress  she  was.  A  victim  of  her  lover's  failure, 
she  became  box-opener  of  the  first  tier,  and  also  quite  a  dealer 
in  costumes  during  the  following  administration  (1834- 
1845).  She  had  first  lived  as  Topinard's  mistress,  but  he 
afterwards  married  her;  she  had  three  children  by  him.  She 
took  part  in  the  funeral  mass  of  Pons;  when  Schmucke 
was  taken  in  by  her  husband  in  the  Cit6  Bordin,  she  nursed 
the  musician  in  his  last  illness.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Topinard,  eldest  son  of  the  preceding  couple,  was  a  super- 
numerary in  Gaudissart's  company.  [Cousin  Pons.] 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  475 

Topinard  (Olga),  sister  of  the  preceding;  a  blonde  of  the 
German  type;  when  quite  young,  she  won  the  warmest 
affection  of  Schmucke,  who  was  making  his  home  with  the 
employes  of  Gaudissart's  theatre.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Torlonia  (Due),  a  name  mentioned,  in  December,  1829, 
by  the  Baron  Frederic  de  Nucingen,  as  that  of  one  of  his 
friends,  and  pronounced  by  him  "Dorlonia."  The  d  ke 
had  ordered  a  magnificent  carpet,  the  price  of  which  he  con- 
sidered exorbitant,  but  the  baron  bought  it  for  Esther  van 
Gobseck's  "leedle  balace"  on  the  rue  Saint-Georges.  The 
Due  Torlonia  belonged  to  the  famous  family  of  Rome,  that 
was  so  hospitable  to  strangers,  and  was  of  French  origin. 
The  original  name  was  Tourlogne.  [Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's 
Life.] 

Torpille  (La),  sobriquet  of  Esther  van  Gobseck. 

Touchard  father  and  son,  ran  a  line  of  stages,  during  the 
Restoration,  to  Beaumont-sur-Oise.  [A  Start  in  Life.] 

Touches  (Mademoiselle  Felicite"  des),  born  at  Gue>ande 
in  1791;  related  to  the  Grandlieus;  not  connected  with  the 
Touches  family  of  Touraine,  to  which  the  regent's  ambas- 
sador, more  famous  as  a  comic  poet,  belonged ;  became  an  or- 
phan in  1793;  her  father,  a  major  in  the  Gardes  de  la  Porte, 
was  killed  on  the  steps  of  the  Tuileries  August  10,  1792, 
and  her  only  brother,  a  younger  member  of  the  guard,  was 
massacred  at  the  Carmelite  convent;  lastly,  her  mother  died 
of  a  broken  heart  a  few  days  after  this  last  catastrophe. 
Entrusted  then  to  the  care  of  her  maternal  aunt,  Mademoiselle 
de  Faucombe,  a  nun  of  Chelles,1  she  was  taken  by  her  to 
Faucombe,  a  considerable  estate  situated  near  Nantes,  and 
soon  afterwards  she  was  put  in  prison  along  with  her  aunt 
on  the  charge  of  being  an  emissary  of  Pitt  and  Cobourg. 
The  9th  Thermidor  found  them  released ;  but  Mademoiselle 
de  Faucombe  died  of  fright,  and  Felicite"  was  sent  to  M.  de 
Faucombe,  an  archaeologist  of  Nantes,  being  her  maternal 
great-uncle  and  her  nearest  relative.  She  grew  up  by  hcr- 

1  It  was  perhaps  at  Cbelles  that  Mademoiselle  de  Faueombe  became  acquainted 
with  Meadernoioellea  de  Heaus.;ant  and  de  Langeai*. 


476  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

self,  "a  torn-boy";  she  had  at  her  command  an  enormous 
library,  which  allowed  her  to  acquire,  at  a  very  early  age, 
a  great  mass  of  information.  The  literary  spirit  being  de- 
veloped in  her,  Mademoiselle  des  Touches  began  by  assisting 
her  aged  uncle;  wrote  three  articles  that  he  believed  were 
his  own  work,  and,  in  1822,  made  her  beginning  in  literature 
with  two  volumes  of  dramatic  works,  after  the  fashion  of 
Lope  de  Vega  and  Shakespeare,  which  produced  a  sort  of 
artistic  revolution.  She  then  assumed  as  a  permanent  ap- 
pellation, the  pseudonym  of  Camille  Maupin,  and  led  a  bright 
and  independent  life.  Her  income  of  eighty  thousand  livres, 
her  castle  of  Les  Touches,  near  Guerande —  Loire-Inf e"rieure — 
her  Parisian  mansion  on  the  rue  de  Mont-Blanc — now  rue  de 
la  Chaussee-d'Antin, — her  birth,  and  her  connections,  had 
their  power  of  influence.  Her  irregularities  were  covered 
as  with  a  veil,  in  consideration  of  her  genius.  Indeed,  Made- 
moiselle des  Touches  had  more  than  one  lover:  a  gallant 
about  1817;  then  an  original  mind,  a  sceptic,  the  real  creator 
of  Camille  Maupin ;  and  next  Gennaro  Conti,  whom  she  knew 
in  Rome,  and  Claude  Vignon,  a  critic  of  reputation.  [B6- 
atrix.  Lost  Illusions.  A  Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.] 
Felicite"  was  a  patron  of  Joseph  Bridau,  the  romantic  painter, 
who  was  despised  by  the  bourgeois  [A  Bachelor's  Es- 
tablishment]; she  felt  a  liking  for  Lucien  de  Rubempre", 
whom,  indeed,  she  came  near  marrying;  though  this  cir- 
cumstance did  not  pevent  her  from  aiding  the  poet's  mis* 
tress,  Coralie,  the  actress;  for,  at  the  time  of  their  amours, 
Felicite"  des  Touches  was  in  high  favor  at  the  Gymnase. 
She  was  the  anonymous  collaborator  of  a  comedy  into  which 
Le"ontine  Volnys — the  little  Fay  of  'that  time — was  intro- 
duced; she  had  intended  to  write  another  vaudeville  play, 
in  which  Coralie  was  to  have  made  the  principal  role.  When 
the  young  actress  took  to  her  bed  and  died,  which  occurred 
under  the  Poirson-Cerfberr1  management,  F61icite  paid  the 
expenses  of  her  burial,  and  was  present  at  the  funeral  services, 
which  were  conducted  at  Notre-Dame  de  Bonne-Nouvelle. 

1  Delestre-Poirson,  the  vaudeville  man,  together  with  A.  Cerfberr,  established 
the  Gymnase-Dramatique,  December  20,  1820;  with  the  Cerfberr  Brothers,  Deles« 
tre-Poireon  continued  the  management  of  it  until  1844. 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  477 

She  gave  dinner-parties  on  Wednesdays;  Levasseur,  Coiui, 
Mesdames  Pasta,  Cinti,  Fodor,  De  Bargeton,  and  d'Espard, 
attended  her  receptions.  [A  Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.] 
Although  a  Legitimist,  like  the  Marquise  d'Espard,  F^licite", 
after  the  Revolution  of  July,  kept  her  salon  open,  where  were 
frequently    assembled    her    neighbor    Leontine    de    Se'rizy, 
Lord  Dudley  and  Lady  Barimore,  the  Nucingens,  Joseph 
Bridau,    Mesdames   de   Cadignan   and   de  Montcornet,   the 
Comtesse   de   Vandenesse,    Daniel   d'Arthez,    and   Madame 
Rochegude,  otherwise  known  as   Rochefide.    Canalis,    Ras- 
tignac,  Laginski,  Montriveau,  Bianchon,  Marsay,  and  Blondet 
rivaled  each  other  in  telling  piquant  stories  and  passing 
caustic  remarks  under  her  roof.    [Another  Study  of  Woman.] 
Furthermore,  Mademoiselle  des  Touches  shortly  afterwards 
gave  advice  to  Marie  de  Vandenesse  and  condemned  free  love. 
[A  Daughter  of  Eve.]    In  1836,  while  traveling  through  Italy, 
which  she  was  showing  to  Claude  Vignon  and  IA>n  de  Lora, 
the  landscape  painter,  she  was  present  at  an  entertainment 
given  by  Maurice  de  THostal,  the  French  consul  at  Genoa; 
on  this  occasion  he  gave  an  account  of  the  ups  and  downs 
of  the  Bauvan  family.     [Honorine.]    In  1837,  after  havm 
appointed  as  her  residuary  legatee  Calyste  du  Guemc,  whom 
she  adored,  but  to  whom  she  refused  to  give  herself  over, 
Felicite"  des  Touches  retired  to  a  convent  in  Nantes  of 
order   of   Saint-Frangois.     Among   the  works  left 
second  George  Sand,  we  may  mention  «Le  Nouveau  Prorr 
thee,"  a  bold  attempt,  standing  alone  among  her  works,  a 
a  short  autobiographical  romance,  in  which   sh. 
her  betrayed  passion  for  Conti,  an   admirable  work,       uch 
was  regarded   as  the    counterpart  of   Benjamin  Constant* 
"Adolphe."     [Beatrix.    The  Muse  of  the  Department.] 


of  Saint-Sulpice,  Paris;  then  dispenser 


478  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

partist,  or  of  being  unfit  for  his  position,  was  discharged 
from  the  service  of  the  church,  and  had  only  the  right  to 
stand  at  the  threshold  as  a  privileged  beggar;  however, 
he  profited  greatly  by  his  new  position,  for  he  knew  how 
to  arouse  the  compassionate  feelings  of  the  faithful  in  every 
possible  way,  chiefly  by  passing  as  a  centenarian.  Having 
been  entrusted  with  the  diamonds  that  Charles  Crochard 
had  stolen  fom  Mademoiselle  Beaumesnil  and  which  the 
young  thief  wished  to  get  off  his  hands  for  the  time  being, 
Toupillier  denied  having  received  them  and  remained  pos- 
sessor of  the  stolen  jewels.  But  Corentin,  the  famous  police- 
agent,  followed  the  pauper  of  Saint-Sulpice  to  the  rue  du 
Coeur- Volant,  and  surprised  that  new  Cardillac  engrossed 
in  the  contemplation  of  the  diamonds.  He,  however,  left 
them  in  his  custody,  on  condition  of  his  leaving  by  will 
all  his  property  to  Lydie  Peyrade,  Corentin's  ward  and 
Mademoiselle  Beaumesnil's  daughter.  Corentin  further  re- 
quired Toupillier  to  live  in  his  house  and  under  his  surveil- 
lance on  the  rue  Honore-Chevalier.  At  that  time  Toupil- 
lier had  an  income  of  eighteen  hundred  francs,  and  a  house 
on  the  rue  Notre-Dame  de  Nazareth,  a  piece  of  property 
that  was  bought  for  forty-eight  thousand  francs;  he  might 
be  seen,  at  the  church,  munching  wretched  crusts;  but,  the 
church  once  closed,  he  went  to  dine  at  the  Lathuile  restaurant, 
situated  on  the  Barriere  de  Clichy,  and  at  night  he  got  drunk 
on  the  excellent  Rousillon  wines.  Notwithstanding  an 
attack  made  by  Madame  Cardinal  and  Cerizet  on  the  closet 
containing  the  diamonds,  when  the  pauper  of  Saint-Sulpice 
died  in  1840,  Lydie  Peyrade,  now  Madame  The"odose  de  la 
Peyrade,  inherited  all  that  Toupillier  possessed.  [The 
Middle  Classes.] 

Toupinet,  a  Parisian  mechanic,  at  the  time  of  the  Restora- 
tion, being  married  and  father  of  a  family,  he  stole  his  wife'? 
savings,  the  fruit  of  arduous  labor ;  he  was  imprisoned,  about 
1828,  probably  for  debts.  [The  Commission  in  Lunacy.] 

Toupinet  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding;  known  under 
the  name  Pomponne;  kept  a  fruit-stand;  lived,  in  1828, 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  479 

on  the  rue  du  Petit-Banquier,  Paris;  unhappy  in  her  married 
life;  obtained  from  the  charitable  J.-J.  Popinot,  under  the 
name  of  a  loan,  ten  francs  for  purchasing  stock.  [The  Com- 
mission in  Lunacy.] 

Tournan,  a  hatter  of  the  rue  Saint-Martin,  Paris;  among 
his  customers  was  young  Poiret,  who,  on  July  3, 1823,  brought 
him  his  head-covering,  all  greased,  as  a  result  of  J.-J.  Bixiou's 
practical  joking.  [The  Government  Clerks.] 

Tours-Minieres  (Bernard-Polydor  Bryond,  Baron  des), 
a  gentleman  of  Alencon;  born  about  1772;  in  1793,  was  one 
of  the  most  active  emissaries  of  the  Comte  de  Lille  (Louis 
XVIII.),  in  his  conspiracy  against  the  Republic.  Having 
received  the  King's  thanks,  he  retired  to  his  estate  in  the 
department  of  One,  which  had  long  been  burdened  with 
mortgages;  and,  in  1807,  he  married  Henriette  Ixj  Chantre 
de  la  Chanterie,  with  the  concurrence  of  the  Royalists,  whose 
"pet"  he  was.  He  pretended  to  take  part  in  the  reactionary 
revolutionary  movement  of  the  West  hi  1809,  implicated  his 
wife  in  the  matter,  compromised  her,  ruined  her,  and 
then  disappeared.  Returning  in  secrecy  to  his  country, 
under  the  assumed  name  of  Lemarchand,  he  aided  the  au- 
thorities in  getting  at  the  bottom  of  the  plot,  and  then  \\cnt 
to  Paris,  where  he  became  the  celebrated  police-agent  Con- 
tenson.  [The  Seamy  Side  of  History.]  He  knew  Peyrade, 
and  received  from  Lenoir's  old  pupil  the  significant  sobriquet 
of  "  Philosopher."  Being  agent  for  Fouche"  during  the  period 
of  the  Empire,  he  abandoned  himself  in  the  most  sensual  way 
to  his  passions,  and  lived  a  life  of  irregularity  and  vice. 
During  the  time  of  the  Restoration  Louchard  had  him  em- 
ployed by  Nucingen  at  the  time  of  the  latter's  amours  with 
Esther  van  Gobseck.  In  the  service  of  this  noted  banker, 
Contenson  (with  Peyrade  and  Corentin)  tried  to  protect 
him  from  the  snares  of  Jacques  Collin,  and  followed  the  pseudo- 
Carlos  Herrera  to  his  place  of  refuge  on  a  house-top;  but 
being  hurled  from  the  roof  by  his  intended  victim,  he  was 
instantly  killed  during  the  winter  of  1829-1830.  [Scenes  from 
a  Courtesan's  Life.] 


480  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Tours-Minieres  (Baronne  Bryond  des),  wife  of  the  pre- 
ceding; born  Henriette  Le  Chantre  de  la  Chanterie,  in  1789; 
only  daughter  of  Monsieur  and  Madame  Le  Chantre  de  la 
Chanterie;  was  married  after  her  father's  death.  Through 
the  machinations  of  Tours-Minieres  she  was  brought  into 
contact  with  Charles-Ame'dee-Louis-Joseph  Rifoel,  Chevalier 
du  Vissard,  became  his  mistress,  and  took  the  field  for  him 
in  the  Royalist  cause,  in  the  department  of  Orne,  in  1809. 
Betrayed  by  her  husband,  she  was  executed  in  1810,  in 
accordance  with  a  death-sentence  of  the  court  presided  over 
by  Mergi,  Bourlac  being  attorney-general.  [The  Seamy 
Side  of  History.] 

Trailles  (Comte  Maxime  de),  born  in  1791,  belonged  to 
a  family  that  was  descended  from  an  attendant  to 
Louis  XL,  and  raised  to  the  nobility  by  Fran  go  is  I.  This 
perfect  example  of  the  Parisian  condottieri  made  his  be- 
ginning in  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century  as  a  page 
to  Napoleon.  Being  loved,  in  turn,  by  Sarah  Gobseck 
and  Anastasie  de  Restaud,  Maxime  de  Trailles,  himself  al- 
ready ruined,  ruined  both  of  these;  gaming  was  his  master 
passion,  and  his  caprices  knew  no  bounds.  [Cesar  Birotteau. 
Father  Goriot.  Gobseck.]  He  took  under  his  attention 
the  Vicomte  Savinien  de  Portenduere,  a  novice  in  Parisian 
life,  whom  also  he  would  have  served  later  as  his  second 
against  De'sire'  Minoret,  but  for  the  latter's  death 
by  accident.  [Ursule  Mirouet.]  His  ready  wit  usually 
saved  him  from  the  throng  of  creditors  that  swarmed  about 
him,  but  even  thus  he  once  paid  a  debt  due  C£rizet,  in  spite 
of  himself.  Maxime  de  Trailles,  at  that  time,  was  keeping, 
in  a  modest  way,  Antonia  Chocardelle,  who  had  a  news- 
stand on  the  rue  Coquenard,  near  the  rue  Pigalle,  on  which 
Trailles  lived;  and,  at  the  same  time,  a  certain  Hortense,  a 
protegee  of  Lord  Dudley,  was  seconding  the  genius  of  that 
excellent  comedian,  Cerizet.  [A  Man  of  Business.  The 
Member  for  Arcis.]  The  dominant  party  of  the  Restoration 
accused  Maxime  de  Trailles  of  being  a  Bonapartist,  and  re- 
buked him  for  his  shameless  corruption  of  life ;  but  the  citizen 
monarchy  extended  him  a  cordial  welcome.  Marsay  was 


REPERTORY  OP  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  481 

the  chief  promoter  of  the  count's  fortunes;  he  moulded  him, 
and  sent  him  on  delicate  political  missions,  which  he  managed 
with  marvelous  success.  [The  Secrets  of  a  Princess.]  And 
so  the  Comte  de  Trailles  was  widely  known  in  social  circles: 
as  the  guest  of  Josepha  Mirah,  by  his  presence  he  honored  the 
house-warming  in  her  new  apartments  on  the  rue  de  la  Ville- 
PEveque.  [Cousin  Betty.]  Marsay  being  dead,  he  lost  the 
power  of  his  prestige.  Eugene  de  Rastignac,  who  had  become 
somewhat  of  a  Puritan,  showed  but  slight  esteem  for  him. 
However,  Maxime  de  Trailles  was  on  easy  terms  with  one 
of  the  minister's  intimate  friends,  the  brilliant  Colonel  Fran- 
chessini.  Nucingen's  son-in-law — Eugene  de  Rastignac — 
perhaps  recalled  Madame  de  Restaud's  misfortunes,  and 
doubtless  entertained  no  good  feeling  for  the  man  who  was 
responsible  for  them  all.  None  the  less,  he  employed  the  ser- 
vices of  M.  de  Trailles — who  was  always  at  ease  in  the  Marquise 
d'Espard's  salon,  in  the  Faubourg  Saint-Honore",  though  a 
man  over  forty  years  of  age,  painted  and  padded  and  bowed 
down 'with  debts — and  sent  him  to  look  after  the  political 
situation  in  Arcis  before  the  spring  election  of  1839.  Trailles 
worked  his  wires  with  judgment;  he  tried  to  override  the 
Cinq-Cygnes,  partisans  of  Henri  V.;  he  supported  the  can- 
didacy of  Phileas  Beauvisage,  and  sought  the  hand  of  CeYiIo- 
Renee  Beauvisage,  the  wealthy  heiress,  but  was  unsuccessful 
on  all  sides.  [The  Member  for  Arcis.]  M.  de  Trailles,  fur- 
thermore, excelled  in  the  adjustment  of  private  difficulties. 
M.  d'Ajuda-Pinto,  Abbe"  Brossette,  and  Madame  de  Grand- 
lieu  called  for  his  assistance,  and,  with  the  further  aid  of 
Rusticoli  de  la  Palfe"rine,  effected  the  reconciliation  of  the 
families  of  Calyste  du  GuSnic  and  Arthur  de  Rochefide. 
[Beatrix.]  He  became  a  member  of  the  Chamber  of  Depu- 
ties, succeeding  Phiteas  Beauvisage,  who  had  replaced  Charles 
de  Sallenauve,  at  the  Palais-Bourbon;  here  he  was  pointed 
out  to  S.-P.  Gazonal.  [The  Unconscious  Humorists.] 

Trans  (Mademoiselle),  a  young  unmarried  woman  of  Bor- 
deaux, who,  like  Mademoiselle  de  Belor,  was  on  the  lool 
for  a  husband  when  Paul  de  Manerville  married  Natalie 
genista.     [A  Marriage  Settlement.] 


482 

Transon  (Monsieur  and  Madame),  wholesale  dealers  in 
earthenware  goods  on  the  rue  des  Lesdiguieres,  were  on  in- 
timate terms,  about  1824,  with  their  neighbors,  the  Baudoyers 
and  the  Saillards.  [The  Government  Clerks.] 

Travot  (Ge"ne"ral),  with  his  command,  conducted,  in  1815, 
the  siege  of  Guerande,  a  fortress  defended  by  the  Baron  du 
Gue"nic,  who  finally  evacuated  it,  but  who  reached  the  wood 
with  his  Chouans  and  remained  In  possession  of  the  country 
until  the  second  return  of  the  Bourbons.  [Beatrix.] 

Trognon  (Maitre),  a  Parisian  notary,  wholly  at  the  disposal 
of  his  neighbor,  Maitre  Fraisier;  during  the  years  1844- 
1845  he  lived  on  the  rue  Saint-Louis-au-Marais — now  rue 
de  Turenne — and  reached  the  death-bed  of  Sylvain  Pons 
before  his  colleague,  Maitre  Leopold  Hannequin,  though 
the  latter  actually  received  the  musician's  last  wishes.  [Cousin 
Pons.] 

Troisville  (Guibelin,  Vicomte  de),  whose  name  is  pro- 
nounced Treville,  and  who,  as  well  as  his  numerous  family, 
bore  simply  the  name  Guibelin  during  the  period  of  the 
Empire;  he  belonged  to  a  noble  line  of  ardent  Royalists  well 
known  in  Alengon.  [The  Seamy  Side  of  History.]  Very 
probably  several  of  the  Troisvilles,  as  well  as  the  Chevalier 
de  Valois  and  the  Marquis  d'Esgrignon,  were  among  the  cor- 
respondents of  the  Vendean  chiefs,  for  it  is  well  known  that 
the  department  of  Orne  was  counted  among  the  centres  of 
the  anti-revolutionary  uprising  (1799).  [The  Chouans.] 
Furthermore,  the  Bourbons,  after  their  restoration,  over- 
whelmed the  Troisvilles  with  honors,  making  several  of  them 
members  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  or  peers  of  France. 
The  Vicomte  Guibelin  de  Troisville  served  during  the  emi- 
gration in  Russia,  where  he  married  a  Muscovite  girl,  daughter 
of  the  Princesse  Scherbeloff;  and,  during  the  year  1816, 
he  returned  to  establish  himself  permanently  among  the 
people  of  Alengon.  Accepting  temporarily  the  hospitality  of 
Rose- Vic toire  Cormon  (eventually  Madame  du  Bousquier), 
he  innocently  inspired  her  with  false  hopes;  the  viscount, 
naturally  reserved,  failed  to  inform  her  of  his  being  son-in-law 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  483 

of  Scherbeloff,  and  legitimate  father  of  the  future  Mare"chale 
de  Montcornet.  Guibelin  de  Troisville,  a  loyal  social 
friend  of  the  Esgrignons,  met  in  their  salon  the  Roche-Guyons 
and  the  Casterans,  distant  cousins  of  his,  but  the  intimate 
relations  almost  came  to  an  end,  when  Mademoiselle  Virginie 
de  Troisville  became  Madame  de  Montcornet.  [Jealousies 
of  a  Country  Town.]  However,  in  spite  of  this  union,  which 
he  looked  upon  as  a  mesalliance,  the  viscount  was  never 
cool  towards  his  daughter  and  her  husband,  but  was  their 
guest  at  Aigues,  in  Bourgogne.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Trompe-la-Mort,  a  sobriquet  of  Jacques  Collin. 

Troubert  (Abbe  Hyacinthe),  favorite  priest  of  M.  de  Bour- 
bonne ;  rose  rapidly  during  the  Restoration  and  Louis 
Philippe's  reign;  canon  and  vicar-general,  in  turn,  of  Tours,  he 
was  afterwards  bishop  of  Troyes.  His  early  career  in  Tou- 
raine  showed  him  to  be  a  deep,  ambitious,  and  dangerous 
man,  knowing  how  to  remove  from  his  path  those  that  im- 
peded his  advance,  and  knowing  how  to  conceal  the  full 
power  of  his  animosity.  The  secret  support  of  the  Congrega- 
tion and  the  connivance  of  Sophie  Gamard  allowed  him  t<> 
take  advantage  of  Abbe*  Francois  Birotteau's  unsuspecting 
good  nature,  and  to  rob  him  of  all  the  inheritance  of  Abb£ 
Chapeloud,  whom  he  had  hated  in  his  lifetime,  and  over  whom 
he  triumphed  thus  again,  despite  the  shrewdness  of  the  de- 
ceased priest.  Abbe"  Troubert  even  won  over  to  his  side 
the  Listomeres,  defenders  of  Francois  Birotteau.  [The 
Vicar  of  Tours.]  About  1839,  at  Troyes,  Monseignour 
Troubert  was  on  terms  of  intimacy  with  the  Cinq-Cygnes, 
the  Hauteserres,  the  Cadignans,  the  Maufrigneuses,  and 
Daniel  d'Arthez,  who  were  more  or  less  concerned  in  the 
matter  of  the  Champagne  elections.  [The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Troussenard  (Doctor),  a  physician  of  Havre,  during  the 
Restoration,  at  the  time  that  the  Mignon  de  la  Bastie  family 
lived  in  that  sub-prefecture  of  the  Seine-Infe>ieure.  [Modeete 
Mignon.] 

Trudon,  in  1818,  a  grocer  of  Paris,  in  the  same  quarter 
as  Cesar  Birotteau,  whom  he  furnished,  on  December  17th 


484  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

of  that  year,  with  nearly  two  hundred  francs'  worth  of  wax 
candies.     [Cesar  Birotteau.] 

Tullia,  professional  sobriquet  of  Madame  du  Bruel. 

Tulloye,  the  name  of  the  owner  of  a  small  estate  neaf 
Angouleme,  where  M.  de  Bargeton,  in  the  autumn  of  1821, 
severely  wounded  M.  de  Chandour,  an  unsophisticated  hot- 
head, whom  he  had  challenged  to  a  duel.  The  name  Tulloye 
furnished  a  good  opportunity  in  the  affair  for  a  play  on 
words.  [Lost  Illusions.] 

Turquet  (Marguerite),  born  about  1816,  better  known 
under  the  sobriquet  of  Malaga,  having  the  further  appellation 
of  the  "Aspasia  of  the  Cirque-Olympique,"  was  originally 
a  rider  in  the  famous  Bouthor  Traveling  Hippodrome,  and 
was  later  a  Parisian  star  at  the  Franconi  theatre,  in  the  sum- 
mer on  the  Champs-Ely  sees,  in  the  winter  on  the  Boulevard 
du  Crime.  In  1837,  Mademoiselle  Turquet  was  living  in  the 
fifth  story  of  a  house  on  the  rue  des  Fosses-du-Temple — 
a  thoroughfare  that  has  been  built  up  since  1862 — when 
Thadde"e  Paz  set  her  up  in  sumptuous  style  elsewhere.  But 
she  wearied  of  the  role  of  supposed  mistress  of  the  Pole. 
[The  Imaginary  Mistress.]  Nevertheless,  this  position  had 
placed  Marguerite  in  a  prominent  light,  and  she  shone  thence- 
forth among  the. artists  and  courtesans.  She  had  in  Maitre 
Cardot,  a  notary  on  the  Place  du  Chatelet,  an  earnest  pro- 
tector; and  as  her  lover  she  had  a  quite  young  musician. 
[The  Muse  of  the  Department.]  A  shrewd  girl,  she  held  on  to 
Maitre  Cardot,  and  made  a  popular  hostess,  in  whose  salon 
Desroches,  about  1840,  gave  an  entertaining  account  of  a 
strange  battle  between  two  roue's,  Trailles  and  Cerizet, 
debtor  and  creditor,  that  resulted  in  a  victory  for  Cerizet. 
[A  Man  of  Business.]  In  1838,  Malaga  Turquet  was  present 
at  Jose"pha  Mirah's  elegant  house-warming  in  her  gorgeous 
new  apartments  on  the  rue  de  la  Ville-l'Ev£que.  [Cousin 
Betty.] 

U 

Urbain,  servant  of  Soudry,  mayor  of  Soulanges,  Bourgogne, 
during  the  Restoration;  was  at  one  time  a  cavalry  soldier, 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMED1E  HUMAINE  485 

who  entered  into  the  service  of  the  mayor,  an  ex-brigadier 
of  gendarmes,  after  failing  to  receive  an  appointment  as 
gendarme.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Urraca,  aged  Spanish  woman,  nurse  of  Baron  de  Macumer; 
the  only  family  servant  kept  by  her  master  after  his  ruin  and' 
during  his  exile  in  France.  Urraca  prepared  the  baron's 
chocolate  in  the  very  best  style.  [Letters  of  Two  Brides.] 

Urraca  y  Lora  (Mademoiselle),  paternal  aunt  of  Le"on  de 
Lora,  remained  a  spinster.  As  late  as  1845  this  quasi-Spaniard 
was  still  living  in  poverty  in  a  commune  of  the  Pvre"n£es- 
Orientales,  with  the  father  and  elder  brother  of  the  artist. 
[The  Unconscious  Humorists.] 

Ursule,  servant  employed  by  the  Abbe"  Bonnet,  cure"  of 
Monte"gnac,  in  1829;  a  woman  of  canonical  age.  She  received 
the  Abbe"  de  Rastignac,  who  had  been  sent  by  the  Bishop  of 
Limoges  to  bring  the  village  curate  to  Jean-Francois  Tasch- 
eron.  It  was  desired  that  this  man,  although  he  was  con- 
demned to  death,  should  be  brought  back  within  the  "pale 
of  the  Church."  Ursule  learned  from  the  Abbe"  de  Rastignac 
of  the  reprieve  that  had  been  given  the  murderer,  and  beiii<r 
not  only  inquisitive,  but  also  a  gossip,  she  spread  it  throughout 
the  whole  village,  during  the  time  that  she  was  buying  the 
articles  necessary  for  the  preparation  of  breakfast  for  the 
Cure*  Bonnet  and  the  Abbe"  de  Rastignac.  [The  Village 
Parson.] 

Ursule,  from  Picardie,  very  large;  cook  employed  by  Ragon, 
perfumer  on  rue  Saint-Honore",  Paris,  towards  the  end  of  the 
eighteenth  century;  about  1793  she  took  in  hand  the  amorous 
education  of  Ce"sar  Birotteau,  a  little  Tourraine  peasant, 
just  employed  by  the  Ragons  as  errand-boy.  Ill-natured, 
wanton,  wheedling,  dishonest,  selfish  and  given  to  drink, 
Ursule  did  not  suit  the  candid  Ce"sar,  whom  she  abandoned, 
moreover,  two  years  later,  for  a  young  Picardie  rebel,  who 
owned  a  few  acres  of  land.  He  found  concealment  in  Paris, 
and  let  her  marry  him.  [Ce"sar  Birotteau.] 

Uxelles  (Marquise  d'),  related  to  the  Princesse  de  Blamont- 


486  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Chauvry,   and   to   the   Due   and   Duchesse   de   Lenoncourt; 
god-mother  of  Cesar  Birotteau.     [Cesar  Birotteau.] 

Uxelles  (Duchesse  d'),  born  about  1769,  mother  of  Diane 
d'Uxelles;  beloved  by  the  Due  de  Maufrigneuse,  and  about 
1814  gave  him  her  daughter  in  marriage;  ten  years  later 
she  withdrew  to  her  Uxelles  estate,  where  she  lived  a  life 
of  piety  and  selfishness.  [The  Secrets  of  a  Princess.] 


Vaillant  (Madame),  wife  of  a  cabinet-maker  in  the  Fau- 
bourg Saint- An toine ;  mother  of  three  children.  In  1819 
and  1820,  for  forty  sous  per  month,  she  kept  house  for  a 
young  author,1  who  lived  in  a  garret  in  rue  Lesdiguieres. 
She  utilized  her  remaining  tune  in  turning  the  crank  for  a 
mechanic,  and  received  only  ten  sous  a  day  for  this  hard 
work.  This  woman  and  her  husband  were  perfectly  up- 
right. At  the  wedding  of  Madame  Vaillant's  sister,  the 
young  writer  became  acquainted  with  Pere  Canet — Facino 
Cane — clarinetist  at  the  Quinze-Vingts — who  told  him  his 
strange  story.  [Facino  Cane.]  In  1818,  Madame  Vaillant, 
already  aged,  kept  house  for  Claude-Joseph  Pillerault,  the 
former  Republican,  on  rue  des  Bourdonnais.  The  old  mer- 
chant was  good  to  his  servant  and  did  not  let  her  shine  his 
shoes.  [Cesar  Birotteau.] 

Valdfes  (Paquita),  born  in  the  West  Indies  about  1793, 
daughter  of  a  slave  bought  in  Georgia  on  account  of  her  great 
beauty ;  lived  in  the  early  part  of  the  Restoration  and  during 
the  Hundred  Days  in  Hotel  San-Real,  rue  Saint-Lazare, 
Paris,  with  her  mother  and  her  foster-father,  Christemio. 
In  April,  1815,  in  the  Jardin  des  Tuileries,  she  was  met  by 
Henri  de  Marsay,  who  loved  her.  She  agreed  to  receive 
him  secretly  in  her  own  home.  She  gave  up  everything  for 
his  sake,  but  in  a  transport  of  love,  she  cried  out  from  force  of 
habit:  "O  Mariquita! "  This  put  her  lover  in  such  a  fury 
that  he  tried  to  kill  her.  Not  being  able  to  do  this,  he  re- 
turned, accompanied  by  some  other  members  of  "The  Thir- 

1  Honored  de  Balzac.     He  employed  Madame  Vaillant  as  a  servant. 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  487 

teen,"  only  to  find  Paquita  murdered ;  for,  the  Marquise  de 
San-Re" al,  Mai-say's  own  sister,  who  was  very  jealous  of  the 
favors  granted  the  man  by  this  girl,  had  slashed  her  savagely 
with  a  dagger.  Having  been  kept  in  retirement  since  she 
was  twelve  years  old,  Paquita  Valdes  knew  neither  how  to 
read  nor  to  write.  She  spoke  only  English  and  Spanish. 
On  account  of  the  peculiar  color  of  her  eyes  she  was  known 
as  "the  girl  with  the  golden  eyes,"  by  some  young  men,  one  of 
whom  was  Paul  de  Manerville,  who  had  noticed  her  during 
his  promenades.  [The  Thirteen.] 

Valdez,  a  Spanish  admiral,  constitutional  minister  of  King 
Ferdinand  VII.  in  1820;  was  obliged  to  flee  at  the  time  of  the 
reaction,  and  embarked  on  an  English  vessel.  His  escape 
was  due  to  the  warning  given  him  by  Baron  de  Macumer, 
who  told  him  in  time.  [Letters  of  Two  Brides.] 

Valentin  (De),  head  of  a  historic  house  of  Auvergne, 
which  had  fallen  into  poverty  and  obscurity;  cousin  of  the 
Due  de  Navarreins ;  came  to  Paris  under  the  monarchy,  and 
made  for  himself  an  excellent  place  at  the  "very  heart  of 
power."  This  he  los-t  during  the  Revolution.  Under  the 
Empire  he  bought  many  pieces  of  property  given  by  Napoleon 
to  his  generals;  but  the  fall  of  Napoleon  ruined  him  com- 
pletely. He  reared  his  only  son,  Raphael,  with  great  harsh- 
ness, although  he  expected  him  to  restore  the  house  to  its 
former  position.  In  the  autumn  of  1826,  six  months  after 
he  had  paid  his  creditors,  he  died  of  a  broken  heart.  The 
Valentins  had  on  their  arms:  an  eagle  of  gold  in  a  field 
sable,  crowned  with  silver,  beak  and  talons  with  gules,  with 
this  device:  "The  soul  has  not  perished."  [The  Magic 
Skin.] 

Valentin    (Madame    de),    born    Barbe-Marie   OTlaharty, 
wife  of  the  preceding;  heiress  of  a  wealthy  house;  died  your 
leaving  to  her  only  son  an  islet  in  the  Loire. 
Skin.] 

Valentin  (Marquis  Raphael  de),1  only  son  of  the  prc 

i  During  the  year   1851,  at  the  AmbiKU-Corniqu^waj  ^rrnod  . 
Alphonse  Arnault  and  Louis  Judicis,  iu  winch  tt 
reproduced. 


488  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

couple,  born  in  1804,  and  probably  in  Paris,  where  he  was 
reared;  lost  his  mother  when  he  was  very  young,  and,  after 
an  unhappy  childhood,  received  on  the  death  of  his  father 
the  sum  of  eleven  hundred  and  twelve  francs.  On  this  he 
lived  for  nearly  three  years,  boarding  at  the  rate  of  a  franc 
per  day  at  the  Hotel  de  Saint-Quentin,  rue  des  Cordiers. 
He  began  two  great  works  there :  a  comedy,  which  was  to  bring 
him  fame  in  a  day,  and  the  "  Theory  of  the  Will,"  a  long 
work,  like  that  of  Louis  Lambert,  meant  to  be  a  continuation 
of  the  books  by  Mesmer,  Lavater,  Gall  and  Bichat.  Raphael 
de  Valentin  as  a  doctor  of  laws  was  destined  by  his  father 
for  the  life  of  a  statesman.  Reduced  to  extreme  poverty, 
and  deprived  of  his  last  possession,  the  islet  in  the  Loire, 
inherited  from  his  mother,  he  was  on  the  point  of  committing 
suicide,  in  1830,  when  a  strange  dealer  in  curiosities  of  the 
Quai  Voltaire,  into  whose  shop  he  had  entered  by  chance, 
gave  him  a  strange  piece  of  shagreen,  the  possession  of  which 
assured  him  the  gratification  of  every  desire,  although  his  life 
would  be  shortened  by  each  wish.  Shortly  after  this  he  was 
invited  to  a  sumptuous  feast  at  Fre'de'ric  Taillefer's.  On  the 
next  morning  Raphael  found  himself  heir  to  six  million 
francs.  In  the  autumn  of  1831  he  died  of  consumption  in 
the  arms  of  Pauline  Gaudin;  they  were  mutual  lovers.  He 
tried  in  vain  to  possess  himself  of  her,  in  a  supreme  effort. 
As  a  millionaire,  Raphael  de  Valentin  lived  in  friendship 
with  Rastignac  and  Blondet,  looked  after  by  his  faithful 
servant,  Jonathas,  in  a  house  on  rue  de  Varenne.  At  one 
time  he  was  madly  in  love  with  a  certain  Comtesse  Foedora. 
Neither  the  waters  of  Aix,  nor  those  of  Mont-Dore,  both  of 
which  he  tried,  were  able  to  give  him  back  his  lost  health. 
[The  Magic  Skin.] 

Valentine,  given  name  and  title  of  the  heroine  of  a  vaudeville 
play1  in  two  acts,  by  Scribe  and  Melesville,  which  was  per- 
formed at  the  Gymnase-Dramatique,  January  4,  1836. 
This  was  more  than  twenty  years  after  the  death  of  M.  and 
Madame  de  Merret,  whose  lives  and  tragic  adventures  were 

1  Madame  Eua^nie  Savage  played  the  principal  part. 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMED1E  HUMAINE  489 

more  or  less  vividly  pictured  in  the  play.    [The  Muse  of  the 
Department.] 

Vallat  (Francois),  deputy  to  the  king's  attorney  at  Ville- 
aux-Fayes,  Bourgogne,  under  the  Restoration,  at  the  time 
of  the  peasant  uprising  against  General  de  Montcornet.  He 
was  a  cousin  of  Madame  Sarcus,  wif e  of  •  Sarcus  the  Rich. 
He  sought  promotion  through  Gaubertin,  the  mayor,  who 
was  influential  throughout  the  entire  district.  [The  Peas- 
antry.] 

Vallet,  haberdasher  in  Soulanges,  Bourgogne,  during  the 
Restoration,  at  the  time  of  General  de  Montcornet's  struggle 
against  the  peasants.  The  Vallet  house  was  next  to  Soc- 
quard's  Cafe"  de  la  Paix.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Val-Noble  (Madame  du).  (See  Gaillard,  Madame  Th6o- 
dore.) 

Valois  (Chevalier  de),  born  about  1758;  died,  as  did  his 
friend  and  fellow-countryman,  the  Marquis  d'Esgrignon, 
with  the  legitimate  monarchy,  August,  1830.  This  poor  man 
passed  his  youth  in  Paris,  where  he  was  surprised  by  the 
Revolution.  He  was  finally  a  Chouan,  and  when  the  western 
Whites  arose  in  arms  against  the  Republic,  he  was  one  of 
the  members  of  the  Alencon  royal  committee.  At  the  time 
of  the  Restoration  he  was  living  in  this  city  very  modestly, 
but  received  by  the  leading  aristocracy  of  the  province  as  a 
true  Valois.  The  chevalier  carried  snuff  in  an  old  gold  snuff- 
box, ornamented  with  the  picture  of  the  Princess  Goritza, 
a  Hungarian,  celebrated  for  her  beauty,  under  Louis  X\ 
He  spoke  only  with  emotion  of  this  woman,  for  whom  he  had 
battled  with  Lauzun.  The  Chevalier  de  Valois  tried  vainly 
to  marry  the  wealthy  heiress  of  Alencon,  Rose-Victoiro 
Cormon,  a  spinster,  who  had  the  misfortune  to  become  the 
wife,  platonically  speaking,  of  M.  du  Bousquier,  the  former 
contractor.  In  his  lodging  at  Alengon  with  Madame  Lardnt. 
a  laundress,  the  chevalier  had  as  mistress  one  cf  the  working 
women,  Cesarine,  whose  child  was  usually  attributed  to  him. 
Ce*sarine  was,  as  a  result,  the  sole  legatee  of  her  lover.  The 


490  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

chevalier  also  took  some  liberties  with  another  employe"  of 
Madame  Lardot,  Suzanne,  a  very  beautiful  Norman  girl, 
who  was  afterwards  known  at  Paris  as  a  courtesan,  under  the 
name  of  Val-Noble,  and  who  still  later  married  Theodore 
Gaillard.  M.  de  Valois,  although  strongly  attached  to  this 
girl,  did  not  allow  her  to  defraud  him.  He  was  intimate  with 
Messieurs  de  Lenoncourt,  de  Navarreins,  de  Verneuil,  de 
Fontaine,  de  la  Billardiere,  de  Maufrigneuse  and  de  Chau- 
lieu.  Valois  made  a  living  by  gambling,  but  pretended  to 
gain  his  modest  livelihood  from  a  Maitre  Bordin,  in  the  name 
of  a  certain  M.  de  Pombreton.  [The  Chouans.  Jealousies 
of  a  Country  Town.] 

Vandenesse  (Marquis  de),  a  gentleman  of  Tours;  had  by 
his  wife  four  children:  Charles,  who  married  Emilie  de  Fon- 
taine, widow  of  Kergarouet;  Felix,  who  married  Marie- 
Angelique  de  Granville ;  and  two  daughters,  the  elder  of  whom 
was  married  to  her  cousin,  the  Marquis  de  Listomere.  The 
Vandnesse  motto  was :  "Ne  se  vend."  [The  Lily  of  the  Valley.] 

Vandenesse  (Marquise  de),  born  Listomere,  wife  of  the  pre- 
ceding; tall,  slender,  emaciated,  selfish  and  fond  of  cards; 
"  insolent,  like  all  the  Listomeres,  with  whom  insolence  always 
counts  as  a  part  of  the  dowry."  She  was  the  mother  of 
four  children,  whom  she  reared  harshly,  keeping  them  at  a 
distance,  especially  her  son  Felix.  She  had  something  of  a 
weakness  for  her  son  Charles,  the  elder.  [The  Lily  of  the 
Valley.] 

Vandenesse  (Marquis  Charles  de),  son  of  the  preceding, 
born  towards  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century ;  shone  -as  a 
diplomatist  under  the  Bourbons;  during  this  period  was  the 
lover  of  Madame  Julie  d'Aiglemont,  wife  of  General  d'Aigle- 
mont;  by  her  he  had  some  natural  children.  With  Desroches  as 
his  attorney,  Vandenesse  entered  into  a  suit  with  his  younger 
brother,  Comte  Felix,  in  regard  to  some  financial  matters. 
He  married  the  wealthy  widow  of  Kergarouet,  born  Emilie 
de  Fontaine.  [A  Woman  of  Thirty.  A  Start  hi  Life.  A 
Daughter  of  EveJ 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  491 

Vandenesse  (Marquise  Charles  de),  born  Emilie  de  Fontaine 
about  1802;  the  youngest  of  the  Comte  de  Fontaine's  daugh- 
ters ;  having  been  overindulged  as  a  child,  her  insolent  bearing 
a  distinctive  trait  of  character,  was  made  manifest  at  the 
famous  ball  of  Cesar  Birotteau,  to  which  she  accompanied 
her  parents.  [Cesar  Birotteau.]  She  refused  Paul  de  Maner- 
ville,  and  a  number  of  other  excellent  offers,  before  marrying 
her  mother's  uncle,  Admiral  Comte  de  Kergarouet.  This 
marriage,  which  she  regretted  later/was  resolved  upon  during 
a  game  of  cards  with  the  Bishop  of  Pers6polis,  as  a  result  of  the 
anger  which  she  felt  on  learning  that  M.  Longueville,  on  whom 
she  had  centred  her  affections,  was  only  a  merchant.  [The 
Ball  at  Sceaux.]  Madame  de  Kergarouet  scorned  her  nephew 
by  marriage,  Savinien  de  Portenduere,  who  courted  her. 
[Ursule  Mirouet.]  Having  become  a  widow,  she  married  the 
Marquis  de  Vandenesse.  A  little  later  she  endeavored  to 
overthrow  her  sister-in-law,  the  Comtesse  Fe'lix  de  Vandenesse, 
then  in  love  with  Raoul  Nathan.  [A  Daughter  of  Eve.] 

Vandenesse  (Comte  Fe'lix  de),  brother-in-law  of  the  pre- 
ceding, born  late  in  the  eighteenth  century,  bore  the  title  of 
vicomte  until  the  death  of  his  father ;  suffered  much  in  child- 
hood and  youth,  first  in  his  home  life,  then  as  a  pupil  in  a 
boarding-school  at  Tours  and  in  the  Oratorien  college  at 
Pontlevoy.  He  was  unhappy  also  at  the  Lepitre  school  in 
Paris,  and  during  his  holidays  spent  on  He  Saint-Louis 
with  one  of  the  Listomeres,  a  kinswoman.  Fe'lix  de  Vandenesse 
at  last  found  happiness  at  Frapesle,  a  castle  near  Cloche- 
gourde.  It  was  then  that  his  platonic  liaison  with  Madame 
de  Mortsauf  began — a  union  which  occupied  an  important 
place  in  his  life.  He  was,  moreover,  the  lover  of  Lady  Arabellr 
Dudley,  who  called  him  familiarly  Amdde'e,  pronounced 
'my  dee."  Madame  de  Mortsauf,  having  died,  he  was  sub- 
jected to  the  secret  hatred  of  her  daughter  Madeleine,  later 
Madame  de  Lenoncourt-Givry-Chaulieu.  About  this  time 
began  his  career  in  public  life.  During  the  "Hundred  Days" 
Louis  XVIII,  entrusted  to  him  a  mission  in  Vendee.  The 
King  received  him  into  favor,  and  finally  employed  him  as 
private  secretaiy.  He  was  also  appointed  master  of  petitions 


492  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

in  the  State  Council.  Vandenesse  frequently  visited  the 
Lenoncourts.  He  excited  admiration,  mingled  with  envy, 
in  the  mind  of  Lucien  de  Rubempre",  who  had  recently  arrived 
in  Paris.  Acting  for  the  King,  he  helped  Cesar  Birotteau. 
He  was  acquainted  with  the  Prince  de  Talleyrand,  and 
asked  of  him  information  about  Macumer,  for  Louise  de 
Chaulieu.  [The  Lily  of  the  Valley.  Lost  Illusions.  A 
Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.  Cesar  Birotteau.  Letters 
of  Two  Brides.]  After  his  father's  death,  Felix  de  Vanden- 
esse assumed  the  title  of  count,  and  probably  won  a  suit 
in  regard  to  a  land-sale  against  his  brother,  the  marquis, 
who  had  been  badly  served  by  a  rascally  clerk  of  Maitre 
Desroches,  Oscar  Husson.  [A  Start  in  Life.]  At  this  time, 
Comte  Felix  de  Vandenesse  began  a  very  close  relationship 
with  Natalie  de  Manerville.  She  herself  broke  this  off  as  a 
result  of  the  detailed  description  that  he  gave  her  of  the  love 
which  he  had  formerly  felt  for  Madame  de  Mortsauf.  [The 
Marriage  Settlement.]  The  j^ear  following,  he  married  Ange- 
lique-Marie  de  Granville,  elder  daughter  of  the  celebrated 
magistrate  of  that  name,  and  began  to  keep  house  on  rue 
du  Rocher,  where  he  had  a  house,  furnished  with  the  best  of 
taste.  At  first  he  was  not  able  to  gain  his  wife's  affection, 
as  his  known  profligacy  and  his  patronizing  manners  filled 
her  with  fear.  She  did  not  go  with  him  to  the  evening 
entertainment  given  by  Madame  d'Espard,  where  he  found 
himself  with  his  elder  brother,  and  where  many  gossiping 
tongues  directed  their  speech  against  Diane  de  Cadignan, 
despite  the  presence  of  her  lover,  Arthez.  Felix  de  Vanden- 
esse went  with  his  wife  to  a  rout  at  the  home  of  Mademoiselle 
des  Touches,  where  Marsay  told  the  story  of  his  first  love. 
The  Comte.  and  Comtesse  de  Vandenesse,  who,  under  Louis 
Philippe,  still  frequented  the  houses  of  the  Cadignans  and  the 
Montcornets,  came  very  near  having  serious  trouble.  Madame 
de  Vandenesse,  had  foolishly  fallen  in  love  with  Raoul 
Nathan,  but  was  kept  from  harm  by  her  husband's  skillful 
management.  [The  Secrets  of  a  Princess.  Another  Study 
of  Woman.  The  Gondreville  Mystery.  A  Daughter  of  Eve.] 
Vandenesse  (Comtesse  Felix  de),  wife  of  the  preceding; 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  493 

born  Angelique-Marie  de  Granville  in  1808;  a  brunette  like 
her  father.  In  bearing  the  cruel  treatment  of  her  prejudiced 
mother,  in  the  Marais  house,  where  she  spent  her  youth,  the 
Comtesse  Fe*lix  was  consoled  by  the  tender  affection  of  a 
younger  sister,  Marie-Eugenie,  later  Madame  F.  du  Tillet 
The  lessons  in  harmony  given  them  by  Wilhelm  Schmucke 
afforded  them  some  diversion.  Married  about  1828,  and 
dowered  handsomely,  to  the  detriment  of  Marie-Euge'riie, 
she  underwent,  when  about  twenty-five  years  old,  a  critical 
experience.  Although  mother  of  at  least  one  child,  be- 
coming' suddenly  of  a  romantic  turn  of  mind,  she  narrowly 
escaped  becoming  the  victim  of  a  worldly  conspiracy  funned 
against  her  by  Lady  Dudley  and  by  Mesdames  Charles 
de  Vandenesse  and  de  Manerville.  Marie,  moved  by  the 
strength  of  her  passion  for  the  writer,  Raoul  Nathan,  and 
wishing  to  save  him  from  financial  trouble,  appealed  to 
the  good  offices  of  Madame  de  Nucingen  and  to  the  devotion 
of  Schmucke.  The  proof  furnished  to  her  by  her  husband 
of  the  debasing  relations  and  the  extreme  Bohemian  life  of 
Raoul,  kept  Madame  Felix  de  Vandenesse  from  falling. 
[A  Second  Home.  A  Daughter  of  Eve.]  Afterwards,  her 
adventure,  the  dangers  which  she  had  run,  and  her  rupture 
with  the  poet,  were  all  recounted  by  M.  de  Clagny,  in  the 
presence  of  Madame  de  la  Baudraye,  Lousteau's  mistress. 
[The  Muse  of  the  Department.] 

Vandenesse  (Alfred  de),  son  of  the  Marquis  Charles  de 
Vandenesse,  a  coxcomb  who,  under  the  reign  of  Louis  Philippe, 
at  the  Faubourg  Saint-Germain,  compromised  the  reputation 
of  the  Comtesse  de  Saint-H6reen,  despite  the  presence  of  her 
mother,  Madame  d'Aiglemont,  the  former  mistress  of  the  mar- 
quis. [A  Woman  of  Thirty.] 

Vandieres   (Ge'ne'ral,  Comte  de),  old,  feeble  and  childish, 
when,  with  his  wife  and  a  large  number  of  soldiers,  No  van 
29    1812,  he  started  on  a  raft  to  cross  the  BeYteina.    Wh< 
the  boat  struck  the  other  bank  the  shock  threw  the  eoi 
into  the  river.     His  head  was  severed  from  his  bod 
cake  of  ice,  and  went  down   the  river  like  a  canno 
[Farewell.] 


494  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Vandieres  (Comtesse  Stephanie  de),  wife  of  the  preceding, 
niece  of  the  alienist,  Doctor  Fanjat;  mistress  of  Major  de 
Sucy,  who  was  afterwards  a  general.  In  1812,  during  the 
campaign  in  Russia,  she  shared  with  her  husband  all  the 
dangers,  and  managed  to  cross  the  Beresina  with  her  lover's 
aid,  although  she  was  unable  to  rejoin  him.  She  wandered 
for  a  long  time  in  northern  or  eastern  Europe.  Having 
become  insane,  she  could  say  nothing  but  the  word  "Fare- 
well"! She  was  found  later  at  Strasbourg  by  the  grena- 
dier, Fleuriot.  Having  been  taken  to  the  Bons-Hommes 
near  the  Isle-Adam,  she  was  attended  by  Fanjat.  She  there 
had  as  a  companion  an  idiot  by  the  name  of  Genevieve. 
In  September,  1819,  Stephanie  again  saw  Philippe  de  Sucy, 
but  did  not  recognize  him.  She  died  not  far  from  Saint- 
Germain-en-Laye,  January,  1820,  soon  after  the  reproduction 
of  the  scene  on  the  Beresina,  arranged  by  her  lover.  Her 
sudden  return  of  reason  killed  her.  [Farewell.] 

Vanifere,  gardener  to  Raphael  de  Valentin;  obtained  from 
the  well,  into  which  his  frightened  employer  had  thrown  it, 
the  wonderful  piece  of  shagreen,  which  no  weight,  no  reagent, 
and  no  pounding  could  either  stretch  or  injure,  and  which 
none  of  the  best  known  scientists  could  explain.  [The  Magic 
Skin.] 

Vanneaulx  (Monsieur  and  Madame  des),  small  renters  at 
Limoges,  living  with  their  two  children  on  rue  des  Cloches 
towards  the  end  of  Charles  X.'s  reign.  They  inherited  in  the 
neighborhood  of  a  hundred  thousand  francs  from  Pingret, 
of  whom  Madame  des  Vanneaulx  was  the  only  niece.  This 
was  after  their  uncle's  murderer,  J.-F.  Tascheron,  having  been 
urged  by  the  Cure"  Bonnet,  restored  a  large  portion  of  the 
money  stolen  in  Faubourg  Saint-Etienne.  M.  and  Madame 
des  Vanneaulx,  who  had  accused  the  murderer  of  "indeli- 
cacy," changed  their  opinion  entirely  when  he  made  this 
restitution.  [The  Country  Parson.] 

Vanni  (Elisa),  a  Corsican  woman  who,  according  to  one 
Giacomo,  rescued  a  child,  Luigi  Porta,  from  the  fearful 
vendetta  of  Bartolomeo  di  Pombo,  [The  \  tndetta.] 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  495 

Vannier,  patriot,  conscript  of  Fougeres,  Bretagne,  during 
the  autumn  of  1799  received  an  order  to  convey  marching 
orders  to  the  National  Guard  of  his  city— a  body  of  men 
who  were  destined  to  aid  the  Seventy-second  demi-brigadc 
in  its  engagements  with  the  Chouans.  [The  Chouans.] 

Varese  (Emilio  Memmi,  Prince  of),  of  the  Cane-Memmis, 
born  in  1797,  a  member  of  the  greater  nobility,  descendant 
of  the  ancient  Roman  family  of  Memmius,  received  the  name 
of  Prince  of  Varese  on  the  death  of  Facino  Cane,  his  relative. 
During  the  time  of  Austrian  rule  in  Venice,  Memmi  lived  there 
in  poverty  and  obscurity.  In  the  early  part  of  the  Restora- 
tion he  was  on  friendly  terms  with  Marco  Vendramini,  his 
fellow-countryman.  His  poverty  would  not  permit  of  his 
keeping  more  than  one  servant,  the  gondolier,  Carmagnola. 
For  Massimilla  Doni,  wife  of  the  Duke  Cataneo,  he  felt  a  pas- 
sion, which  was  returned,  and  which  for  a  long  time  remained 
platonic,  despite  its  ardor.  He  was  unfaithful  to  her  at  one 
time,  not  being  able  to  resist  the  unforeseen  attractions 
of  Clarina  Tinti,  a  lodger  in  the  Memmi  palace,  and  unrivaled 
prima  donna  at  the  Fenice.  Finally,  conquering  his  timidity, 
and  breaking  with  the  "ideal,"  he  rendered  Massimilla 
Cataneo  a  mother,  and  married  her  when  she  became  a  widow. 
Varese  lived  in  Paris  under  the  reign  of  Louis  Philippe, 
and,  having  been  enriched  by  his  marriage,  one  evening  at 
the  Champs-Elyse'es,  aided  certain  destitute  artists,  the 
Gambaras,  who  were  obliged  to  sing  in  the  open  air. 
asked  for  the  story  of  their  misfortunes,  and  Marianina 
told  it  to  him  without  bitterness.  [Massimilla  Doni.  Gam- 
bara.] 

Varese  (Princess  of),  wife    of  the  preceding,  born    Mas- 
similla Doni,  about  1800,  of  an  ancient  and  wealthy  Floren- 
tine family  of  the  nobility ;  married,  at  first,  the  Duke  Cataneo, 
a  repulsive  man  who  lived  in  Venice  at  the  time  ..1 
XVIII.  She  was  an  enthusiastic  attendant  at  the  Fenice  theal 
during  the  winter  when  "Moses"  and  the  "  Semiramide 
given  by  a  company,  in  which  were  found  Clarina  1 
Genovese  and  Carthagenova.     Massimilla  conceived  a  violent 


496  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

but  at  first  a  platonic  love  for  Emilio  Memmi,  Prince  of 
Varese,  married  him  after  Cataneo's  death,  following  him 
to  Paris,  during  the  time  of  Louis  Philippe,  where  she  met 
with  him  the  Gambaras  and  helped  them  in  their  poverty. 
[Massimilla  Doni.  Gambara.] 

Varlet,  an  Arcis  physician,  early  in  the  nineteenth  centur}r, 
at  the  time  of  the  political  and  local  quarrels  of  the  Gondre- 
villes,  Cinq-Cygnes,  Simeuses,  Michus,  and  Hauteserres; 
had  a  daughter  who  afterwards  became  Madame  Grevin. 
[The  Gondreville  Mystery.  The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Varlet,  son  of  the  preceding,  brother-in-law  of  Grevin; 
like  his  father,  later  a  physician.  [The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Vassal,  in  1822  at  Paris,  .third  clerk  of  Maitre  Desroches, 
an  advocate,  by  whom  were  employed  also  Marest,  Husson 
and  Godeschal.  [A  Start  in  Life.] 

Vatel,  formerly  an  army  child,  then  corporal  of  the  Vol- 
tigeurs,  became,  during  the  Restoration,  one  of  the  three 
guards  of  Montcornet's  estate  in  Aigues,  Bourgogne,  under 
head-keeper  Michaud;  he  detected  Mere  Tonsard  in  her 
trespassing.  He  was  a  valuable  servant;  gay  as  a  lark, 
rather  loose  in  his  conduct  with  women,  without  any  re- 
ligious principles,  and  brave  unto  rashness.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Vatinelle  (Madame),  a  pretty  and  rather  loose  woman 
of  Mantes,  courted  at  the  same  time  by  Maitre  Fraisier  and 
the  king's  attorney,  Olivier  Vinet;  she  was  "kind"  to  the 
former,  thereby  causing  his  ruin;  the  attorney  soon  found  a 
means  of  compelling  Fraisier,  who  was  representing  both 
sides  in  a  lawsuit,  to  sell  his  practice  and  leave  town.  [Cousin 
Pons.] 

Vauchelles  (De),  maintained  relations  of  close  friendship, 
about  1835,  at  Besancon,  with  Ame'dee  de  Soulas,  his  fellow- 
countryman,  and  Chavoncourt,  the  younger,  a  former  college- 
mate.  Vauchelles  was  of  equally  high  birth  with  Soulas, 
and  was  also  equally  poor.  He  sought  the  hand  of  Made- 
moiselle Victoire,  Chavoncourt's  eldest  sister,  on  whom  a  god- 
mother aunt  had  agreed  to  settle  an  estate  yielding  an  income 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  497 

of  seven  thousand  francs,  and  a  hundred  thousand  francs 
in  cash,  in  the  marriage  contract.  To  Rosalie  de  Watte- 
ville's  satisfaction,  he  opposed  Albert  Savarus,  the  rival  of  the 
elder  Chavoncourt,  in  his  candidacy  for  a  seat  in  the  Chamber 
of  Deputies.  [Albert  Savarus.] 

•  Vaudoyer,  a  peasant  of  Ronquerolles,  Bourgogne,  ap- 
pointed forest-keeper  of  Blangy,  but  discharged  about  1821, 
in  favor  of  Groison,  by  Montcornet,  at  that  time  mayor 
of  the  commune;  supported  G.  Rigou  and  F.  Gaubertin 
as  against  the  new  owner  of  Aigues.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Vaudremont  (Comtesse  de),  born  in  1787;  being  a  wealthy 
widow  of  twenty-two  years  in  1809,  she  was  considered  the 
most  beautiful  Parisian  of  the  day,  and  was  known  as  the 
"Queen  of  Fashion."  In  the  month  of  November  of  the 
same  year,  she  attended  the  great  ball  given  by  the  Malin 
de  Gondrevilles,  who  were  disappointed  at  the  Emperor's 
failure  to  appear  on  that  occasion.  Being  the  mistress  of  the 
Comte  de  Soulanges  and  Martial  de  la  Roche-Hugon,  Madame 
de  Vaudremont  had  received  from  the  former  a  ring  taken 
from  his  wife's  jewel-casket;  she  made  a  present  of  it  to 
Martial,  who,  happening  to  be  wearing  it  on  the  evening 
of  the  Gondreville  ball,  gave  it  to  Madame  de  Soulangee, 
without  once  suspecting  that  he  was  restoring  it  to  its 
lawful  owner.  Madame  de  Vaudremont's  death  followed 
shortly  after  this  incident,  which  brought  about  the  recon- 
ciliation of  the  Soulanges  couple,  urged  by  the  Duchesse 
de  Lansac ;  the  countess  perished  in  the  famous  fire  that  broke 
out  at  the  Austrian  embassy  during  the  party  given  on  the 
occasion  of  the  wedding  of  the  Emperor  and  the  Arch- 
duchess Marie-Louise.  [Domestic  Peace.]  The  embassy 
was  located  on  the  part  of  the  rue  de  la  Chaussec-d'Autin 
(at  that  time  rue  du  Mont-Blanc)  comprised  between  the  rue 
de  la  Victoire  and  the  rue  Saint-Lazare. 

Vaumerland  (Baronne  de),  a  friend  of  Madame  de  rAinl»«-r- 
mesnil's,  boarded  with  one  of  Madame  Vauquor's  rival? 
in  the  Marais,  and  intended,  as  soon  as  her  term  expired, 
to  become  a  patron  of  the  establishment  on  the  rue  Neuve- 


498  REPERTORY   OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Sainte-Genevi^ve ;  at   least,    so   Madame   de  1'Ambermesnil 
declared.    [Father  Goriot.] 

Vauquelin  (Nicolas-Louis),  a  famous  chemist,  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Institute;  born  at  Saint- Andre  d'Hebertot,  Cal- 
vadts,  in  1763,  died  in  1829;  son  of  a  peasant;  praised  by 
Fourcroy;  in  turn,  pharmacist  in  Paris,  mine-inspector, 
professor  at  the  School  of  Pharmacy,  the  School  of  Medicine, 
the  Jardin  des  Plantes,  and  the  College  de  France.  He  gave 
Cesar  Birotteau  the  formula  for  a  cosmetic  for  the  hands,  that 
the  perfumer  called  "  la  double  pate  des  Sultanes,"  and,  being 
consulted  by  him  on  the  subject  of  "  cephalic  oil,"  he  denied  the 
possibility  of  restoring  a  suit  of  hair.  Nicolas  Vauquelin  was 
invited  to  the  perfumer's  great  ball,  given  on  December  17, 
1818.  In  recognition  of  the  good  advice  received  from  the 
scientist,  Ce"sar  Birotteau  offered  him  a  proof,  before  the  time 
of  printing,  on  China  paper,  of  Muller's  engraving  of  the 
Dresden  Virgin,  which  proof  had  been  found  in  Germany 
after  two  years  of  searching,  and  cost  fifteen  hundred  francs. 
[Ce"sar  Birotteau.] 

Vauquer  (Madame),  a  widow,  born  Conflans  about  1767. 
She  claimed  to  have  lost  a  brilliant  position  through  a  series 
of  misfortunes,  which,  by  the  way,  she  never  detailed  specif- 
ically. For  a  long  time  she  kept  a  bourgeois  boarding-house 
on  the  rue  Neuve-Sainte-Genevieve  (now  rue  Tournefort), 
near  the  rue  de  TArbalete.  In  1819-1820,  Madame  Vauquer, 
a  short,  stout,  languid  woman,  but  rather  well  preserved  in 
spite  of  being  a  little  faded,  had  Horace  Bianchon  as  table- 
boarder,  and  furnished  with  board  and  lodging  the  following : 
On  the  first  floor  of  her  house,  Madame  Couture  and  Made- 
moiselle Victorine  Taillefer;  on  the  second  floor,  Poiret,  the 
elder,  and  Jacques  Collin;  on  the  third,  Christine-Michelle 
Michonneau — afterwards  Madame  Poiret, — Joachim  Goriot, 
whom  she  looked  upon  as  a  possible  husband  for  herself, 
and  Eugene  de  Rastignac.  She  was  deserted  by  her  various 
boarders  shortly  after  the  arrest  of  Jacques  Collin.  [Father 
Goriot.] 

Vaur&nont  (Princesse  de),  one  of  the  most  prominent  figures 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  499 

of  the  eighteenth  century;  grandmother  of  Madame  Marie 
Gaston,  who  adored  her;  she  died  in  1817,  the  year  of  Madame 
de  StaeTs  death,  in  a  mansion  belonging  to  the  Chaulieus 
and  situated  near  the  Boulevard  des  Invalides.  Madame 
de  Vauremont,  at  the  time  of  her  death,  was  occupying  a 
suite  of  apartments  in  which  she  was  shortly  afterwards 
succeeded  by  Louise  de  Chaulieu  (Madame  Marie  Gaston). 
Talleyrand,  an  intimate  friend  of  the  princess,  was  executor 
of  her  will.  [Letters  of  Two  Brides.] 

Vauthier,  commonly  called  Vieux-Chene,  former  servant 
of  the  famous  Longuy ;  hostler  at  the  Ecu  de  France,  Mortagne, 
in  1809;  was  implicated  in  the  affair  of  the  Chauffeurs,  and 
condemned  to  twenty  years  of  penal  servitude,  but  was  after- 
wards pardoned  by  the  Emperor.  During  the  Restoration 
he  was  murdered  in  the  streets  of  Paris  by  an  obscure  and 
devoted  countryman  of  the  Chevalier  du  Vissard.  [The 
Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Vauthier  (Madame),  originally,  in  1809,  kitchen-girl  in  the 
household  of  the  Prince  de  Wissembourg,  on  the  rue  Louis- 
le-Grand;  then  cook  to  Barbet,  the  publisher,  owner  of  a 
lodging-house  on  the  Boulevard  Montparnasse;  still  later, 
about  1833,  she  managed  this  establishment  for  him,  serving 
the  same  time  as  door-keeper  in  the  house  mentioned.  At 
that  time  Madame  Vauthier  employed  Ne"pomucene  and 
FeUicite"  for  the  house-work;  as  lodgers  she  had  Bourlac, 
Vanda  and  Auguste  Mergi,  and  Godefroid.  [The  Seamy  Side 
of  History.] 

Vautrin,1  the  most  famous  of  Jacques  Collin's  assumed 
names. 

Vauvinet,  born  about  1817,  a  money-lender  of  Paris,  was 
of  the  elegant  modern  type,  altogether  different  from  Chabois 
seau-Gobseck;  he  made  the  Boulevard  des  Italiens  the  centre 
of  his  operations;  was  a  creditor  of  the  Baron  Hulot,  first 

'On    March  14,    1840,  a  Parisian  theatre,  ^e  Porte^Saint-Martin j,r^. 
play  in  which  the  famous  convict  was  a  principal  charaofc-r      Alt  h  ' rc 

sssz  sf  jsass^usxra  -SSTKIIS 

leading  r61e.     (The  play  is  printed  ainoug  Balzac  a  Uraiuaa.; 


500  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

in  the  sum  of  seventy  thousand  francs;  and  then  in  an  ad- 
ditional sum  of  forty  thousand,  really  lent  by  Nucingen. 
[Cousin  Betty.]  In  1845,  Le"on  de  Lora  and  J.-J.  Bixiou 
called  S.-P.  Gazonal's  attention  to  him.  [The  Unconscious 
Humorists.] 

Vavasseur,  clerk  in  the  Treasury  Department,  during  the 
Empire,  in  Clergeot's  division.  He  was  succeeded  by  E.- 
L.-L.-E. -Cochin.  [The  Government  Clerks.] 

Vddie  (La),  born  in  1756,  a  homely  spinster,  her  face  being 
pitted  with  small-pox;  a  relative  of  La  Cognette,  a  dis- 
tinguished cook;  on  the  rcommendation  of  Flore  Brazier 
and  Maxence  Gilet,  she  was  employed  as  cook  by  J.-J.  Rouget, 
after  the  death  of  a  curate,  whom  she  had  served  long,  and 
who  died  without  leaving  her  anything.  She  was  to  receive 
a  pension  of  three  hundred  livres  a  year,  after  ten  years  of 
competent,  faithful  and  loyal  service.  [A  Bachelor's  Es- 
tablishment.] 

Vendramini  (Marco),  whose  name  is  also  pronounced 
Vendramin;1  probably  a  descendant  of  the  last  Doge  of 
Venice;  brother  of  Bianca  Sagredo,  born  Vendramini;  a 
Venetian  patriot;  an  intimate  friend  of  Memmi-Cane,  Prince 
of  Varese.  In  the  intoxication  caused  by  opium,  his  great 
resource  about  1820,  Marco  Vendramini  dreamed  that  his 
dear  city,  then  under  Austrian  dominion,  was  free  and  power- 
ful once  more.  He  talked  with  Memmi  of  the  Venice  of  his 
dreams,  and  of  the  famous  Procurator  Florain,  now  in 
in  modern  Greek,  now  in  their  native  tongue;  sometimes  as 
they  walked  together,  sometimes  before  La  Vulpato  and  the 
Cataneos,  during  a  presentation  of  "Semiramide,"  "II  Bar- 
biere,"  or  "Moses,"  as  interpreted  by  La  Tinti  and  Genovese. 
Vendramini  died  from  excessive  use  of  opium,  at  quite  an 
early  age,  during  the  reign  of  Louis  XVIII.,  and  was  greatly 
mourned  by  his  friends.  [Facino  Cane.  Massimilla  Doni.] 

Vergniaud    (Louis),    who    made   the   Egyptian    campaign 

1  The  palace  in  Venice  formerly  owned  by  the  Duchesse  de  Berri  and  the  Comte 
de  Chambord,  in  which  Wagner,  the  musician,  died,  is  even  now  called  the  Vendra- 
min Palace.  It  is  on  the  Grand-Canal,  quite  near  the  Justinian!  Palace  (now  the 
H6tel  de-1'Europe.) 


REPERTORY  QF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  601 

with  Hyacinthe-Chabert  and  Luigi  Porta,  was  quarter- 
master of  hussars  when  he  left  the  service.  During  the 
Restoration  he  was,  in  turn,  cow-keeper  on  the  rue  du  Petit- 
Banquier,  keeper  of  a  livery-stable,  and  cabman.  As  cow- 
keeper,  Vergniaud,  having  a  wife  and  three  sons,  being  in 
debt  to  Grades,  and  giving  too  generously  to  Chabert,  ended 
in  insolvency;  even  then  he  aided  Luigi  Porta,  again  in 
trouble,  and  was  his  witness  when  that  Corsican  married 
Mademoiselle  di  Piombo.  Louis  Vergniaud,  being  a  party 
to  the  conspiracies  against  Louis  XVIII.,  was  imprisoned  for 
his  share  hi  these  crimes.  [Colonel  Chabert.  The  Ven- 
detta.] 

Vermanton,  a  cynic  philosopher,  and  a  habitue"  of  Madame 
Schontz's  salon,  between  1835  and  1840,  when  she  was  keeping 
house  with  Arthur  de  Rochefide.  [Beatrix.] 

Vermichel,  common  nick-name  of  Vert  (Michel-Jean- 
Jerome.) 

Vermut,  a  druggist  of  Soulanges,  in  Bourgogne,  during 
the  Restoration;  brother-in-law  of  Sarcus,  the  Soulanges 
justice  of  the  peace,  who  had  married  his  eldest  sister.  Though 
quite  a  distinguished  chemist,  Vermut  was  the  object  of  the 
pleasantries  and  contemptuous  remarks  of  the  Soudry  salon, 
especially  at  the  hands  of  the  Gourdons.  Despite  the  slight 
esteem  "  of  the  first  society  of  Soulanges,"  Vermut  gave 
evidence  of  ability,  when  he  disturbed  Madame  Pigeron  by 
finding  traces  of  poison  in  the  body  of  her  dead  husband. 
[The  Peasantry.] 

Vermut  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding;  life  and  soul  of 
the  salon  of  Madame  Soudry,  who,  however,  declared  that 
she  was  "bad  form,"  and  reproached  her  for  flirting  with 
Gourdon,  author  of  "La  Bilboqu&de."  [The  Peasantry.] 

Vernal  (Abbe",)  one  of  the  four  Vendean  leaders,  in  179( 
when  Montauran  was  opposing  Hulot,  the  other  three  being 
Chatillon,    Suzannet,    and   the   Comte  de   Fontaine.    [The 
Chouans.] 

Veraet  (Joseph),  born  in  1714,  died  in  1789,  a  famous  French 


»02  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMED1E  HUMAINE 

artist;  patronized  the  Cat  and  Racket,  a  drapery  establish- 
ment on  the  rue  Saint-Denis,  of  which  M.  Guillaume,  father- 
in-law  of  Sommervieux,  was  proprietor.  [At  the  Sign  of  the 
Cat  and  Racket.] 

Verneuil  (Marquis  de),  member  of  a  historic  family,  and 
probably  an  ancestor  of  the  Verneuils  of  the  eighteenth  and 
nineteenth  centuries.  In  1591,  he  was  on  intimate  terms, 
with  the  Norman  Comte  d'Herouville,  ancestor  of  the  keeper 
of  Jos6pha  Mirah,  star  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  Music, 
about  1838.  The  relations  between  the  two  families  con- 
tinued unbroken  through  the  centuries.  [The  Hated  Son.] 

Verneuil  ( Victor- Ame'de'e,  Due  de),  probably  descended 
from  the  preceding,  died  before  the  Revolution;  by  Made- 
moiselle Blanche  de  Casteran,  he  had  a  daughter,  Marie- 
Nathalie — afterwards  Madame  Alphonse  de  Montauran.  He 
acknowledged  his  natural  daughter  at  the  close  of  his  life, 
and  almost  disinherited  his  legitimate  son  in  her  favor. 
[The  Chouans.] 

Verneuil  (Mademoiselle  de),  probably  a  relative  of  the 
preceding;  sister  of  the  Prince  de  Loudon,  the  Vendean 
cavalry  general;  she  went  to  Mans  to  save  her  brother,  and 
died  on  the  scaffold  in  1793,  after  the  Savenay  affair.  [The 
Chouans.] 

Verneuil  (Due  de),  son  of  the  Due  Victor-Amede'e  de 
Verneuil,  and  brother  of  Madame  Alphonse  de  Montauran, 
with  whom  he  had  a  lawsuit  over  the  inheritance  left  by  their 
father;  during  the  Restoration  he  lived  in  the  town  of  Alengon 
and  was  on  intimate  terms  with  the  D'Esgrignons  of  that 
place.  He  took  Victurnien  d'Esgrignon  under  his  protection, 
and  introduced  him  to  Louis  XVIII.  [The  Chouans. 
Jealousies  of  a  Country  Town.] 

Verneuil  (Due  de),  of  the  family  of  the  preceding,  was 
present  at  the  entertainment  given  by  Jose'pha  Mirah,  the 
mistress  of  the  Due  d'Herouville,  when  she  opened  her 
sumptuous  suite  of  apartments  on  the  rue  de  la  Ville-l'Eveque, 
Paris,  in  Louis  Philippe's  reign.  [Cousin  Betty.] 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINK  503 

Verneuil  (Due  de),  a  good-natured  great  nobleman,  son- 
in-law  of  a  wealthy  first  president  of  a  royal  court,  who  died 
in  1800 ;  he  was  the  father  of  four  children,  among  ttiem  being 
Mademoiselle  Laure  and  the  Prince  Gaspard  de  Loudon; 
owned  the  historic  chateau  of  Rosembray,  in  the  vicinity 
of  Havre,  and  close  by  the  forest  of  Brotonne;  there  he  re- 
ceived, one  day  in  October,  1829,  the  Mignon  de  la  Basties, 
accompanied  by  the  Herouvilles,  Canalis,  and  Ernest  de 
la  Briere,  all  of  whom  were  at  that  time  desirous  to  marry 
Modeste  Mignon,  soon  to  become  Madame  de  la  Briere  de 
la  Bastie.  [Modeste  Mignon.] 

Verneuil  (Duchesse  Hortense  de),  wife  of  the  preceding, 
a  haughty  and  pious  personage,  daughter  of  a  wealthy  first 
president  of  a  royal  court,  who  died  in  1800.  Of  her  four 
children,  only  two  lived — her  daughter  Laure  and  the  Prince 
Gaspard  de  Loudon;  she  was  on  very  intimate  terms  with 
the  Herouvilles,  and  especially  with  the  elderly  Mademoiselle 
d'He'rouville,  and  received  a  visit  from  them,  one  day  in 
October,  1829,  with  the  Mignon  de  la  Basties,  followed  by 
Melchior  de  Canalis  and  Ernest  de  la  Briere.  [Modeste 
Mignon.] 

Verneuil  (Laure  de),  daughter  of  the  preceding  couple. 
At  the  entertainment  at  Rosembray  in  October,  1829,  El&>n- 
ore  de  Chaulieu  gave  her  advice  on  the  subject  of  tapestry 
and  embroidery.  [Modeste  Mignon.] 

Verneuil  (Duchesse  de),  sister  of  the  Prince  de  Blamont- 
Chauvry;  an  intimate  friend  of  the  Duchesse  de  Bourbon; 
sorely  tried  by  the  disasters  of  the  Revolution ;  aunt  and, 
in  a  way,  mother  by  adoption  of  Blanche-Henriette  de  Mort- 
sauf  (born  Lenoncourt).  She  belonged  to  a  society  of  which 
Saint-Martin  was  the  soul.  The  Duchesse  de  Verneuil, 
who  owned  the  Clochegourde  estate  in  Touraine,  gave  it, 
in  her  lifetime,  to  Madame  de  Mortsauf,  reserving  for  herself 
only  one  room  of  the  mansion.  Madame  de  Verneuil  died 
in  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century.  [The  Lily  of 
the  Valley  .3 


,04  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Verneuil  (Marie-Nathalie  de).1  (See  Montauran,  Mar- 
quise Alphonse  de.) 

Vernier  (Baron),  intendani>-general,  under  obligations 
to  Hector  Hulot  d'Ervy,  whom  he  met,  in  1843,  at  the  Am- 
bigu  theatre,  as  escort  of  a  gloriously  handsome  woman. 
He  afterwards  received  a  visit  from  the  Baronne  Adeline 
Hulot,  coming  for  information.  [Cousin  Betty.] 

Vernier,  formerly  a  dyer,  who  lived  on  his  income  at  Vou- 
vray  (Touraine),  about  1821;  a  cunning  countryman,  father 
of  a  marriageable  daughter  named  Claire;  was  challenged 
by  Felix  Gaudissart  in  1831,  for  having  played  a  practical 
joke  on  that  illustrious  traveling  merchant,  and  fought 
a  bloodless  pistol  duel.  [Gaudissart  the  Great.] 

Vernier  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding,  a  stout  little 
woman,  of  robust  health ;  a  friend  of  Madame  Margaritis ;  she 
gladly  contributed  her  share  to  the  mystification  of  Gaudissart 
as  conceived  by  her  husband.  [Gaudissart  the  Great.] 

Vernisset  (Victor  de),  a  poet  of  the  "Angelic  School," 
at  the  head  of  which  stood  Canalis,  the  academician;  a  con- 
temporary of  Beranger,  Delavigne,  Lamartine,  Lousteau, 
Nathan,  Vigny,  Hugo,  Barbier,  Marie-Gaston  and  Gautier, 
he  moved  in  various  Parisian  circles;  he  was  seen  at  the 
Brothers  of  Consolation  on  the  rue  Chanoinesse,  and  he 
received  pecuniary  assistance  from  the  Baronne  de  la  Chan- 
terie,  president  of  the  above-mentioned  association;  he  was 
to  be  found,  with  Helo'ise  Bi  ^etout,  on  the  rue  Chauchat, 
at  the  time  of  her  house-warming  in  the  apartments  in  which 
she  succeeded  Josepha  Mirah ;  there  he  met  J.-J.  Bixiou,  Leon 
de  Lora,  Etienne  Lousteau,  and  Stidmann;  he  fell  madly 
in  love  with  Madame  Schontz.  He  was  invited  to  the  mar- 
riage of  Celestin  Crevel  and  Valerie  Marneffe.  [The  Seamy 
Side  of  History.  Beatrix.  Cousin  Betty.] 

Vernon  (Mare'chal),  father  of  the  Due  de  Vissembourg 
and  the  Prince  Chiavari.  [Beatrix.] 

1  On  June  23,  1837,  under  the  title  of  Le  Gars,  the  Ambigu-Comique  presented 
a  drama  of  Antony  Bi'raud's  in  five. acts  and  six  tableaux,  which  was  a  modified 
reproduction  of  the  adventures  of.  Marie-Nathalie  de  Montsuran. 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  605 

Vernou  (FSlicien),  a  Parisian  journalist.  He  used  his 
influence  in  starting  Marie  Godeschal,  usually  called  Marietta, 
at  the  Porte  Saint-Martin.  The  husband  of  an  ugly,  vulgar, 
and  crabbed  woman,  he  had  by  her  children  that  were  by 
no  means  welcome.  He  lived  in  wretched  lodgings  on  the 
rue  Mandar,  when  Lucien  de  Rubempre"  was  presented  to 
him.  Vernou  was  a  caustic  critic  on  the  side  of  the  op- 
position. The  uncongeniality  of  his  domestic  life  embit- 
tered his  character  and  his  genius.  He  was  a  finished  speci- 
men of  the  envious  man,  and  pursued  Lucien  de  Rubempr6 
with  an  alert  and  malicious  jealousy.  [A  Bachelor's  Es- 
tablishment. Lost  Illusions.  A  Distinguished  Provincial 
at  Paris.  Scenes  from  a  Courtesan's  Life.]  In  1834,  Blondet 
recommended  him  to  Nathan  as  a  "Handy  Andy"  for  a 
newspaper.  [A  Daughter  of  Eve.j  Ce'lestin  Crevel  invited 
him  to  his  marriage  with  Vale'rie  Marneffe.  [Cousin  Betty.] 

Vernou  (Madame  Felicien),  wife  of  the  preceding,  whose 
vulgarity  was  one  of  the  causes  of  her  husband's  bitterness, 
revealed  herself  in  her  true  light  to  Lucien  de  Kubempre', 
when  she  mentioned  a  certain  Madame  Mahoudeau  as  one 
of  her  friends.  [A  Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.] 

Vert  (Michel- Jean- Jerome),  nick-named  Vermichel,  for- 
merly violinist  in  the  Bourgogne  regiment,  was  occupied, 
during  the  Restoration,  with  the  various  callings  of  fiddler, 
door-keeper  of  the  Hotel  de  Ville,  drum-beater  of  Soulanges, 
jailer  of  the  local  prison,  and  finally  bailiff's  deputy  in  the 
service  of  Brunet.  He  was  intimate  friend  of  Fourchon, 
with  whom  he  was  in  the  habit  of  getting  on  sprees,  and 
whose  hatred  for  the  Montcornets,  owners  of  Aigues,  he 
shared.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Vert  (Madame  Michel),  wife  of  the  preceding,  commonly 
called  Vermichel,  as  was  the  case  with  her  husband;  a  mus- 
tached  virago,  a  metre  in  width,  and  of  two  hundred  am: 
forty  pounds  weight,  but  active  in  spite  of  this;  she  ruJec 
her  husband  absolutely.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Vervelle  (Antenor),  an  eccentric  bourgeois  of  Paris,  made 
his  fortune  in  the  cork  business.  Retiring  from  the  trade, 


506  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Vervelle  became,  in  his  own  way,  an  amateur  artist;  wished 
to  form  a  gallery  of  paintings,  and  believed  that  he  was  col- 
lecting Flemish  specimens,  works  of  Tenier,  Metzu,  and 
Rembrandt;  employed  Elie  Magus  to  form  the  collection, 
and,  with  that  Jew  as  go-between,  married  his  daughter 
Virginie  to  Pierre  Grassou.  Vervelle,  at  that  tune,  was 
living  in  a  house  of  his  own  on  the  rue  Boucherat,  a  part 
of  the  rue  Saint-Louis  (now  rue  de  Turenne),  near  the  rue 
Chariot.  He  also  owned  a  cottage  at  Ville-d'Avray,  in 
which  the  famous  Flemish  collection  was  stored — pictures 
really  painted  by  Pierre  Grassou.  [Pierre  Grassou.] 

Vervelle  (Madame  Antenor),  wife  of  the  preceding,  gladly 
accepted  Pierre  Grassou  for  a  son-in-law,  as  soon  as  she 
found  out  that  Maitre  Cardot  was  his  notary.  Madame 
Vervelle,  however,  was  horrified  at  the  idea  of  Joseph  Bridau's 
bursting  in  Pierre's  studio,  and  "touching  up"  the  portrait 
of  Mademoiselle  Virginie,  afterwards  Madame  Grassou. 
[Pierre  Grassou.] 

Vervelle  (Virginie).     (See  Grassou,  Madame  Pierre.) 

Veze  (Abb6  de),  a  priest  of  Mortagne,  during  the  Empire, 
administered  the  last  sacrament  to  Madame  Bryond  des 
Tours-Minieres  just  before  her  execution  in  1810;  he  was  after- 
wards one  of  the  Brothers  cf  Consolation,  installed  in  the 
home  of  the  Baronne  de  la  Chanterie  on  the  rue  Chanoin- 
esse,  Paris.  [The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Viallet,  an  excellent  gendarme,  appointed  brigadier  at 
Soulanges,  Bourgogne;  replaced  Soudry,  retired.  [The  Peas- 
antry.] 

Victoire,  in  1819,  a  servant  of  Charles  Claparon,  a  banker 
on  the  rue  de  Provence,  Paris ;  "  a  real  Leonarde  bedizened 
like  a  fish-huckster."  [Cesar  Birotteau.] 

Victor,  otherwise  known  as  the  Parisian,  a  mysterious 
personage  who  lived  in.  marital  relations  with  the  Marquis 
d'Aiglemont's  eldest  daughter,  and  made  her  the  mother  of 
several  children.  Victor,  while  dodging  the  pursuit  of  the 
police,  who  were  on  his  track  for  the  murder  of  Mauny, 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  607 

had  found  refuge  for  two  hours  in  Versailles,  on  Christmas 
night  of  one  of  the  last  years  of  the  Restoration,  in  a  house 
near  the  Barriere  de  Montreuil  (57,  Avenue  de  Paris),  with 
the  parents  of  Helene  d'Aiglemont,  the  last  named  of  whom 
fled  with  him.  During  Louis  Philippe's  reign,  Victor  was 
captain  of  the  "  Othello,"  a  Colombian  pirate,  and  lived  very 
happily  with  his  family — Mademoiselle  d'Aiglemont  and  the 
children  he  had  by  her.  He  met  with  Ge'ne'ral  d'Aigle- 
mont, his  mistress's  father,  who  was  at  that  time  a  passenger 
on  board  the  "Saint-Ferdinand,"  and  saved  his  life.  Victor 
perished  at  sea  in  a  shipwreck.  [A  Woman  of  Thirty.] 

Victorine,  a  celebrated  seamstress  of  Paris,  had  among  her 
customers  the  Duchesse  Cataneo,  Louise  de  Chaulieu,  and, 
probably,  Madame  de  Bargeton  [Massimilla  Doni.  Lost 
Illusions.  Letters  of  Two  Brides.]  Her  successors  assumed 
and  handed  down  her  name;  Victorine  IV.'s  "intelligent 
scissors"  were  praised  in  the  latter  part  of  Louis  Philippe's 
reign,  when  Fritot  sold  Mistress  Noswell  the  Selim  shawl. 
[Gaudissart  II.] 

Vidal  &  Porchon,  book-sellers  on  commission,  Quai  des 
Augustins,  Paris,  in  1821.  Lucien  de  Rubempre*  had  an  op- 
portunity to  judge  of  their  method  of  doing  business,  when 
his  "Archer  of  Charles  IX."  and  a  volume  of  poems  were 
brutally  refused  by  them.  Vidal  &  Porchon  had  in  stock 
at  that  time  the  works  of  Ke>atry,  Arlincourt,  and  Victor 
Ducange.  Vidal  was  a  stout,  blunt  man,  who  traveled  for 
the  firm.  Porchon,  colder  and  more  diplomatic,  seemed  to 
have  special  charge  of  negotiations.  [A  Distinguished 
Provincial  at  Paris.] 

Vien  (Joseph-Marie),  a  celebrated  painter,  born  at  Mont- 
pellier  in  1716,  died  at  Rome  in  1809.     In  1758,  with  AI- 
legrain  and  Loutherbourg,  he  aided  his  friend  Sarrasine  i 
abducting  Zambinella,  with  a  view  to  taking  him  t 
apartments  of  the  sculptor,  who  was  madly  in  love  will 
eunuch,  believing  him  to  be  a  woman.    At  a  later  pei 
Vien  made  for  Madame  de  Lanty  a  copy  of  the  statue  mo< 
by  Sarrasine  after  Zambinella,  and  it  was  from  this  picture 


508  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMED1E  HUMAINE 

of  Vien's  that  Girodet,  the  signer  of  "Endymion,"  received 
his  inspiration.  This  statue  of  Sarrasine's  was,  long  after- 
wards, reproduced  by  the  sculptor  Dorlange-Sallenauve. 
[Sarrasine.  The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Vieux-Chapeau,  a  soldier  in  the  Seventy-second  demi- 
brigade,  known  to  Jean  Falcon,  commonly  called  Beau- 
Pied  ;  was  killed  in  an  engagement  with  the  Chouans,  in  Sep- 
tember, 1799.  [The  Chouans.] 

Vigneau,  of  the  commune  of  Isere,  of  which  Benassis 
was  creator,  so  to  speak;  he  courageously  took  charge  of  an 
abandoned  tile-factory,  made  a  successful  business  of  it, 
and  lived  with  his  family  around  him,  which  consisted  of 
his  mother,  his  mother-in-law,  and  his  wife,  who  had  formerly 
been  in  the  service  of  the  Graviers  of  Grenoble.  [The  Country 
Doctor.] 

Vigneau  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding,  a  perfect  house- 
keeper; she  received  Genestas  cordially,  when  brought  to 
call  by  Benassis;  Madame  Vigneau  was  then  on  the  point  of 
becoming  a  mother.  [The  Country  Doctor.] 

Vignol.     (See  Bouffe.) 

Vignon  (Claude),  a  French  critic,  born  in  1799,  brought 
a  remarkable  power  of  analysis  to  the  study  of  all  questions 
of  art,  literature,*  philosophy,  or  political  problems.  A  clear, 
deep,  and  unerring  judge  of  men,  a  strong  psychologist, 
he  was  famous  in  Paris  as  early  as  1821,  and  was  present, 
at  the  apartments  of  Florine,  then  acting  at  the  Panorame- 
Dramatique,  at  the  supper  following  the  presentation  of  the 
"Alcade  dans  1'Embarras,"  and  had  a  brilliant  conversation 
on  the  subject  of  the  press  with  Emile  Blondet,  in  the  presence 
of  a  German  diplomatist.  [A  Distinguished  Provincial  at 
Paris.]  In  1834,  Claude  Vignon  was  entrusted  with  the 
haute  critique  of  the  newspaper  founded  by  Raoul  Nathan. 
[A  Daughter  of  Eve.]  For  quite  a  period  Vignon  had  Felicite 
des  Touches  (Camille  Maupin)  as  his  mistress.  In  1836, 
he  brought  her  back  from  Italy,  accompanied  by  Lora, 
when  he  heard  the  story  of  the  domestic  difficulties  of  the 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  fiOft 

Bauvans  from  Maurice  de  1'Hostal,  French  consul  at  Genoa. 
[Honorine.]  Again,  in  1836,  at  Les  Touches,  Vignon,  on  the 
point  of  giving  up  Camille  Maupin,  delivered  to  his  former 
mistress  a  veritable  dissertation,  of  surprising  insight,  on 
the  subject  of  the  heart,  with  reference  to  Calyste  du  Gue"nic, 
Gennaro  Conti,  and  Beatrix  de  Rochefide.  Such  intimate 
knowledge  of  the  human  heart  had  gradually  saddened  and 
wearied  him ;  he  sought  relief  for  his  ennui  in  debauchery ; 
he  paid  attention  to  La  Schontz,  really  a  courtesan  of  su- 
perior stamp,  and  moulded  her.  [Beatrix.]  Afterwards, 
he  became  ambitious,  and  was  secretary  to  Cottin  de  Wissem- 
bourg,  minister  of  war;  this  position  brought  him  into  con- 
tact with  Valerie  Marneffe,  whom  he  secretly  loved;  he, 
Stidmann,  Steinbock,  and  Massol,  were  witnesses  of  her  mar- 
riage to  Crevel,  this  being  the  second  time  she  had  been  led 
to  the  altar.  He  was  counted  among  the  habitue's  of  Valerie's 
salon,  when  "  Jean-Jacques  Bixiou  was  going  ...  to  cozen 
Lisbeth  Fischer."  [Cousin  Betty.]  He  rallied  to  the  support  of 
Louis  Philippe,  and  as  editor  of  the  Journal  des  Debate, 
and  master  of  requests  in  the  Council  of  State,  he  gave  his 
attention  to  the  lawsuit  pending  between  S.-P.  Gazonal 
and  the  prefect  of  the  Py re'ne'es-Orientales ;  a  position  as 
librarian,  a  chair  at  the  Sorbonne,  and  the  decoration  bore 
further  testimony  to  the  favor  that  he  enjoyed.  [The  Un- 
conscious Humorists.]  Vignon's  reputation  remained  undimin- 
ished,  and,  even  in  our  own  time,  Madame  No4mi  Rouvier, 
sculptor  and  novelist,  signs  the  critic's  name  to  her  works. 

Vigor,  manager  of  the  post-station  at  Ville-aux-Fayes, 
during  the  Restoration;  officer  in  the  National  Guard  of  that 
sub-prefecture  of  Bourgogne;  brother-in-law  of  Leclercq,  the 
banker,  whose  sister  he  had  married.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Vigor,  manager  of  the  post-station  at  Ville-aux-Fayes,  dur- 
ing the  Restoration;  officer  in  the  National  Guard  of  that  sub- 
prefecture    of  Bourgogne;   brother-in-law   of  Lcclercq,  t 
banker,  whose  sister  he  had  married.    [The  Peasantry.] 

Vigor,  son  of  the  preceding,  and,  like  the  rest  of  his  family, 
interested  in  protecting  Francois  Gaubertin  from  Mont- 


510  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINf) 

cornat;  he  was  deputy  judge  of  the  court  of  Ville-aux-Fayef> 
in  1823.    [The  Peasantry.] 

Villemot,  head-clerk  of  Tabareau,  the  bailiff,  was  en- 
trusted, in  April,  1845,  with  the  work  of  superintending 
the  details  of  the  interment  of  Sylvain  Pons,  and  also  to  look 
after  the  interests  of  Schmucke,  who  had  been  appointed 
residuary .  legatee  by  the  deceased.  Villemot  was  entirely 
under  the  influence  of  Fraisier,  business  agent  of  the  Camusot 
'de  Marvilles.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Villenoix  (Salomon  de),  son  of  a  wealthy  Jew  named 
Salomon,  who  in  his  old  age  had  married  a  Catholic.  Brought 
up  in  his  mother's  religion ;  he  raised  the  Villenoix  estate  to  a 
barony.  [Louis  Lambert.] 

Villenoix  (Pauline  Salomon  de),  born  about  1800;  natural 
daughter  of  the  preceding.  During  the  Restoration,  she  was 
made  to  feel  her  origin.  Her  character  and  her  superiority 
made  her  an  object  of  envy  in  her  provincial  circle.  Her 
meeting  with  Louis  Lambert  at  Blois  was  the  turning  point 
in  her  life.  Community  of  age,  country,  disappointments, 
and  pride  of  spirit  brought  them  in  touch — a  reciprocated 
passion  was  the  result.  Mademoiselle  Salomon  de  Ville- 
noix was  going  to  marry  Lambert,  when  the  scholar's  ter- 
rible mental  malady  asserted  itself.  She  Was  frequently 
able  to  avert  the  sick  man's  paroxysms;  she  nursed  him, 
.*dvised  him,  and  guided  him,  notably  at  Croisic,  where  at 
j&er  Tuggestion  Lambert  related  in  letter-form  the  tragic  mis- 
^Drtunes  of  the  Cambremers,  which  he  had  just  learned.  On 
her  return  to  Villenoix,  Pauline  took  her  fiance  with  her, 
where  she  noted  down  and  understood  his  last  thoughts, 
sublime  in  their  incoherence;  he  died  in  her  arms,  and  from 
that  time  forth  she  considered  herself  the  widow  of  Louis 
Lambert,  whom  she  had  buried  in  one  of  the  islands  of  the 
lake  park  at  Villenoix.  [Louis  Lambert.  A  Seaside  Tragedy.] 
Two  years  later,  being  sensibly  aged,  and  living  in  almost 
total  retirement  from  the  world  at  the  town  of  Tours,  but 
full  of  sympathy  for  weak  mortals,  Pauline  de  Villenoix 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMED1E  HUMAINE  Mi 

protected  the  Abbe  Francois  Birotteau,  the  victim  of  Tcou- 
bert's  hatred.     [The  Vicar  of  Tours.] 

Vilquin,  the  richest  ship-owner  of  Havre,  during  the  Restora- 
tion, purchased  the  estates  of  the  bankrupt  Charles  Mignon, 
with  the  exception  of  a  chalet  given  by  Mignon  to  Dumay; 
this  dwelling,  being  in  close  proximity  to  the  millionaire's 
superb  villa,  and  being  occupied  by  the  families  of  Mignon 
and  Dumay,  was  the  despair  of  Vilquin,  Dumay  obstinately 
refusing  to  sell  it.  [Modeste  Mignon.1 

Vilquin  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding,  had  G.-C.  d'Es- 
tourny  as  lover,  previous  to  his  amour  with  Bettina-Caroline 
Mignon ;  by  her  husband  she  had  three  children,  two  of  whom 
were  girls.  The  eldest  of  these,  being  richly  endowed,  was 
eventually  Madame  Francisque  Althor.  [Modeste  Mignon.] 

Vimeux,  in  1824,  an  unassuming  justice  of  the  peace  in  a 
department  of  the  North,  rebuked  his  son  Adolphe  for  the 
kind  of  life  he  was  leading  in  Paris.  [The  Government 
Clerks.] 

Vimeux  (Adolphe),  son  of  the  preceding,  in  1824,  was 
copyist  emeritus  in  Xavier  Rabourdin's  bureau  in  the  Finance 
Department.  A  great  dandy,  he  thought  only  of  his  dress, 
and  was  satisfied  with  meagre  fare  at  the  Katcomb's 
restaurant;  he  became  a  debtor  of  Antoine,  the  messenger 
boy ;  secretly  his  ambition  was  to  marry  a  rich  old  lady.  [The 
Government  Clerks.] 

Vinet  had  a  painful  career  to  start  with ;  a  disappointment 
crossed  his  path  at  the  very  outset.     He  had  seduced  a 
Mademoiselle  de  Chargeboeuf,  and  he  supposed  that  her  parents 
would   acknowledge   him   as  son-in-law,'   and  endow  their 
daughter  richly;  so  he  married  her,  but  her  family  disowned 
her,  and  he  therefore  had  to  rely  on  himself  entirely.    As  i 
attorney  at  Provins,  Vinet  made  his  mark  by  degrees;  a 
head  of  the  local  opposition,  with  the  aid  of  Goraud,  1 
succeeded  in  making  use  of  Denis  Rogron,  a  wealthy  r 
merchant,  established  the  "Courrier  de  Provins,"  a  L 
paper,  adroitly  defended  the  Rogroiis  against  the  charge  « 


512  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAIXB 

killing  Pierrette  Lorrain  by  slow  degrees,  was  elected  to  the 
Chamber  of  Deputies  about  1830,  and  became  also  attorney- 
general,  and  probably  minister  of  justice.  [Pierrette.  The 
Member  for  Arcis.  The  Middle  Classes.  Cousin  Pons.] 

Vinet  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding,  born  Chargeboeuf, 
and  therefore  one  of  the  descendants  of  the  "noble  family 
of  La  Brie,  a  name  derived  from  the  exploit  of  a  knight 
in  the  expedition  of  Saint-Louis,"  was  mother  of  two  children, 
who  sufficed  for  her  happiness.  Absolutely  controlled  by 
her  husband,  rejected  and  sacrificed  by  her  family  from 
the  time  of  her  marriage,  Madame  Vinet  scarcely  dared  ir 
the  Rogrons'  salon  to  speak  in  defence  of  Pierrette  Lorrain 
their  victim.  [Pierrette.] 

Vinet  (Olivier),  son  of  the  preceding  couple,  born  in  1816. 
A  magistrate,  like  his  father,  began  his  career  as  deputy 
king's  attorney  at  Arcis,  advanced  to  the  position  of  king's 
attorney  in  the  town  of  Mantes,  and,  still  further,  was  deputy 
king's  attorney,  but  now  in  Paris.  Supported  by  his  father's 
influence,  and  being  noted  for  his  independent  raillery, 
Vinet  was  dreaded  everywhere.  Among  the  people  of  Arcis, 
he  mixed  only  with  the  little  coterie  of  government  officials, 
composed  of  Goulard,  Michu,  and  Marest.  [The  Member 
for  Arcis.]  Being  a  rival  of  Maitre  Fraisier  in  the  affections 
of  Madame  Vatinelle  of  Mantes,  he  resolved  to  destroy  this 
contestant  in  the  race,  and  so  thwarted  his  career.  [Cousin 
Pons.]  At  the  Thuilliers',  on  the  rue  Saint-Dominique- 
d'Enfer,  Paris,  where  he  displayed  his  usual  impertinence, 
Vinet  was  an  aspirant  to  the  hand  of  Celeste  Colleville,  the 
heiress,  who  was  eventually  Madame  Felix  Phellion.  [The 
Middle  Classes.] 

Violette,  a  husbandman,  tenanted  in  the  department  of 
Aube,  near  Arcis,  the  Grouage  farm,  that  was  a  part  of  the 
Gondreville  estate,  at  the  time  that  Peyrade  and  Corentin, 
in  accordance  with  Fouche's  instructions,  undertook  the 
singular  abduction  of  Senator  Malin  de  Gondreville.  A 
miserly  and  deceitful  man,  this  fellow  Violette  secretly 
sided  with  Malin  de  Gondreville  and  the  powers  of  the  day 


REPERTORY    01-  THE  COMED1E  HUMA1NE  613 

against  Michu,  the  mysterious  agent  of  the  Cinq-Cygue, 
Hauteserre,  and  Simeuse  families.  [The  Goridreville  Mystery.] 
Violette  (Jean),  a  descendant  of  the  preceding;  hosier  of 
Arcis  in  1837;  took  in  hand  Pigoult's  business,  as  successor 
to  Phileas  Beauvisage.  In  the  electoral  stir  of  1839,  Jean 
Violette  seemed  to  be  entirely  at  the  disposal  of  the  Gondre- 
ville  faction.  [The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Virginie,  cook  in  the  household  of  Ce"sar  Birotteau,  the 
perfumer,  in  1818.  [Cesar  Birotteau.] 

Virginie,  during  the  years  1835-1836,  lady's-maid,  on  the 
rue  Neuve-des-Mathurins  (at  present  rue  des  Mathurins), 
Paris,  to  Marie-Eugenie  du  Tillet,  who  was  at  that  time 
engrossed  in  righting  the  imprudent  conduct  of  Ange'lique- 
Marie  de  Vandenesse.  [A  Daughter  of  Eve.] 

Virginie,  mistress  of  a  Provencal  soldier,  who,  at  a  later 
period,  during  Bonaparte's  campaign  in  Egypt,  was  lost  for 
some  time  in  a  desert,  where  he  lived  with  a  female  panther. 
The  jealous  mistress  was  constantly  threatening  to  stab 
her  lover,  and  he  dubbed  her  Mignonne,  by  antiphrasis; 
in  memory  of  her  he  gave  the  same  name  to  the  panther. 
[A  Passion  in  the  Desert.] 

Virginie,  a  Parisian  milliner,  whose  hats  were  praised, 
for  a  consideration,  by  Andoche  Finot  in  his  newspaper 
in  1821.  [A  Distinguished  Provincial  at  Paris.] 

Virlaz,  a  rich  furrier  of  Leipsic,  from  whom  his  nephew, 
Frederic  Brunner,  inherited,  about  the  middle  of  Louis  Phil- 
ippe's reign.  In  his  lifetime  this  Jew,  head  of  the  house  of 
Virlaz  &  Co.,  suspecting  Brunner,  pere,  the  tavern-keeper 
of  Frankfort,  had  the  fortune  of  Madame  Brunner  (first 
of  the  name)  placed  in  the  coffers  of  the  Al-Sartchild  bank. 
[Cousin  Pons.] 

Vissard  (Marquis  du),  in  memory  of  his  younger  brother, 
the  Chevalier  Rifoel  du  Vissard,  was  created  a  peer  of  Franco 
by  Louis  XVIII.,  who  entered  him  as  a  lieutenant  in  the 
Maison-Rouge,  and  made  him  a  prefect  upon  the  dissolution 
of  the  Maison-Rouge.  [The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 


514  REPERTORY   OF  THE  COMED1E  HUMAINE 

Vissard  (Charles- Ame"  dee-Louis- Joseph  Rifoel,  Chevalier 
du),  noble  and  headstrong  gentleman;  played  an  important 
part,  after  1789,  in  the  various  anti-revolutionary  insurrec- 
tions of  western  France.  In  December,  1799,  he  was  at  the 
Vivetiere,  and  his  impulsiveness  was  a  contrast  with  the 
coolness  of  Marquis  Alphonse  de  Montauran,  also  called  Le 
Gars.  [The  Chouans.]  He  took  part  in  the  battle  of  Quiberon, 
and,  in  company  with  Boislaurier,  took  a  leading  part  in  the 
uprising  of  the  Chauffeurs  of  Mortagne.  Several  circum- 
stances, indeed,  helped  to  strengthen  his  Royalist  inclina- 
tions. Fergus  found  in  Henriette  Bryond  des  Tours-Minieres 
a  second  Diana  Vernon  and  became  her  lover.  His  mo- 
narchical zeal  was  enflamed  by  Bryond  des  Tours-Minieres 
(Contenson,  the  spy),  who  secretly  betrayed  him.  Like 
his  accomplices,  Rifoel  du  Vissard  was  executed  in  1809. 
At  times  during  his  anti-revolutionary  campaigns  he  as- 
sumed the  name  of  Pierrot.  [The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 

Vissembourg  (Due  de),  son  of  Mare'chal,  Vernon;  brother 
of  the  Prince  de  Chiavari;  between  1835  and  1840  presided 
over  a  horticultural  society,  the  vice-president  of  which  was 
Fabien  du  Ronceret.  [Beatrix.] 

Vitagliani,  tenor  at  the  Argentina,  Rome,  when  Zam- 
binella  took  the  soprano  parts  in  1758.  Vitagliani  was  ac- 
quainted with  J.-E.  Sarrasine.  [Sarrasine.] 

Vital,  born  about  1810,  a  Parisian  hatter,  who  succeeded 
Finot  p£re,  whose  store  on  rue  du  Coq  was  very  popular 
about  1845,  and  deservedly  so,  apparently.  He  amused  J.- 
J.  Bixiou  and  Le*on  de  Lora  by  his  ridiculous  pretensions. 
They  wished  him  to  supply  S.-P.  Gazonal  with  a  hat,  and 
he  proposed  to  sell  him  a  hat  like  that  of  Lousteau.  On 
this  occasion  Vital  showed  them  the  head-covering  that  he 
had  devised  for  Claude  Vignon,  who  was  undecided  in  politics. 
Vital  really  pretended  to  make  each  hat  according  to  the 
personality  of  the  person  ordering  it.  He  praised  the  Prince 
de  Bethune's  hat  and  dreamed  of  the  time  when  high  hats 
would  go  out  of  style.  {The  Unconscious  Humorists.] 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  BIS 

Vital  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding,  believed  in  her 
husband's  genius  and  greatness.  She  was  in  the  store  when 
the  hatter  received  a  call  from  Bixiou,  Lora  and  Gazonal. 
[The  Unconscious  Humorists.] 

Vitel,  born  in  1776,  Paris  justice  of  the  peace  in  1845, 
an  acquaintance  of  Doctor  Poulain ;  was  succeeded  by  Maitre 
Fraisier,  a  protege  of  the  Camusot  de  Marvilles.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Vitelot,  partner  of  Sonet,  the  marble-cutter;  designed  tomb- 
stones. He  failed  to  obtain  the  contract  for  monuments 
to  Marsay,  the  minister,  and  to  Keller,  the  officer.  It  was 
given  to  Stidmann.  The  plans  made  by  Vitelot  having  been 
retouched,  were  submitted  to  Wilhelm  Schmucke  for  the 
grave  of  Sylvain  Pons,  who  was  buried  in  Pere-Lachaise. 
[Cousin  Pons.] 

Vitelot  (Madame),  wife  of  the  preceding,  severely  rebuked 
an  agent  of  the  firm  for  bringing  in  as  a  customer  W.  Schmucke, 
heir-contestant  to  the  Pons  property.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Vivet  (Madeleine),  servant  to  the  Camusot  de  Marvilles; 
during  nearly  twenty-five  years  was  their  feminine  Maitre- 
Jacques.  She  tried  in  vain  to  gain  Sylvain  Pons  for  a  hus- 
band, and  thus  to  become  their  cousin.  Madeleine  Vivet, 
having  failed  in  her  matrimonial  attempts,  took  a  dislike 
for  Pons,  and  persecuted  him  in  a  thousand  ways.  [Scenes 
from  a  Courtesan's  Life.  Cousin  Pons.] 

Volfgang,1  cashier  of  Baron  du  Saint^Empire,  F.  de  Nucin- 
gen,  when  this  well-known  Parisian  banker  of  rue  Saint- 
Lazare  fell  madly  in  love  with  Esther  van  Gobseck,  and 
when  Jacques  Falleix's  discomfiture  occurred.  [Scenes  from 
a  Courtesan's  Life.] 

Vordac  (Marquise  de),  born  in  1769,  mistress  of  the  rich 
Lord  Dudley;  she  had  by  him  a  son,  Henry.  To  legitimize 
this  child  she  arranged  a  marriage  with  Marsay,  a  bankrupt 
old  gentleman  of  tarnished  reputation.  He  demanded 
payment  of  the  interest  on  a  hundred  thousand  francs 
reward  for  his  marriage,  and  l,r  died  without  having  km 

1  He  lived  on  rue  de  TArcade,  near  rue  dea  Mathuriiw,  Paris. 


516  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

his  wife.  The  widow  of  Marsay  became  by  her  second 
marriage  the  well-known  Marquise  de  Vordac.  She  neglected 
her  duties  as  mother  until  late  in  life,  and  paid  no  attention 
to  Henri  de  Marsay  except  to  propose  Miss  Stevens  as  a 
suitable  wife  for  him.  [The  Thirteen.] 

Vulpato    (La),   noble   Venetian,   very   frequently   present 
in    Fenice;   about    1820   tried   to   interest   Emilio  Memmi, 
Prince  of  Varese,  and  Massimilla  Doni,  Duchesse  Cataneo, 
.in  each  other.     [Massimilla  Doni.] 

Vyder,  anagram  formed  from  d'Ervy,  and  one  of  the  three 
names  taken  successively  by  Baron  Hector  Hulot  d'Ervy, 
after  deserting  his  wife.  He  hid  under  this  assumed  name, 
when  he  became  a  petition-writer  in  Paris,  in  the  lower  part 
of  Petite  Pologne,  opposite  rue  de  la  Pe'piniere,  on  Passage  du 
Soleil,  to-day  called  Galerie  de  Cherbourg.  [Cousin  Betty.] 

W 

Wadmann,  an  Englishman  who  owned,  near  the  Marville 
estate  in  Normandie,  a  cottage  and  pasture-lands,  which 
Madame  Camusot  de  Marville  talked  of  buying  in  1845, 
when  he  was  about  to  leave  for  England  after  twenty  years' 
sojourn  in  France.  [Cousin  Pons.] 

Wahlenfer  or  Walhenfer,  wealthy  German  merchant 
who  was  murdered  at  the  "Red  Inn,"  near  Andernach, 
Rhenish  Prussia,  October,  1799.  The  deed  was  done  by 
Jean-Frederic  Taillefer,  then  a  surgeon  and  under-assistant- 
major  in  the  French  army,  who  suffered  his  comrade,  Prosper 
Magnan,  to  be  executed  for  the  crime.  Wahlenfer  was  a 
short,  heavy-set  man  of  rotund  appearance,  with  frank  and 
cordial  manners.  He  was  proprietor  of  a  large  pin-manu- 
factory on  the  outskirts  of  Neuwied.  He  was  from  Aix- 
la-Chapelle.  Possibly  Wahlenfer  was  an  assumed  name. 
[The  Red  Inn.] 

Wallenrod-Tustall-Bartenstild  (Baron  de),  born  in  1742, 
banker  at  Frankfort-on-the-Main ;  married  in  1804,  his  only 
daughter,  Bettina,  to  Charles  Mignon  de  la  Bastie,  then  only 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINK  417 

a  lieutenant  in  the  French  army ;  died  in  1814,  following  some 
disastrous  speculations  in  cotton.    [Modeste  Mignon.] 

Watschildine,  a  London  firm  which  did  business  with  F. 
de  Nucingen,  the  banker.  On  a  dark  autumn  evening  in  1821, 
the  cashier,  Rodolphe  Castanier,  was  surprised  by  the  satanic 
John  Melmoth,  while  he  was  in  the  act  of  forging  the  name 
of  his  employer  on  some  letters  of  credit  drawn  on  the  Wat- 
schildine establishment.  [Melmoth  Reconciled.] 

Wattebled,  grocer  in  Soulanges,  Bourgogne.  in  1823; 
father  of  the  beautiful  Madame  Plissoud;  was  in  middle 
class  society ;  kept  a  store  on  the  first  floor  of  a  house  belonging 
to  Soudry,  the  mayor.  [The  Peasantry.] 

Watteville  (Baron  de),  Besangon  gentleman  of  Swiss  de- 
scent; last  descendant  of  the  well-known  Dom  Jean  de  Watte- 
ville, the  renegade  Abbe  of  Baumes  (1613-1703);  small  and 
very  thin,  rather  deficient  mentally ;  spent  his  life  in  a  cabinet- 
maker's establishment  "enjoying  utter  ignorance";  collected 
shells  and  geological  specimens;  usually  in  good  humor. 
After  living  in  the  Comte,  "like  a  bug  in  a  rug,"  in  1815 
he  married  Clotilde-Louise  de  Rupt,  who  domineered  over 
him  completely.  As  soon  as  her  parents  died,  about  1819, 
he  lived  with  her  in  the  beautiful  Rupt  house  on  rue  de  la 
Prefecture,  a  piece  of  property  which  included  a  large  garden 
extending  along  the  rue  du  Perron.  By  his  wife,  the  Baron 
de  Watteville  had  one  daughter,  whom  he  loved  devotedly, 
so  much,  indeed,  that  he  lost  all  authority  over  her.  M. 
de  Watteville  died  in  1836,  as  a  result  of  his  fall  into  the  lake 
on  his  estate  of  Rouxey,  near  Besancon.  He  was  buried  on 
an  islet  in  this  same  lake,  and  his  wife,  making  great  show 
of  her  sorrow,  had  erected  thereon  a  Gothic  monument  of 
marble  like  the  one  to  He'lolse  and  Aboard  in  the  Pere- 
Lachaise.  [Albert  Savaraus.] 

Watteville  (liaronne  de),  wife  of  the  preceding,  and  after 
his  death  of  Ame'de'e  de  Soulas  (See  Soulas,  Madame  A.  de.) 

Watteville  (Rosalie  de),  only  daughter  of  the  preceding 
couple;  born  in  1816;  a  blonde  with  colorless  cheeks  and  pale- 


518  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINK 

blue  eyes ;  slender  and  frail  of  body ;  resembled  one  of  Albert 
Diirer's  saints.  Reared  under  her  mother's  stern  oversight, 
accustomed  to  the  most  rigid  religious  observances,  kept  in 
ignorance  of  all  worldly  matters,  she  entirely  concealed  under 
her  modesty  of  manner  and  retiring  disposition  her  iron 
character,  and  her  romantic  audacity,  so  like  that  of  her 
greatr uncle,  the  Abbe"  de  Watteville ;  and  which  was  increased 
by  the  resoluteness  and  pride  of  the  Rupt  blood;  although 
destined  to  marry  Amedee  de  Soulas,  "la  fleur  des  pois"1 
of  Besangon,  she  became  enamored  of  the  attorney,  Albert 
Savaron  de  Savarus.  By  successfully  carrying  out  her 
schemes  she  separated  him  from  the  Duchesse  d'Arga'iolo, 
although  these  two  were  mutually  in  love — a  separation 
which  caused  Savarus  great  despair.  He  never  knew  of 
Rosalie's  affection  for  him,  and  withdrew  to  the  Grande 
Chartreuse.  Mademoiselle  de  Watteville  then  lived  for  some 
time  in  Paris  with  her  mother,  who  was  then  the  wife  of 
Amedee  de  Soulas.  She  tried  to  see  the  Duchesse  d'Arga'iolo, 
who,  believing  Savarus  faithless,  had  given  her  hand  to  the 
Due  de  Rhe"tore.  In  February,  1838,  on  meeting  her  at  a 
charity  ball  given  for  the  benefit  of  the  former  civil  pensioners, 
Rosalie  made  an  appointment  with  her  for  the  Opera  ball, 
when  she  told  her  former  rival  the  secret  of  her  manoeuvres 
against  Madame  de  Rhe'tore',  and  of  her  conduct  as  regards  the 
attorney.  Mademoiselle  de  Watteville  retired  finally  to 
Rouxey — a  place  which  she  left,  only  to  take  a  trip  in  1841 
on  an  unknown  mission,  from  which  she  came  back  seriously 
crippled,  having  lost  an  arm  and  a  leg  in  a  boiler  explosion 
on  a  steamboat.  Henceforth  she  devoted  her  life  to  the  ex- 
ercises of  religion,  and  left  her  retreat  no  more.  [Albert 
Savarus.] 

Welff  (called  Welff  the  Great),  after  eleven  years  of  cavalry 
service  on  the  Rhine,  in  Italy  and  in  Egypt  under  General 
Bonaparte,  he  was  a  gendarme  at  Arcis-sur-Aube  in  1803,  at 
the  time  of  the  police  raid  on  Cinq-Cygne.  He  helped  Corentin 
and  Peyrade  in  their  vain  undertaking,  and  became  the  enemy 
of  Michu,  the  Hauteserres,  and  the  Simeuses,  against  whore 

1  Title  of  one  of  the  first  editions  of  "A  Marriage  Settlement." 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAlNE  S19 

he  acted  about  1806,  when  Senator  Malin  de  Gondreville 
mysteriously  disappeared.  At  that  time  Welff  was  a  sub- 
lieutenant. [The  Gondreville  Mystery.] 

Werbrust,  associated  with  Palma,  Parisian  discounter 
on  rue  Saint-Denis  and  rue  Saint-Martin,  during  the  Restora- 
tion ;  knew  the  story  of  the  glory  and  decay  of  Ce'sar  Birotteau, 
the  perfumer,  who  was  mayor  of  the  second  district;  was  tiie 
friend  of  the  banker,  Jean-Baptiste  d'Aldrigger,  at  whose 
burial  he  was  present;  carried  on  business  with  the  Baron 
de  Nucingen,  making  a  shrewd  speculation  when  the  latter 
settled  for  the  third  time  with  his  creditors  in  1836.  [Cesar 
Birotteau.  The  Firm  of  Nucingen.] 

Werchauffen  (Baron  de),  one  of  Schirrner's  aliases.  (See 
Schirmer.) 

Wierzchownia  (Adam  de),  Polish  gentleman,  who,  after 
the  last  division  of  Poland,  found  refuge  in  Sweden,  where 
he  sought  consolation  in  the  study  of  chemistry,  a  study  for 
which  he  had  always  felt  a  strong  liking.  Poverty  compelled 
him  to  give  up  this  study,  and  he  joined  the  French  army.  In 
i8«)9,  while  on  the  way  to  Douai,  he  was  quartered  for  one 
night  with  M.  Balthazar  Claes.  During  a  conversation  with  his 
host,  he  explained  to  him  his  ideas  on  the  subject  of '"identity 
of  matter"  and  the  absolute,  thus  bringing  misfortune  on 
a  whole  family,  for  from  that  moment  Balthazar  Claes  de- 
voted time  and  money  to  his  quest  of  the  absolute.  Adam 
de  Wierzchownia,  while  dying  at  Dresden,  in  1812,  of  a  wound 
received  during  the  last  wars,  wrote  a  final  letter  to  Balthazar 
Claes,  informing  him  of  the  different  thoughts  relative  to  the 
search  in  question,  which  had  been  in  his  mind  since  their  first 
meeting.  By  this  writing  he  increased  the  misfortunes  of  the 
Claes  family.  Adam  de  Wierzchownia  had  an  angular  wasted 
countenance,  large  head  which  was  bald,  eyes  like  tongues 
of  fire,  a  large  mustache.  His  calmness  of  manner  frightened 
Madame  Balthazar  Claes.1  [The  Quest  of  the  Absolute.] 

1  Under  the  title  of  Gold,  or  the  Dream  of  a  Savant,  there  w  a  pl»y  by  Bayard  and 
Bidville,   which  presents  the   misfortunes  of  the  Cla.-s.     Thi«  was  given   at   I 
Gymnase,  November  11.  1837,  by  M.  Bouff<5  aii^  Madame  E.  Sauvage,  both  of  wliotii 
are  still  alive. 


520  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Willemsens  (Marie- Augusta).    (See  Brandon,1  Comtesse  de.) 

Wimphen  (De),  married  a  friend  of  Madame  d'Aiglemont's 
childhood.  [A  Woman  of  Thirty.] 

Wimphen  (Madame  Louisa  de),  childhood  friend  of  Madame 
Julie  d'Aiglemont  in  school  at  Ecouen.  In  1814,  Madame 
d'Aiglemont  wrote  to  her  companion,  who  was  then  on  the 
point  of  marrying,  of  her  own  disillusionment,  and  confiden- 
tially advised  her  to  remain  single.  This  letter,  however, 
was  not  sent,  for  the  Comtesse  de  Listomere-Landon,  aunt 
of  Julie  d'Aiglemont  by  marriage,  having  found  out  about 
it,  discouraged  such  an  impropriety  on  the  part  of  her  niece. 
Unlike  her  friend,  Madame  de  Wimphen  married  happily. 
She  retained  the  confidence  of  Madame  d'Aiglemont,  and 
was  present,  indeed,  at  the  important  interview  between 
Julie  and  Lord  Grenville.  After  M.  de  Wimphen's  arrival 
to  accompany  his  wife  home,  these  two  lovers  were  left  alone, 
until  the  unexpected  arrival  of  M.  d'Aiglemont  made  it 
necessary  for  Lord  Grenville  to  conceal  himself.  The  Eng- 
lishman died  shortly  after  this  as  a  result  of  the  night's  expo- 
sure, when  he  was  obliged  to  stay  in  the  cold  on  the  outside 
of  a  window-sill.  This  happened  also  immediately  after  his 
fingers  were  bruised  by  a  rapidly  closed  door.  [A  Woman  of 
Thirty.] 

Wirth,  valet  of  the  banker,  J.-B.  d'Aldrigger;  remained 
in  the  service  of  Mesdames  d'Aldrigger,  mother  and  daughters, 
after  the  death  of  the  head  of  the  family.  He  showed  them 
the  same  devotion,  of  which  he  had  often  given  proof.  Wirth 
was  a  kind  of  Alsatian  Caleb  or  Gaspard,  aged  and  serious, 
but  with  much  of  the  cunning  mingled  with  his  simple  nature. 
Seeing  in  Godefroid  de  Beaudenord  a  good  husband  for  Isaure 
d'Aldrigger,  he  was  able  to  entrap  him  easily,  and  thus  was 
partly  responsible  for  their  marriage.  [The  Firm  of  Nucingen.] 

Wisch  (Johann).  Fictitious  name  given  in  a  newspaper 
for  Johann  Fischer,  when  he  had  been  accused  of  peculation. 
[Cousin  Betty.] 

1  Lady  Brandon  was  the  mother  of  Louis  Gaaton  and  Marie  Gaaton. 


REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE  521 

ibourg  (Prince  de), 
le  Due  d'Orfano.    [C 

Witschnau.     (See  Gaudin.) 


Wissembourg  (Prince  de),  one  of  the  titles  of  Marshal 
Cottin,  the  Due  d'Orfano.     [Cousin  Betty.] 


Ximeuse,  fief  situated  in  Lorraine;  original  spelling  of  the 
name  Simeuse,  which  came  to  be  written  with  an  S  on  ac- 
count of  its  pronunciation.  [The  Gondreville  Mystery.] 


Ysembourg  (Prince  d'),  marshal  of  France,  the  Conde" 
of  the  Republic.  Madame  Nourrisson,  his  confidential  servant, 
looked  upon  him  as  a  "simpleton,"  because  he  gave  two 
thousand  francs  to  one  of  the  most  renowned  countesses 
of  the  Imperial  Court,  who  came  to  him  one  day,  with  stream- 
ing eyes,  begging  him  to  give  her  the  assistance  upon  which 
her  children's  life  depended.  She  soon  spent  the  money  for  a 
robe,  which  she  needed  to  wear  so  as  to  be  dressed  stylishly 
at  an  embassy  ball.  This  story  was  told  by  Madame  Nourris- 
son, in  1845,  to  Le*on  de  Lora,  Bixiou,  and  Gazonal.  [The 
Unconscious  Humorists.] 


Zambinella,  a  eunuch,  who  sang  at  the  Theatre  Argentina, 
Rome,  the  leading  soprano  parts;  he  was  very  beautiful. 
Sarassine,  a  French  sculptor,  believing  him  to  be  a  woman, 
became  enamored  of  him,  and  used  him  as  a  model  for  an  ex- 
cellent statue  of  Adonis,  which  may  still  be  seen  at  the  Mtiste 
d'Albani,  and    which    Dorlange-Sallenauve   copied  nearly  a 
century  later.     When  he  was  over  eighty  years  old  and  very 
wealthy,  Zambinella  lived,  under  the  Restoration,  with  his 
niece,  who  was  wife  of  the  mysterious  Lanty.    While  residir 
with  the  Lantys  Zambinella  died  in  Rome,  1830. 
life  of  Zambinella  was  unknown  to  the  Parisian  world 
mesmerist  believed  the  old  man,  who  was  a  sort  of  traveling 


522  REPERTORY  OF  THE  COMEDIE  HUMAINE 

Tiummy,  to  be  the  famous  Balsamo,  also  known  as  Cagliostro, 
while  the  Bailli  de  Ferette  took  him  to  be  the  Comte  do 
Saint-Germain.  [Sarrasine.  The  Member  for  Arcis.] 

Zarnowicki  (Roman1),  Polish  general  who,  as  a  refugee  in 
Paris,  lived  on  the  ground  floor  of  the  little  two-story  house 
on  rue  de  Marbeuf,  of  which  Doctor  Halpersohn  occupied 
the  other  floor  in  1836.  [The  Seamy  Side  of  History.] 


NOTE. 

The  Repertory  of  the  Comedie  Humaine,  as  the  reader  can  see  for 
himself,  should  include  only  those  episodes  introducing  characters 
inter-related  and  continually  recurring.  Consequently,  the  stories 
entitled  The  Exiles,  About  Catherine  de  M6dici,  Mattre  Cornelius, 
The  Unknown  Masterpiece,  The  Elixir  of  Life,  Christ  in  Flanders, 
which  antedate  the  eighteenth  century,  and  Seraphila,  which  deals 
with  the  supernatural,  are  omitted,  together  with  the  Analytical  Studies. 
But  The  Hated  Son  furnishes  some  indispensable  information  con- 
cerning a  few  biographies.  The  Dramas  are  outside  the  action  of  the 
Comedie,  so  contribute  no  names. 

According  to  Theophile  Gautier,  The  Comedie  Humaine  embraces 
two  thousand  characters.  His  reckoning  is  nearly  exact;  but  as  a 
result  of  cross-references,  surnames,  assumed  names  and  the  like, 
that  number  is  far  exceeded  in  this  work,  which,  nevertheless,  omits 
many  characters  outside  the  action,  as:  Chevet,  Decamps,  Delacroix, 
Finot  Sr.,  the  child  of  Calyste  and  Sabine  du  Gue'nic,  Noe'mi  Magus, 
Meyerbeer,  Herbaut,  Houbigant,  Tanrade,  Mousqueton,  Arnal,  Barrot, 
Bonald,  Berryer,  Gautier,  Gozlan,  Hugo,  Hyacinthe,  Lafont,  Lamar- 
tine,  Lassailly,  F.  Lemaitre,  Charles  X.,  Louis  Philippe,  Odry,  Talma, 
Thiers,  Villele,  Rossini,  Rousseau,  Mile.  Dejazet,  Mile.  Georges,  etc. 

'-  Probably  a  given  name. 


A     000  095  276    2 


